The Theme of The American Dream in Literature

 The theme of the “American Dream” in Literature

Throughout American literature, the theme of the “American dream” comes up quite often. Many great novelists such as John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, and F. Scott Fitzgerald use this theme in their most famous novels. The American dream is an ideal that people have been striving towards ever since colonial settlers and the immigrants from Ellis Island in the 1930s came to this country. The “land of dreams” is what people call America. People came to America seeking freedom, owning land, and building a home and new life for themselves (Clouse et al., 2013). During the 1950s, the American dream became about living in the cities, having a picket fence, green grass, and owning a car. Over the years, as the economy and education have changed, so has the dream. The American dream is an idea that is often used in literature and represents the struggles people go through to achieve their goals.

The novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the idea of the American dream through the character of Jay Gatsby. The story is set during the nineteen-twenties, and Fitzgerald uses the time and setting in New York to explore whether or not the American dream is truly attainable. The Great Gatsby is symbolic of the dissolution of the American dream in an era of wealth, and Gatsby is the personification of this dream. Fitzgerald breaks down the American dream through the immoral pursuit of wealth that plagued Gatsby (Keshmiri p.1296). The book shows the contrast between two wealthy people and how they choose to live the American dream, and in the end, it shows that no one can have everything without paying the price.

“The Call of the Wild” by Jack London is about a dog who struggles in the wilderness after living a charmed life. Even though “The Call of the Wild” is about a dog named Buck, it offers a parallel look at the differences and commonalities between animals and humans. Buck is kidnapped by men that are seeking out their idea of the American dream. Which for many men in the 1800s was to strike gold and become rich. Buck starts by living a good life with his owner, where he does not have to worry about other animals, food, or survival. That is the American dream for a dog. Then Buck is thrown into the world of the wild, where he has to learn how to survive. Because of this, Buck slowly loses his self-identity but maintains individualism to stay alive in the harsh conditions of the forest. London writes about Buck needing to connect with his ancestral past and find the primitive side of survival. He also parallels the laws of the wild with the rules of civilization. With the change in environment, Buck has to find a new way to live, and sometimes a person’s dream has to adapt.

In Amy Tan’s novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” the theme of the American Dream is conveyed through Chinese immigrants trying to make a better life for their families in America. In her novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” Tan depicts the American dream as the older generation characters travel to America in hopes of a better future. The mothers in the novel came to America because their living conditions in China were less than ideal. When they come to America, they hope their children will succeed by marrying a rich man or becoming a child prodigy, goals that stress the children. In the end, the two generations learn to accept each other’s lifestyles and live their American dream of family loyalty and prosperity.

The American dream theme is also presented in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. Twain depicts the slavery period in the South. Even though Huck is a white man escaping his father, he does so with the help of Jim, who is a runaway slave. In the end, he is saved and is allowed to live with his aunt. However, the dream is Huck being free from his restricted life. He achieves the American dream by escaping from oppression. He heads to the North, which is filled with better opportunities and freedoms. This book shows the American dream as free to live our own lives the way we want to live.

Finally, the American dream is also illustrated in several of John Steinbeck’s novels. In the short novel “Of Mice and Men,” the main characters, George and Lennie, have a dream in which they want to own a farm. These two characters are poor migrant workers who were striving for success during the Great Depression. Steinbeck says it is essential to have dreams in order to live a meaningful life. Lennie remains happy because of their dreams, and George does not become mean or lonely, unlike the other workers at the ranch. Even if the two characters can never reach their dreams, they continue to live happy life until reality comes crashing down.

One of the most iconic novels that deal with the notion of the American dream is Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath.” The story is about the Joad family who was forced to leave their dying farm in Oklahoma, and they decide to move to California in hopes of work. They meet several people who tell them they will not find work there on their way to California. The Joad’s remain hopeful and continue, and when they get to California, they find out how much of a struggle it is to find work. They lose several family members along the way, so there is this idea that they must continue to try in order to justify the journey. At one point, they were doing well enough, but they still had trouble finding work. It is the story of people remaining hopeful of achieving their American dream despite constant struggles and death. In the end, the message is that out of the struggles and death, life can still flourish.



All of these works approach the idea of the American dream differently. However, they all discuss the notion that a person’s dreams are linked with their environment and journeys. Ralph Waldo Emerson says that nature and knowing yourself are connected and will limit what you can achieve in life. Jack London wrote about connecting with your inner-self and the past in order to live in nature, and only then will you be able to thrive. Steinbeck’s works show that it is essential to have a dream and hope that you can achieve it through hard work and perseverance.

