Great Gatsby's: From Rags to Riches

     Early on in the semester, we wrote about what the American Dream means to us, and the responses were varied and unique. Walter Fisher sums up the differences in the American Dream quite nicely, arguing in his speech, "Reaffirmation and Subversion of the American Dream". He breaks up the American Dream into two, broad interpretations: that there is a materialistic version of the dream, and a moralistic version of the dream, and that the two candidates in the 1972 election represented each aspect of the dream.      Fisher analyzes how Senator McGovern, the candidate viewed as being moralistic, "aroused feelings of guilt, fear, and threat", making him "susceptible to the traditional charges made against such leaders" (163). He claims that all these moralistic leaders fall prey to these claims. Those charges include being seen as "utopian", "radical", and "unrealistic" (163). In short, people weren't buying into his ...

         Whatever circumstances life presents to us, we have to make do and figure things out. People view the American Dream as something that anyone can achieve, no matter what their circumstances. A poor person from a poor family can become wealthy, and that person is respected by our society. A person who is faced with limitations that would be unbearable for most to face, whether they be physical or situational, who overcomes those limitations, is regarded as the ideal American. Having had a lot of physical obstacles in my life (scoliosis, wearing a brace for 7 years, 2 fractured vertebra, 2 sprained ankles, a dilated aorta), I used to think that I deserved good things to happen to me. "Oh, I've had all these things happen to me, I deserve this, I deserve that, etc. etc." No, I don't deserve anything. Yes, these situations are unfortunate, but life sucks sometimes, and you have to make do. When Althen described how "Americans admire people who have overc...