The American Dream is commonly correlated to people’s social class. Both Langston Hughes and F. Scott Fitzgerald share the perspective of social class connecting to the American Dream and expressed this in their writing. The specific use of incorporating characters of high social status that have the American Dream versus everyone else who works towards the dream but never obtains it is a common thread between both writers. Specifically in Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Nick and Gatsby are conversating about Tom and Daisy as well as their marriage, and before Nick leaves he turns around after remembering something: “They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” (Fitzgerald, ch.
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Langston Hughes and F. Scott Fitzgerald both viewed the American Dream similarly, however who could obtain the American Dream differed among the two. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, racial difference is looked at more closely than class difference in reference to the American Dream. All the characters in the book are white so there is no apparent differentiation in race for the readers to see, yet if you take a close look at Tom and Gatsby, the difference is laid out. Tom is about thirty years old, has a very muscular build, and extremely racist. Tom feels that whites are superior and it is his duty to stop any submergence of his race. Now to Tom, Gatsby is profiled as racially black because Tom saw through Gatsby’s facade of being of higher stature in the past. Explicitly this differentiation is clearly seen when Gatsby and Tom encounter a confrontation with one another, and Daisy tries to ease Tom from causing a scene. Tom is bothered by Daisy’s statement and …show more content…
Nobody from Nowhere because of Gatsby’s socioeconomic background, in which he racially separates him from the ‘white’ upper class. In this way Tom sees Gatsby as a threat because African Americans were of the utmost harm to white civilization, and since Tom sees Gatsby as not fully white he gains justification as to the threat Gatsby holds. Tom is also very bias due to the fact that Gatsby and Daisy love one another and is clearly bothered when he includes the line of Gatsby making love to his wife. Tom’s American Dream is easily understood and can lead one to infer that he sees the dream as only attainable to the white civilization. His comment of intermarriage between black and white resembles his strong opinion of white supremacy and uses the comment to back up what he says because the idea seems so absurd that what he is believes about race must be right. However, in Langston Hughes’s short story “One Christmas Eve” racial difference is expressed more clearly through the use of a white wealthy family and an African American woman and son. Like Fitzgerald, Hughes’s story holds to the idea that the white civilization is supreme, but he puts a twist on his perspective on the probability of who can obtain the American Dream. His view is clearly shown when Arcie and her son are shopping downtown and her son, Joe, encounters a bad experience with Santa: “Huh! That wasn’t no Santa Claus,” Arcie explained. “If it was, he wouldn’t a-treated you like
Langston Hughes and F. Scott Fitzgerald both viewed the American Dream similarly, however who could obtain the American Dream differed among the two. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, racial difference is looked at more closely than class difference in reference to the American Dream. All the characters in the book are white so there is no apparent differentiation in race for the readers to see, yet if you take a close look at Tom and Gatsby, the difference is laid out. Tom is about thirty years old, has a very muscular build, and extremely racist. Tom feels that whites are superior and it is his duty to stop any submergence of his race. Now to Tom, Gatsby is profiled as racially black because Tom saw through Gatsby’s facade of being of higher stature in the past. Explicitly this differentiation is clearly seen when Gatsby and Tom encounter a confrontation with one another, and Daisy tries to ease Tom from causing a scene. Tom is bothered by Daisy’s statement and …show more content…
Nobody from Nowhere because of Gatsby’s socioeconomic background, in which he racially separates him from the ‘white’ upper class. In this way Tom sees Gatsby as a threat because African Americans were of the utmost harm to white civilization, and since Tom sees Gatsby as not fully white he gains justification as to the threat Gatsby holds. Tom is also very bias due to the fact that Gatsby and Daisy love one another and is clearly bothered when he includes the line of Gatsby making love to his wife. Tom’s American Dream is easily understood and can lead one to infer that he sees the dream as only attainable to the white civilization. His comment of intermarriage between black and white resembles his strong opinion of white supremacy and uses the comment to back up what he says because the idea seems so absurd that what he is believes about race must be right. However, in Langston Hughes’s short story “One Christmas Eve” racial difference is expressed more clearly through the use of a white wealthy family and an African American woman and son. Like Fitzgerald, Hughes’s story holds to the idea that the white civilization is supreme, but he puts a twist on his perspective on the probability of who can obtain the American Dream. His view is clearly shown when Arcie and her son are shopping downtown and her son, Joe, encounters a bad experience with Santa: “Huh! That wasn’t no Santa Claus,” Arcie explained. “If it was, he wouldn’t a-treated you like