Works Cited

Clouse, R. W., Goodin, T., Aniello, J., Stowe, C., & McDowell, N. (2013). Living the american dream: But what is it? (chasing the dream maybe more exciting than living the dream). American Journal of Management, 13(3), 25-38. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1503121053?accountid=458

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. American Scholar, The, edited by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Infomotions, Inc., 2000. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apollolib/detail.action?docID=3314455.

Keshmiri, Fahimeh. "The Disillusionment of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Dreams and Ideals in the Great Gatsby." Theory & Practice in Language Studies, vol. 6, no. 6, June 2016, pp. 1295-1299. EBSCOhost, doi:10.17507/tpls.0606.21.

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Whitehouse Station: Ivy Books, 1989. Print.

Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954.

Tankersley, Talia. "The American Dream. Odyssey. N.p., 16 May 2016. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Twain, Mark. The adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Cape Cod: Peninsula Press, 1996. Print.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Harmondsworth, Middlesex [u.a.: Penguin Books [u.a., 1986. Print.

Review of The White Quail

 Review of The White Quail by John Steinbeck

Read The White Quail here

"The White Quail" was published as a part of Steinbeck's book "The Long Valley". You can buy it here.

I loved John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums", so I was excited to read another short story of his. Like "The Chrysanthemums," the main character of "The White Quail" is a female, which is a nice change of pace since most of his novels and novellas are centered around male characters. This story is about a married couple, Harry and Mary Teller, and Mary's obsession with her garden. Mary had planned her garden long before she even had the property and only agreed to marry Harry after he accepted her plans for the garden. Mary tends to her garden throughout the story, keeping it pristine and not allowing Harry to have any pets. She has dormer windows in her room with an excellent view of the garden. She has her own room and locks it at night to keep out her husband. One day she finds a white quail drinking from her pond and believes it to represent herself. When a cat scares off the birds, she demands Harry poison the cat. Instead, he insists on shooting it with an air gun. However, he decides to shoot the white quail and accidentally kills it.

Unlike the strong female character from "The Chrysanthemums", the main female character in this story is portrayed as having some mental issues. She spends most of her time in the garden and is unwilling to have anything to ruin it. Harry wanted a dog, but she wouldn't let him because it could destroy the garden. A stray cat visits the garden, and she wants Harry to poison it. She had a small pond built in the garden for the birds to drink from, but when there are no birds at first, she becomes upset. Anytime something comes up that might affect her garden, she goes into fits, receives headaches, and Harry has to lie her down in bed until she recovers. At one point, Mary starts imagining herself inside the house from outside the window and talks to herself. When she first sees the white quail, rare, and drinks water away from the other quails, Mary immediately views herself as the quail.

Throughout the story, Harry usually comforts his wife and indulges in her obsession with the garden, often doing as she says, even giving up his idea of having a dog. In the beginning, Harry married Mary mostly because she was beautiful. He repeatedly refers to her as being pretty and is surprised when she oversees the construction of her garden. As the story goes on, it's clear that he starts to resent the garden. At one point, Harry tells Mary that he is afraid of her because, like her garden, Mary becomes more and more untouchable. Every night he checks Mary's bedroom door, and every night it is locked. Early in their marriage, it is mentioned that Mary will let Harry kiss her every time he agrees with her about the garden. Towards the end of the story, Mary insists that Harry kill that cat, and he finally refuses her.

The garden represents their marriage, the quail represents Mary, and the cat represents Harry. The garden is the driving wedge in their marriage. Mary wants it to be untouchable and pristine, which of course, is impossible. Harry wants more out of their relationship, possibly wishing the garden was gone. Mary refers to the quail as her essence, her purity, and beauty. Harry accidentally killing the quail instead of getting rid of the cat is symbolic of him killing Mary instead of him chasing off his desires. The story ends with Harry stating that he is truly alone, in his marriage. The story never addresses Mary's sanity or eccentricities, so we'll never know if she needs mental treatment for her obsession and delusions.

"The White Quail" is a different story from what I've read of Steinbeck. Mary is only similar to the main character of "The Chrysanthemums" in that they both love their gardens. However, "The Chrysanthemums" offers more internal reasoning and desires from the main female character, whereas we only see Mary as it concerns her garden. Probably because her garden is her whole life, but we never understand how she feels about her marriage or husband. It's a unique story more in line with Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" or William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." "The White Quail" doesn't deal with the usual themes of Steinbeck. It's a quick read for anyone, but if you're a Steinbeck fan, I think you'll find it unique to his other works.

