From Franklin to Fitzgerald: The Life of The American Dream

From Franklin to Fitzgerald: The Life of the American Dream

What is the fabled American Dream? Some would say it is defined by the success of the individual. But what comprises success? Wealth? Not necessarily, the American Dream is about more than just turning tattered rags into garments of silk. Independence? The homeless are independent, although I might suggest that you would be hard-pressed to find one who would claim that he lives the American Dream. Respect? Certain people will respect you more then others, so that is not the entirety of the American Dream. Perhaps we can better find the meaning of the seemingly indefinable "American Dream" by examining two men--one of whom was the embodiment of the American Dream, while the other was doomed to chase it and chase it without reprieve or success, driven on by his own discontent.

I am referring to Benjamin Franklin (of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by, of course, himself) and Jay Gatsby (of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald). The fact that one is real and one is fictional (respectively) has no bearing on the significance of their varied relationships with what has been referred to as our country's collective reverie. The fictional world within that F. Scott Fitzgerald creates is, in fact, a massive, heavily symbolic metaphor for the downfall of those heavy ideals that drove Franklin and other 18th century Americans. Their pursuit of that American Dream, and ability or inability to achieve it, largely ties in with the nature of the person. In regard to Franklin and Gatsby, (and thus, the underlying message of each book) each man's nature differed radically from the other's, which is why one man achieved the American Dream and the other fell short.

Therefore, one must ask the question--what, in Jay Gatsby's nature, makes him great? What is it about this nature that causes Fitzgerald to use such a title to describe him in the first place? The answer is that the title is a use of ironic discourse. Gatsby is far from great, in spite of his ever-present aspiration to achieve greatness. Rather, he is a rich nobody, with no cares in the world but his own. Throughout the course of the novel, Gatsby does not really do anything for anyone but himself. He has an unquenchable greediness about him, to live that dream, to taste that happiness. He has no real desire for achievement other than his own vague desire to be "great," and he misconstrues the meaning of the word in pursuing his quest. The significance of Fitzgerald's selection of this man is tantamount to understanding what, exactly, the author was trying to say about the state of the American Dream.

Franklin, on the other hand, did not seek out greatness. But he achieved it in enormous quantities regardless--so much so that he decided to write an autobiography. It is one of the first of its kind in the annals of American Literature. The man was present, at the request of others, at almost every landmark of the early history of this country. From the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the forging of the Constitution to the Revolutionary War, Franklin was there. His presence and character are so unique that he has become something of a legend--a demigod in America's folklore and memory. So all of this begs the question--what, in Franklin's nature, made him so great? Why is he different than Gatsby in his achieved greatness? Both are autonomous men, starting from nothing and becoming significant in the eyes of their peers, but their separate natures separate them from one another.

Firstly, Gatsby's nature prevents him from living the American Dream due to a few major flaws. The primary flaw in Gatsby's nature is twofold: he cannot control that which would make his life most fulfilling, and his goal is ultimately unworthy of himself. Gatsby desires, with every ounce of his being, to win back a girl that he once loved--before he went away to war. That girl, for Gatsby, is Daisy Buchanan. One main problem with Daisy belongs, in fact, to Gatsby himself. Namely, in his own mind, he damned her to perfection. "Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy stumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion," (Fitzgerald 95), Nick, our narrator, reflects here on the first afternoon that Daisy and Jay Gatsby meet after Gatsby earns his millions and moves to West Egg. Gatsby has an illusion of Daisy that is an essential part of his nature--and thus, his failure to achieve the American Dream. He bases his happiness, and his entire persona, on the perfection of Daisy Buchanan, a far from perfect woman. Additionally, Gatsby desires the love of such a woman, so much so that it becomes the basis for who he is, and his primary goal in life. All of his other actions and purposes serve this one--regaining he love of Daisy.

Although it is a major concern of F. Scott Fitzgerald's in writing this book, there is another flaw in the nature of Jay Gatsby that hides in the shadows of the narrative, never fully revealed until near the end. It has to do with the business dealings through which Gatsby puts himself in order to receive Daisy's affection. In order to build up his wealth enough so that Daisy will find him attractive, he associates with, presumably, a number of less than reputable individuals, of whom we only meet one--Meyer Wolfsheim, who "fixed the World Series back in 1919," (Fitzgerald 73). This leads us to suspect that Gatsby might earn his wealth through illegal means. We are not made fully aware of his misdeeds until Daisy's husband, Tom presents them to a host of people after finding out that Daisy and Jay had been having an affair, "'He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter...I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him..." (Fitzgerald 133). The significance here is that Gatsby willingly breaks the law in order to attain