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Noah McKemy

Miss McGinnis

Honors American Literature

20 April 2016

The Corruption of the American Dream

The establishment of the United States of America marked the beginning of an era of

change. The new Republic radically altered the worldviews of the people it came into contact

with. People under the democratic government gained a sense of freedom and self worth

unknown in the rest of the world. From this new mindset, there emerged an idea that people in

any position in life could strive for greatness and improve their status. This idea became known

as the American Dream. The American Dream would change drastically as the years went on,

which is shown through different American works such as Benjamin Franklins Autobiography,

Willa Cathers My Antonia, and F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. The pursuit of happiness,

otherwise known as the American Dream, was once an idealistic goal of moral growth and

personal accomplishment, but was corrupted over time into a

materialistic ideal of obtaining wealth in order to achieve status.

The American Dream emerged from the Enlightenment principles that America and the

Revolution were founded on. The experiences of Americans in the New World set them apart

from aristocratic England, and gave them new views about humanity and the role of the

individual in the world. Democratic American ideals of independence, freedom, and opportunity

for all were the foundation of what would later be called the American Dream. The

cornerstone principles of the American Dream can be seen in Benjamin Franklins

Autobiography.
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Benjamin Franklins view of the American Dream was influenced by earlier literature that

spoke of a man improving his position in life (Lemay, n.p.). Lemay argues that these early works

stress the possible rise of the common man by industry and frugality (Lemay, n.p.). Franklins

Autobiography is focused on the personal development of manly virtues and good habits in order

to advance oneself in society rather than the acquisition of wealth simply to advance oneself. The

Autobiography recounts Franklins own quest to establish himself in life. Franklin writes, It was

about this time I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished

to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural

inclination, custom, or company might lead me into (Franklin 101). The American Dream that

Benjamin Franklin was hoping to achieve was based on internal factors of morality and

character. Franklin wished to create a society where a man was free to advance himself in society

through his own efforts, regardless of his family or upbringing. While it is true that Benjamin

Franklins efforts to develop himself resulted in his acquisition of wealth, the riches he earned

were secondary to his mission for personal growth. This is shown when Lemay writes, But the

Autobiography, as every reader knows, is not primarily about Franklins economic rise. At best,

this is a minor subject.When he refers to it, he generally does so for a number of reasons, nearly

all of which are as important as the fact of his wealth (Lemay, n.p.). Franklin did not view the

American Dream as merely obtaining financial wealth, but rather he viewed it as a continuous

process of obtaining mental and spiritual wealth. When talking about the book, Lemay writes

that, the major subject is public business, not private wealth. The rags to riches definition of the

American Dream is a minor aspect of the American Dream theme in Franklins Autobiography

(Lemay n.p.). The Enlightenment view of the American Dream held by Franklin would differ
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significantly from later generations of Americans who focused more on the financial aspect of

the American Dream.

As time went on, America matured and grew larger in size and prosperity as Americans

journeyed ever further West. The perception of the American Dream became more materialistic

as America expanded and new generations of Americans were born in or immigrated to the

United States. While some of the moral aspects of the American Dream persisted, the waves of

immigrants to America began to shift the focus of the American Dream to the idea that anyone

was able to achieve financial success. The novel My Antonia, by Willa Cather, illustrates the idea

of the Western pioneers struggling to survive and thrive in a harsh environment, and the

consequences for those who do end up obtaining wealth and success (Miller n.p.).

The character Jim Burden is one example from My Antonia of a man who works hard and

elevates his position in life, becoming a successful lawyer in the East for a railroad company.

The wealth and status that Jim acquires has not made him truly happy, and he often longs for a

return for his earlier days in the West.

Miller illustrates Jims predicament, writing:

Jim has all the appearances of one who has lived the American Dream and achieved

fulfillment. But the material fulfillment has not brought the happiness promised. The

entire novel is suffused with his melancholy at the loss of something precious

something that existed back in the hard times, now lost amidst comfort and wealth

(Miller n.p.).

