Harlem Renaissance And The Great Gatsby

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It has shown that perspectives and ideas change over time, and the American dream is no exception. The subject of the American dream was the rage more in the 1920s than any other era. The Harlem Renaissance, a movement made by African Americans during the 1920s, made all kinds of artistic forms depicting all sides of pursuing the American dream. The Great Gatsby, a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man who chased the American Dream. Through both the poems from the Harlem Renaissance and The Great Gatsby, the American dream is portrayed as being an illusion by showing the sexism, discrimination against African Americans, no support from others, and miscalculations of time. The portrayal of women puts limitations on them for their …show more content…
In the book of The Great Gatsby, we are introduced to Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, and she tells her story of how she met her husband Wilson. In chapter 2 from The Great Gatsby it states, “‘The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it. But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon.’” Myrtle is an example of how women believed to be the only way to achieve their American dream. She lives in the lower class and will try to get with anyone that she sees that will open the doors for her to the upper class. We see that in her case Myrtle thought that Wilson, her now husband, was rich because of the suit he wore but it turned out to be a borrowed outfit. In the quote provided, we can discern her disappointment in finding out about. In “The Heart of a Woman” by Georgia Douglas Johnson it states, “And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars while it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars.” To add context Ms. Johnson is describing the life of women during the

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