American Identity In The Great Gatsby And Nickel And Dimed

A United America America is a unique country; it is defined by its people. Americans are able to, despite their differences, organize and affect change. Although each citizen is unique and has distinctive values, there are certain common ideals despite race or ethnicity that all Americans hold to be true. The American cultural identity is formed through the common ideals of opportunity, rebellion, and passion toward success and independence, more commonly known as the American dream. Since its’ beginning, America has been rebellious. Leading up to the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775, many colonists grew increasingly rebellious against British oppression. One infamous act of rebellion was the Boston Tea Party. Samuel Adams and the Sons …show more content…
These ideals have been especially pertinent in The Great Gatsby and Nickel and Dimed. In The Great Gatsby, the novel depicts the extravagant situations of Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway during the unique era of the 1920s. The novel shows general feelings of rebellion through the love affair of Daisy and Jay Gatsby. Daisy is in a relationship with Tom Buchannan, but she wishes to be with Gatsby instead. Both Gatsby and Daisy take rebellious actions to try and be together. Success is illustrated in the novel through the character of Jay Gatsby. He is incredibly wealthy, handsome, and well liked, if not a mystery to society. He throws many lavish parties that hundreds of people attend, but rarely get to meet him. He is what many men during this time period aspired to be (Fitzgerald). In Nickel and Dimed, journalist, Barbara Ehrenreich constructs an experiment in which she discovers whether or not a human can survive on minimum wage jobs. She works in a variety of positions, including those of a hotel maid, Wal-Mart salesperson, waitress, and a house cleaner. This experiment opened her eyes up to the struggles that many hard working Americans living below the poverty level face. It shows how citizen who work hard and live under the poverty line have a great passion for success, even if it is just to get out of their current financial situation. Throughout her journey as a …show more content…
There are more the 3.2 million people currently living in the United States of America (U.S. and World Population Clock). Each one of these people has different backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs. Although there are countless differences between each of these people, they are united in one specific way. The common denominator of each American is the common cultural identity, formed out of the ideals each citizen believes in. These ideals are what our country was established on, when the Founding Fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence. They are continuously relevant in American society because each citizen values them. They are evident in many pieces of American literature, especially the 1920’s classic, The Great Gatsby and New York Times Bestseller, Nickel and Dimed. American ideals such as opportunity and passion are generously displayed in these works. In The Great Gatsby, passion is portrayed through the relationship of Jay Gatsby and Daisy. In Nickel and Dimed, opportunity is represented through Barbara Ehrenreich’s struggle to survive under the poverty line. These uniquely American values are also exemplified in many different forms. Jazz is a distinctive American form that exhibits the values of rebellion. It reflects the American ideal of rebellion because it had to rebel against the constricting rules of popular music. It erupted out of this conformity and a unique, spectacular,