Jim, like most Americans of the time period, suffers from the corrupt perception of the American

Dream that if he is able to attain wealth, he will be happy. Jim sacrifices a part of himself in the

pursuit of this goal when he marries a woman he does not love because it strengthens his career.
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Miller writes, Jim looking back from the wisdom of his later years and the unhappiness of his

meaningless marriage can come to a much sharper awareness of precisely what he missed in his

ambitious movement eastward and upward (Miller n.p.).Throughout Jims life, he devotes

himself to his dream of accomplishing something and being successful. His devotion inspires

him to work harder than many others his age, but it also isolates him as he begins to ignore other

relationships in his life. Jim falls short of the original ideals of the American Dream that

Benjamin Franklin wrote about because he is more focused on materialistic goals than living a

virtuous life and helping those around him.

By the 1920s, America had risen to be one of the most prosperous nations on Earth,

although its wealth was unequally distributed. The Roaring Twenties was an era of lost morality

and greater social freedom that would further corrupt the original view of the American Dream.

This corrupt view is clearly shown in F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby.

Unlike Jim Burden, the character Jay Gatsby did not gain his wealth through extreme

studiousness and perseverance, but rather through less than legal means. Barbara Will writes

about Gatsby, saying, For if Gatsby ultimately represents a glorified version of us, then he

does so only if we forget that he is for most of the novel a force of corruption: a criminal, a

bootlegger, and an adulterer (Will 126). That a man like this is the protagonist of The Great

Gatsby illustrates the shift in perspective on what it means to be successful in American society.

In this time period there were many rags to riches success stories about someone who started

life in the lowest classes and built himself up into a powerful and wealthy man. These stories

inspired many 1920s Americans to strive for greatness by achieving wealth. As the Great

Gatsby demonstrates, many people attempted to gain wealth through illegitimate means.

Benjamin Franklins ideal of a man using virtue and hard work to advance himself was
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abandoned in favor of the principle that those who have wealth and power can make the rules

and dont need to worry about morality. While the American Dream had significantly changed

since the foundation of America, some traces of the original idea remained. For instance, the

American Dream of the 1920s is still dependent on the freedoms of society found in Americas

social system (Verderame n.p.). One author writes, Gatsbys ability to reinvent himself comes

from his belief in the American dream: He embraces the economic opportunities afforded to him

by a nation based on a free-enterprise system. Further, he welcomes the idea of a fluid society

one in which individuals enjoy the opportunity to succeed financially (Verderame n.p.).

Gatsbys goal of recreating himself and improving his position in a democratic society are

similar to Franklins and Cathers views to some degree. However, the man Gatsby turns into is

less of a virtuous champion and more of a fraud whose entire persona is surrounded in lies and

underhanded dealings.

In conclusion, the American Dream began with ideals as lofty as the democratic

principles of the Founding Fathers, but changing American values would warp the American

Dream into a worldly pursuit of wealth and power. While its true that the American Dream has

fallen prey to greed, there is still hope. The democracy that was the basis for this nation and for

the Dream still exists, and with it remains the possibility for the renewal of a stronger and purer

American Dream.

Works Cited

Franklin, Benjamin. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Google Books. Houghton,


Mifflin and Company, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.

Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." In The Renaissance Man
in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978.
Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream" in Bloom, Harold, ed. The
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American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009.
Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 10 Apr. 2016

Miller, James E., Jr. "My ntonia and the American Dream." Prairie Schooner 48.2 (Summer
1974): 112-123. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 1.
Detroit: Gale, 1978. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

Verderame, Carla. "The American dream in The Great Gatsby." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed.
Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literature.
Facts On File, Inc. Web. 12 Apr. 2016

Will, Barbara. ""The Great Gatsby" and the Obscene Word." The Johns Hopkins University
Press, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.

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