Death Of The American Dream Essay - 1387 Words

Death of the American Dream. The promise that the American dream will bring happiness is a delusion, which many people have become victims to from being inspired by the propaganda and the false hope which it creates. The four texts, The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann Fight Club written by Chuck Palahniuk, American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes and Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes give proof to this claim as they illustrate the reality of the dream which is that it is the end of a person s personal identity. The Idea which coincides with the theme of the death of the American dream is that people must portray the look of happiness through the display of possessions when striving for success, as represented in The Great gatsby and American beauty. With the idea that the American dream causes self destruction is portrayed in the texts Fight Club and Revolutionary Road. What becomes apparent in The Great Gatsby and American Beauty is the idea that those who have supposedly attained the dream make displays of their happiness, though flaunting their possessions in the eye of others to mask their unhappiness. In both texts the main characters have been surrounded by lavish and expensive furniture which has become the main part of their lifestyle. After attaining the ‘dream’ they both have developed the idea that the most important things in life is what others think of you, these consist of both your status and the happiness which you portray. Although bothShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of The American Dream1977 Words   |  8 PagesMichael Talanker Ms. Casperson AP English III 28 January 2015 The Death of the American Dream in the 1920s and the Narrative of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald named the boisterous era known as the Roaring Twenties the â€Å"Jazz Age,† a name fitting for the cultural upheaval that occurred during the decade. 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