The Great Gatsby and A Raisin in the Sun

After reading both The Great Gatsby and A Raisin in the Sun I realized that the American Dream is different in them, the idea of the dream is very opposite. Well at least what they already haven’t achieved in gaining the American Dream. The quote “you always want what you don’t have” is very fitting to describe the dreams that are present in both books.  

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby himself longs for Daisy, so in his case to achieve the American Dream he needed love because he already had the wealth. With the love he hoped to gain from Daisy he would finally be happy. Gatsby threw extravagant parties every weekend, he had the money and the car, but he didn’t have “the girl.”  Daisy was that girl from the beginning she grew up being wealthy, except her dream became different as she grew older, she became all about wealth instead of love, probably because she thought money gave you everything. To Gatsby life did not matter without Daisy, he did everything he could to “win” Daisy back, but she was with Tom and was focused on money and status and not love, which was her American Dream.

Gatsby was determined to have Daisy fall in love with him again and when you are that determined about something there are no limits, which happens in trying to achieve your American Dream. Gatsby didn’t let anything stop him from being with Daisy, but he realized that she wasn’t the same girl he fell in love with and she was a lot happier without him. Sometimes people don’t realize that the American Dream is about being a better you, which is what Gatsby did; he became a better version of himself. He did not hold onto Daisy after realizing that he wasn’t what she needed. In the end Gatsby did achieve his American Dream, he didn’t have enough time to appreciated or realize that he did, but he died knowing that money wasn’t everything and in the end it’s love and the people who you surround yourself with.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter and the rest of the Youngers’ American Dream is having money and being financially stable. But to Walter it was more than just being able to live comfortably he wanted everything, he thought by having money he’d gain everything else in the American Dream. When he found out that his “friend” Willy Harris ran off with the money he had invested in the liquor store his whole life turn upside down and he just shut down. Walter didn’t realize that he had people who loved him no matter what, through all of the mistakes he made Mama, Ruth and everyone else, were always there for him.

Walter let the dream of being wealthy get in his way of realizing that he was already wealthy in the sense of the love he had for his family.  Each of the Youngers had an idea of what they were going to do with the money they’d receive from the insurance policy and they became so obsessed with what they’d be able to achieve once they possessed that money. That’s why all of them were so upset when Walter lost it all, but that moment was what made them really notice that had already achieved the American Dream.

Walter realized that he had Ruth and his son Travis which was the main component of his happiness, Mama didn’t need a bigger house she was happy that she had a roof over her head and her children’s, and Beneatha chose Asagai over George. The Youngers achieved their American Dream their love had become stronger for one another and they all chose happiness over money.

If Gatsby and Walter had met they would have probably envied one another because they had what the other did not have. Whether it was the 1920s or the 1950s, if you were white or black, the American Dream never changed. The American Dream was this goal that both Gatsby and Walter had set to achieve, not knowing what it was that they really wanted.  They were living the American Dream that each other wanted not realizing that it’s not about gaining more things whether it being money or love, but about realizing what you already have and appreciating that before moving forward. 

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