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Review of Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

 Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

If you missed my post about the collection of short stories that Amazon put out called Forward, here's the link http://bit.ly/2nh9OeH

If you want to read the collection, it is available for free on AmazonKindle here.

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Another story in the Forward collection from Amazon, Emergency Skin, is an excellent example of science fiction. It combines futurism, space exploration, and environmentalism in a personal and intriguing story. Emergency Skin is about a person from another planet sent on a mission to Earth to retrieve samples of culture cells. What's interesting is that people from this other planet have no skin. Instead, they live in what is called a composite suit. For the mission, the person has artificial intelligence (A.I.) implanted in its head. The main character never speaks, yet we can infer what it says from the interactions with people and its A.I. When it gets to Earth, the A.I. is dumbfounded that Earth is not a wasteland. Instead, Earth is lush and the people thriving by living together in harmony and working together to maintain a balance of resources. When the body starts questioning the A.I., it deploys the emergency skin to blend in with people.

Instead of hate and cruelty, the person finds care and acceptance from the people it finds. One person who takes care of them is an old man, who tells them the story of Earth's destruction, the “founders” fleeing the world, and then the reconstruction of Earth's society. It is revealed that the old man is like the main character. He came from the other world, found the truth, and decided to stay on Earth in the emergency skin. All the while, the A.I. is trying to convince its host body to leave and finish the mission. In the end, the body decides to live on Earth and removes the A.I.

This is a fantastic story with a unique perspective and point of view. We never get to hear the main character, yet we understand how he feels and wants. The use of the A.I. is done brilliantly because it gives reason for exposition and serves as the story's narrator while feeling authentic. As the story progresses, we start to understand better what kind of world the A.I. comes from and the actual plan for the founders. When the host body finds out his whole world has been a lie, he chooses to stay on Earth. This decision is a nice change for the science fiction genre. Instead of having the main character become a hero and go back to his planet to try and enlighten everyone, Jemisin has him stay behind. Partly because he knows that if he goes about knowing the truth, they will kill him.

Like most future-based dystopian science fiction, this story blames the downfall of Earth on environmentalism. However, unlike other vague stories about environmental disasters, this story takes a political stance claiming it was the actions of greedy men that were responsible, as in wealthy people in business that have power. It also is so bold to state that when people remove wealth, they can work together peacefully. Everyone is happy because everyone has what they need to live, no more or less than anyone else. This is a fascinating stance of environmental politics and egalitarianism. It is not a cautionary tale of what could happen with Earth, but rather a tale about how to live if something should happen.

Not every story in the Forward collection is good, but this is the best it has to offer. It's only about an hour-long listen. I read it when I was on my morning walk; I highly recommend listening to this story. And I look forward (no pun intended) to reading more from N.K. Jemisin.

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Review of The Red Pony

 Review of "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

Buy the book here https://amzn.to/3E4vbCt

“The Red Pony” is a four-part story about a young boy named Jody who lives on a ranch with his mother, his father Carl, and ranch hand Billy. This is a coming-of-age story, and each of the four offers a new life lesson for Jody (Sparknotes.com). The stories take place over about two years. Jodi is a typical ten-year-old boy in the country; Jody loves horses and animals and spends lots of time outdoors doing chores and playing games. In the first story, Jody receives a horse and promises his dad to take care of the horse. Ranch hand Billy Buck is seen as a horse expert, so Jody trusts him with the red pony. When the pony gets sick and dies, Jody blames Billy. The lesson he learns is that people can make mistakes and that death is a part of life.

The second story is about an old Hispanic man born on their land ages ago and had to return there to die. The old man goes into the mountains to spend the last days of his life. Jody has always admired the mountains and eagerly asked the man about them. Jody sees it as an adventure and learns that he and his father do not share the same interests in life. He also comes to understand the old man better than he does his father (Sparknotes.com).

The third story is about Jody getting a new horse. His father pays for his mare to get bred with his neighbor's stallion, and Jody will get to raise the colt. Billy tells Jody that it takes a long time to birth a colt, and Jody has to learn patience. When the mare does give birth, there are complications, and Billy has to kill the horse to save the colt. Jody's experience from losing his red pony pays off here, in that while he witnesses the death of a lovely horse, death and brings new life, and he gets a colt to raise.

