Joan Didion’s essay “John Wayne: A Love Song,” argues that American Dream is non-existent, and that invincibility is unattainable and even the “ideal man” can be defeated. Didion makes her point by using the character John Wayne, a western movie “star,” who she considered the “ideal man” because of his masculinity, personality, and charm. As a result, she idolizes Wayne because of his charismatic qualities but more importantly because she views him as “perfect.” And by viewing Wayne as “perfect,” Didion makes it seem as if he is the representation of the “American Dream.” She affirms Wayne’s status as the “ideal man” when she states, “although the men I have known had many virtues and have taken me to live in many places I have come to love,
