Boats Against the Current
Throughout its history, the American literary tradition is often said to embrace the notion of the American Dream—the belief that anyone, regardless of origin and background can achieve success and prosperity through belief, hard work and determination. The roots of this literary theme can be found as early as the 18th century, with Benjamin Franklin’s “Autobiography” (written in 4 distinct sections between 1771 and 1790). The book follows Franklin’s journey from being the son of a poor candle maker to one of the founding fathers of the United States, epitomising an early definition of the American path to personal fulfilment as well as material success. Over a century later, the establishment of Hollywood in the American West and the creation of the first Western film, ‘The Great Train Robbery’ (1903), inspired an era in which American Dream success stories were mythologised on film, heralded as both an aspirational and realistic goal for the audience. This renewed patriotic fervour inspired a large number of key 20th century texts which also served to compound the deeply rooted myth.
Though the core of the American Dream is seemingly straightforward, several writers sought instead to examine the intricacies and complexities lurking in the underbelly of this gilded promise. F Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ is one of the more prominent examples of literature critiquing this fraudulent notion. While Jay Gatsby’s ascension to financial freedom originated from humble beginnings, his wealth is generated through dubious means, displaying the moral sacrifices one must make to align with ‘The Dream’. Fitzgerald criticised the concept that fulfilment and joy are achieved through wealth, power and social status, demonstrated in one of the most famous images of 20th century literature: the green light. Though Gatsby is, superficially, the picture of everything a man in the 1920s ought to be, his eternal yearning for Daisy is ultimately unfulfilled. Gatsby’s luxurious lifestyle and lavish parties are shown to be empty, concealing his loneliness and lacking any real meaning; though hundreds of people attend his parties, only a small handful attend his funeral. In writing such a tragic end for his eponymous character, Fitzgerald argues that the American dream’s promise of happiness through material earnings is ultimately an illusion.
A question that often arises amongst critics and writers is who the dream applies to. All white Americans, African Americans, American women and First, Second and Third generation Americans all have different interpretations of how the American Dream applies to their lives. Neil Larsen’s ‘Passing’ follows the story of two light-skinned African American women, Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield, who are reunited after years apart in 1920s New York. Clare’s character covertly “passes” as a white woman, having married a racist white man with no knowledge of his wife’s heritage. Irene openly lives her life as an African American woman who values her roots and is thoroughly involved in Harlem’s social life. However, her refound friendship with Clare sparks feelings of envy and insecurity surrounding her race. Larsen exposes racial inequality and the walls preventing African Americans from being able to fully immerse themselves in the promises of prosperity and personal fulfilment. Through the juxtaposition of the two female protagonists, Larsen highlights how the dream is not a universal concept but a selective narrative which predominantly excludes those who do not align with the dominant racial and social norms of the 20th century. Moreover, Larsen’s choice of title suggests that one must erase their true identity in order to pursuit this dream.
Similarly, Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ focuses on the life of a young woman, Esther Greenwood, and her attempts to navigate the societal expectations of femininity and success in 1950s America, ultimately leading her to spiral into a deep depression. Plath laments the limited choices available to women and challenges the conventional ideals of happiness for women at the time, namely getting married, raising children and staying at home. Despite being academically inclined and having an internship in New York, Esther finds no real sense of purpose in the career options available to her, which are constrained by the patriarchal norms of the 1950sdespite the ever-present promise of the American Dream. The image of ‘The Bell Jar’ itself, whilst an apt metaphor for Esther’s depression, is also a striking symbol of the suffocating way in which women are oppressed by societal standards, the very opposite of the pursuit of freedom and opportunity as promised by the American Dream. Instead of being able to pursue a life of liberty and happiness, Esther is placed under a metaphorical glass dome and forced to stifle her true identity, freedom and creativity. It is widely known that Sylvia Plath drew heavily from her own personal life experiences, particularly her struggles with mental illness, depression and the social pressure of being young woman in America. Much like her protagonist, Plath underwent a prestigious internship in New York City in 1953 for ‘Mademoiselle’ magazine, where she was met with the overwhelming pace and social expectations of the city as it was going through a huge period of cultural and economic growth. Her experience in the city left her feeling both disconnected and suffocated by the roles on offer to her, intensifying her alienated state. These real world experiences mirrored the events and emotional landscape of the novel. Though this myth of meritocracy was often sold as universal freedom to all those in search of personal fulfilment and opportunity, it is deeply exclusive. Marginalized groups within society had their promised dream intercepted by persistent racial and gender discrimination, economic disparities and social barriers.