The last story is about Jody's grandfather coming to visit. Carl complains about the grandfather constantly telling the same stories over and over again. When the grandfather overhears Carl, Carl has to take it back, but the grandfather takes it to heart. Jody admires his grandfather's stories and wishes that he could travel across the plain, trailblazing. His grandfather admits that while he loved his time as the leader of people, taking them across the plains and fighting off native Americans, he has come to terms with the fact that it's over. In the end, he questions what it was all for and where does he go from here. This shows Jody that a life of adventure does not lead to happiness (Sparknotes.com).

A running theme throughout the book is Jody learning that he is different from his father. In the beginning, Jody is a young boy; he's obedient to his father and looks up to him and Billy Buck. As the story goes on, he takes more risks, is exposed to more of the complex and gritty aspects of life, and matures to the point where he realizes his life will not be the same as his father's.

Now that I have read more from John Steinbeck, I have learned that I prefer his shorter stories to his iconic classic “The Grapes of Wrath”. It was a short book to read, and my copy was exactly 100 pages. I enjoyed “In Dubious Battle” and “Of Mice and Men”. I loved his short story “The Chrysanthemums”. This was a different story for Steinbeck to tell, and I enjoyed the coming of age story. There's not much character, and it reminds me more of Steinbeck's novel “Tortilla Flat”. Although I think I like this more than “Tortilla Flat”. This is one of Steinbeck's better novels that I have read. I still have two more stories to read. Next up is his short story “The White Quail” and will conclude with “Cannery Row”.

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Works Cited

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/redpony/section10/

Review of Ark by Veronica Roth

 

Review of Ark by Veronica Roth

If you missed my post about the collection of short stories that Amazon put out called Forward, here's the link http://bit.ly/2nh9OeH

Start your free trial of Audible now

Forward is six short stories, each by a different author. Previously I had only read the short story "Randomize" by Andy Weir. Still, I've decided to read the other five, starting with Veronica Roth's "Ark". When I say read, I technically mean that I listened to it because this collection is available for free on Amazon Kindle. I haven't read anything by Veronica Roth, someday I might get around to the "Divergent" series.

Read the "Forward" Collection here

"Ark" is a story about a young woman who lives in a future where the Earth will be destroyed by an incoming asteroid that scientists have known about for years. The people of Earth have constructed two space ships to take people, animals, and plants to another planet. The main character, Samantha, works for the ark in horticulture to catalog, record, and store specialty plants for preservation. Samantha has lost both of her parents and doesn't really have friends. The only people communicates with are her co-workers in her department. She meets a strange man that knows a lot about planets and has lost his wife. The two enjoy each other's company, mostly talking about plants. The man is going to stay behind after the ships leave Earth. Eventually, Samantha admits that she has made arrangements with her boat to stay behind, claiming she wants to witness the end of the world. Because there is nothing she has to live for, doesn't want to spend her life on the ship. The story also states that whoever stays on the ship will not live long enough to see the new world. The voyage is for a younger generation to colonize a new planet.

The day before the ships are scheduled to launch, Samantha and her co workers are done cataloging plants when Sam challenges each of them to identify one more plant. Samantha finds an orchid but cannot find its exact species. She asks her co-worker to verify the plant, and neither of them can make an accurate match with what they have known on file. Samantha has identified a new species of orchid. She shows it to the old man, excited for the discovery, and then it's implied that she takes the plant with her on the ship, giving up her original plan of staying behind. Because she has found something to live for.

Throughout the story, the orchid flower is used as a symbol. The old man talks about how a rare orchid was his wife's favorite flower and is now his favorite flower. Samantha and the old man have a discussion about what it means to favor something over another. Samantha claims that if you love everything equally, then it is the same as not loving anything. She reasons that our favorites show us what we as people truly value. However, it is not until the end, when she discovers the new species of orchid, that she finds value in life and chooses to live on the ship. The orchid represents love, beauty, and fertility. These three values represent the ideals of saving the human race and hopes of starting a new life on a new planet. Before discovering the new plant, Samantha had no prospects for love and fertility; she had never envisioned a life of marriage and children. This is why she wanted to stay behind and watch Earth be destroyed. The idea of discovering a new species and the orchid itself gives Samantha hope for her future.

This is a good story that tells the emotional journey of Samantha dealing with the death of her parents and the future that she wants for herself. The ending is beautiful, and the characters are all well written. Actress Evan Rachel Wood narrates the story from the show Westworld, and she does a good job capturing the bleakness that Samantha sees in the world. I highly recommend checking out this story as well as the entire Forward collection.

