Document Type
Sophomore Award Winner
Award Date
Spring 2013
Course Name
Literary Explorations II
Teacher
Dr. Michael Hancock
Abstract
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology are heralded as some of the greatest insights into human nature in American literature. Both authors ask the reader to scrutinize the actions and emotions of the characters in their books to understand the true meaning behind their double-sided statements. From analyzing the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Lambert Hutchins, the reader can conclude that although they have the inordinate amount of wealth everybody in America works toward, they are dissatisfied, and use their money and aristocratic position to project the exterior of contentment. Fitzgerald and Masters believed ‘the American Dream’ never led to happiness; those who achieved materialistic success never attained fulfillment, but rather struggled to maintain the appearance of it.
Recommended Citation
Nookala, Saraswathi '15, "The Mask of the 'American Dream'" (2013). 2013 Spring Semester. 1.
https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/spring2013/1