In his 1905 novel, ‘The Jungle’, Upton Sinclair, a political activist whose novels orbited themes of social justice and economic equality, displays a thwarted example of the American Dream. ‘The Jungle’ follows Jurgis Rudkis, who comes to America seeking an opulent lifestyle, only to be met by severe corruption and exploitation in Chicago’s meatpacking industry. Towards the end of the book, Rudkis states during a confrontation that "The great corporation which employed you lied to you and lied to the whole country—from top to bottom it was nothing but one gigantic lie." Although this line is directed at one specific company it is representative of how the system is perpetuating deceit and exploitation as opposed to rewarding hard work and merit, highlighting the magnitude of betrayal of the American Dream, revealed to be simply an illusion for those at the bottom of the economic hierarchy.
Arthur Miller’s ‘The Death of a Salesmen’ famously supports this idea of The Dream being an illusion, further perpetuating Sinclair’s criticisms of it being a betrayal and a broken promise. Miller’s play follows Willy Loman who struggles to come to terms with the reality that he has failed to achieve what he set out to as a younger salesman. Willy’s mental state declines as the play progresses which leads to various domestic conflicts between him, his wife Linda and his two sons Biff and Happy. Loman embodies a traditional view surrounding the dream – that charm, hard work and drive are enough to achieve a good living. Similarly to Rudkis in Sinclair’s novel, Willy, despite a lifetime of effort has been betrayed by the promise of success and wealth. As previously mentioned, Willy’s relentless pursuit of his goal causes severe tension and strain amongst his family. He projects his hope and expectations onto his son Biff in the hope that one day he’ll achieve the success that has avoided his father. The dynamic between the two characters alters as the play goes on which leads to resentment, when Biff, who once stood in awe of his father learns that he has lived a life of self-deception. This displays how The Dream can lead to dysfunctional relationships between family members. This can also be seen by Sylvia Plath’s tragic life story, as she was pressured to be both a celebrated writer and an exemplary mother to her two children by her mother Aurelia. Though her mother supported her writing career, she also expected great success and recognition for her works without shirking her responsibilities as a mother which led to a feeling of immense pressure which greatly affected Plath’s mental wellbeing, ultimately leading to her tragic suicide.
It is interesting to note that many writers’ comment on such socials issues from a sympathetic vantage point as they too have known economic uncertainty and financial vulnerability. Stephen King’s ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ allows the reader to understand the struggles and sacrifices needed to succeed as a writer in modern day America. However, despite outlining the many challenges such a career brings, King also speaks to the profound joy and fulfilment that he gained from writing. From working as a high school English teacher to amassing a net worth of $400 million one could argue that he provides a perfect example of how sheer determination can take one from being financially unstable to being exceptionally wealthy. In similar fashion to protagonists and novelists previously mentioned, King discusses his own battles with depression, anxiety and alcoholism in the early years of his writing career which could have derailed his success. An earlier example of an author whose work embodies the ideals of the American Dream is Horatio Alger Jr who wrote ‘Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks’ which follows the life of Richard Hunter, a poor, orphaned boy who has been employed as a shoeshine ‘bootblack’. The protagonist dreams of achieving something more significant than his life of poverty, spending his nights on the streets or in cheap lodging houses. By the end of the novel Dick attains a more stable and promising lifestyle. He is hired as a clerk in a counting house giving him financial stability and earning the trust of those around him, symbolizing to an extent a successful example of The American Dream.
America has long-since been a much fabled promised land, a land of milk and honey where you can go to make your fortune. From the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, cries of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness became synonymous with the United States, compounded by the excitement of the Gold Rush, the rise of industry magnates such as Rockefeller and Vanderbilt and the burgeoning film industry in Hollywood where glitz, glamour and wealth seemed to ooze from every film set. Such happenings lent a gold sheen to the seemingly concrete promise of the American Dream, one perpetuated by the US government and huge corporations keen to keep their workers under their thumbs, assuring them that the years of small pay and unfair working conditions were just the start of what would be a journey to a bright and prosperous future. Is it perhaps no surprise that such a plethora of writers sought to critique these fraudulent promises, particularly in the 20th Century. In a time of tumultuous societal change, crises such as the Great Depression, two World Wars and the widening disparity between rich and poor should have made the illusion of the American Dream waver, yet it continued to be an integral part of American culture, at the detriment of those at the fringes of society. Even today, the promise holds strong with politicians such as Donald Trump including enthusiastic mentions of it in both his presidential campaigns. Although much of the literature that criticises the American Dream can cumulatively create a nihilistic impression of the American socio-cultural, one might instead seek to extract a more constructive meaning from all the gloom. Perhaps the message to be gleaned from the aforementioned criticisms is that life should not be a continual grind towards material wealth and status but rather an effort to strive, above all else, for contentment and personal fulfilment: the true pursuit of happiness. Ultimately, such writing can be construed as a warning against poisoning oneself with material greed and ignoring, when possible, all the sound and fury of the American capitalist machine; in other words, in a world of would-be Gatsby’s, be a Nick.