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49680556-ark

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Review of The Birthmark

 Review of "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Read "The Birthmark" here

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a staple of American Literature with his most famous work, "The Scarlet Letter." I have not read that book, nor have I read anything from Hawthorne. So, going into this short story, I had no idea what writing style I would be getting. "The Birthmark" fits in well with other works of its time. It was published in the 1840s and deals with the dark side of science, similar to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." There are even some parallels between the two stories—the manipulation of life as well as servants. The main character Alymer has a disheveled manservant that helps him with experiments calling him "master." Reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein's servant Igor. Aminadab calls out that they should never remove the birthmark. Aminadab is described as physically grotesque, yet his heart proves to be better than Alymer, saying that Georgiana is perfect the way she is, with the birthmark.

This story is about Alymer, a man of science, and his wife, Georgiana, who has a birthmark on her cheek. Alymer calls his wife perfect except for her birthmark. It is described as a tiny red hand. Past lovers tell her it results from a fairy touching her as a baby, implanting particular charms and magic. At first, she thinks that it is a charm. The story asks the question to the reader, is it a beauty mark or a defect? Aylmer becomes obsessed with the birthmark, finding it hideous. His repulsion drives a wedge in his marriage, and Georgiana becomes uncomfortable with the way her husband looks at her. Eventually, she gives in and asks to get the mark removed. Alymer is an arrogant scientist who thinks he can get rid of the birthmark and do better than nature; he plays "god." Aylmer has aspirations of creating an elixir of life. "Aylmer's somber imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of soul or sense, had given him delight."

While this story revolves around a shallow feature, the story is not about the birthmark but Alymer and his issues with perfection and using science to perfect the world around him. Like Dr. Frankenstein, Alymer wishes to "play god" by wanting to create an immortality elixir. His arrogance outweighs his failures, and he is blinded by his ambition to remove the birthmark and create his perfect woman. The notion of perfection becomes a philosophical debate, and sometimes the story becomes too arduous to read.





While Georgiana agrees to have Alymer remove the birthmark, she does it for his happiness, not hers. When this story was written, women were seen as just "the wife" and had no life or ambitions of their own. At least, that is how they were portrayed, so it is not surprising here to see Georgiana risk her life for something so shallow and minuscule. However, it still is hard to read. Even after she knows her husband's experiments fail, she still trusts him with her life and takes the risk of possibly dying at the cost of removing the birthmark. Reading this now in 2020, it seems ridiculous to think a woman would risk dying to remove a minor blemish because her husband does not think she is perfect enough. Even though Georgiana is a poorly written character, which I think is the point, Alymer comes out looking like a terrible person. Hawthorne does not condone Aylmer's actions and thoughts, but he does explore them in a way that allows the audience to understand Aylmer. The decision to have the wife die in the end, I think, was to show that Aylmer was wrong to try and perfect his wife's appearance.

"The Birthmark" is not a story that I particularly enjoyed reading, partially because of Hawthorne's writing style and partly because I found the subject matter uncomfortable and unrelatable. However, I did find one quote that I thought was beautiful was. "So she poured out the liquid music of her voice to quench the thirst of his spirit." It is an excellent metaphor for her singing to Alymer and explains why he might have loved her beyond her birthmark. Knowing that then makes it tragic that he could not overcome the birthmark and love her the way she is, how Aminadab sees her. This story shines a light on the relationships from how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we think others see us. Flaws can be found everywhere if you look hard enough, but we must have the humility to see the flaws within ourselves. Something that Aylmer fails to do.

A lot of older works contain words that aren't used often in today's society, at least not by most commoners. So, here is a list of words that you may not know the definitions of, at least I didn't.

Fastidious- Showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care. Reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude.

Votary- A devoted admirer, a devout or zealous worshipper or a staunch believer or advocate.

Ardent- Characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager, zealous support or activity

Congenial- Agreeably suited to one's nature, tastes, or outlook

Ineffaceably- Not effaceable.

Efface- To eliminate or make indistinct by or as if by wearing away a surface. to cause to vanish.

Recondite- Difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend. of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure.

Remonstrance- An earnest presentation of reasons for opposition or grievance. A document formally stating such points.

Works Cited

http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/125/

“Votary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/votary. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Fastidious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fastidious. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Ardent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ardent. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Congenial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/congenial. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Ineffaceable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ineffaceable. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Efface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efface. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Recondite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recondite. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.

“Remonstrance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remonstrance. Accessed 2 Sep. 2021.