Questioning the American Dream

On Thursday, we watched two documentaries about migrant workers and then had a seminar to discuss these issues through the lenses of science, literature, and economics. Examine how this experience informed your understanding of major themes, such as questioning the American Dream and whether we live in a meritocracy, inThe Great Gatsby.

I think the second film we saw affected me a lot more than the first one (seeing as the second one was newer and somehow more relatable). It showed me that the American Dream isn't what it's made out to be. Some of those workers' dreams were simply to provide for their family, not to get a lot of money or even have a nice job. Plus, the resources needed to make the American Dream possible were not available to these migrant workers in the first place. They couldn't even get a proper education due to their constant migration, which really struck me. I can't even imagine not being able to finish a single school year because of work. I think our country needs to do something about this.

Miss Baker the Skeptic

Women's ideals changed a lot during the 1920s. They were gaining new rights, taking up new outlooks on life, even changing the way they dressed. Often, outlooks on life from women were somewhat skeptical, as if their new rights were going to come back and bite them. I think Jordan is a good example of a woman in the 1920s because she is described as "this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism." (p. 79) As Nick Carraway says, "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." (p. 79)

Nick's principles

So far, Nick Carraway has made two statements about his principles. At the beginning of the book, on page 1, he states, "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements..." Then, a the end of chapter 3, on page 59, he claims, "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known." Comment on whether you believe these statements to be true about Nick. Include evidence from the text.

I don't think Nick is as honest and as nonjudgmental as he thinks he is. He specifically says on page 1 that "...frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon..." If feigning isn't lying then I don't know what is. It seems like every time Nick describes someone he makes at least one judgment about their person or personality (p. 25 and 7).

Is the concept of the American Dream specific to the United States?

I don't think the concept of the American Dream is specific to the United States at all. The concept behind it seems a lot like the concept of national pride. Everyone's got to have some reason to be proud of their country, and the American Dream is just sort of a thing that shows that we have goals. Ideas of the American Dream differ from person to person, adding and taking away goals with each idea. I think national pride is a lot like that, the way people find things about their country to be proud of.