Early in twentieth century, American social class separation was possibly greater than it has ever been. There were neighborhoods in New York flushed with so much money that the inhabitants could never work another day in their life and still live the rest of their lives with more money than others could ever dream of. On the other hand, immigrants coming to the United States from eastern European countries struggled to earn enough money to support their next meal, let alone a place to sleep. Two authors have captured this phenomenon in their novels about the pursuit about the American Dream. These authors; F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of the The Great Gatsby and Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle show very different versions of America in
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In this part of the story, Tom and his mistress Myrtle are arguing with each other while in the presence of Nick when Myrtle shouts Tom’s wife’s name repeatedly. Tom responds to this by doing the following. “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. Then there were bloody towels upon the bathroom floor, and women’s voices scolding, and high over the confusion a long broken wail of pain“ (Fitzgerald 37). While Tom does love his wife Daisy, he gets distracted by another woman, that woman being Myrtle. Their relationship epitomizes the lust for more than what people currently have. Tom’s actions of abusing Myrtle are obviously not moral, and embody just how astray the American Dream can lead people. The pursuit of characters in The Great Gatsby to achieve the American dream is expressed in Novels for Students. In the same article as previously quoted, they explain the …show more content…
At this point in the story, Jurgis has lost everything that he once loved in his attempt to live a prosperous life in America. Through bad fortune he ended up with nothing and no one but his criminal counterpart, Jack Duane. They go out one night and find a man they think they can rob. As they approach, "Jurgis leaped forward and shoved a revolver under his nose, while Duane, with his hat pulled over his eyes, went through the man's pockets with lightning fingers" (Sinclair 272). Though Jurgis needs all the money he can get to survive, he surely does not need to resort to a life of crime the way he did. With nothing left to hope for, a beaten down and spit out Jurgis gives up on his will to be moral and takes whatever he can get his hands on. This defiance of moral values left Jurgis with much more material value than he previously had. In fact, according to the article by Novels for Students, "Jurgis is richer than ever, thanks to his life of crime" ("The Jungle" 156). The riches that Jurgis has acquired suit him well in the short term but things quickly change. He does not value material wealth over what he had with his wife and family so he is left with a gaping hole in his life. Sinclair includes this in his story in order to assert his position that by losing
In this part of the story, Tom and his mistress Myrtle are arguing with each other while in the presence of Nick when Myrtle shouts Tom’s wife’s name repeatedly. Tom responds to this by doing the following. “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. Then there were bloody towels upon the bathroom floor, and women’s voices scolding, and high over the confusion a long broken wail of pain“ (Fitzgerald 37). While Tom does love his wife Daisy, he gets distracted by another woman, that woman being Myrtle. Their relationship epitomizes the lust for more than what people currently have. Tom’s actions of abusing Myrtle are obviously not moral, and embody just how astray the American Dream can lead people. The pursuit of characters in The Great Gatsby to achieve the American dream is expressed in Novels for Students. In the same article as previously quoted, they explain the …show more content…
At this point in the story, Jurgis has lost everything that he once loved in his attempt to live a prosperous life in America. Through bad fortune he ended up with nothing and no one but his criminal counterpart, Jack Duane. They go out one night and find a man they think they can rob. As they approach, "Jurgis leaped forward and shoved a revolver under his nose, while Duane, with his hat pulled over his eyes, went through the man's pockets with lightning fingers" (Sinclair 272). Though Jurgis needs all the money he can get to survive, he surely does not need to resort to a life of crime the way he did. With nothing left to hope for, a beaten down and spit out Jurgis gives up on his will to be moral and takes whatever he can get his hands on. This defiance of moral values left Jurgis with much more material value than he previously had. In fact, according to the article by Novels for Students, "Jurgis is richer than ever, thanks to his life of crime" ("The Jungle" 156). The riches that Jurgis has acquired suit him well in the short term but things quickly change. He does not value material wealth over what he had with his wife and family so he is left with a gaping hole in his life. Sinclair includes this in his story in order to assert his position that by losing