"Breathing dreams like air..."

1. How would you describe the American Dream?

The American Dream is the idea that wealth and prosperity are within anyone's grasp so long as they work hard enough to obtain it. The American Dream is part of the allure of America, both to Americans and to foreigners, as it promotes this idea that you can come from nothing and with enough hard work end up with everything. This almost magical view of America is embodied by the character of Gatsby, as he came from a poor farmer family and created an entirely new identity and life for himself. However, the reality of the American Dream- in most cases- is that it is no more than a dream. While America loves to consider itself a meritocracy and a land of hope for people of all backgrounds, the reality is that the wealthy typically remain wealthy and the poor typically remain poor. The other side of the American Dream is it encourages the practice of always working today to enjoy wealth in the future, yet in reality life is passing by while you're chasing a dream that can never be reached. Fitzgerald communicates this idea with Gatsby who- despite obtaining great wealth- was never fulfilled as he was always chasing after his dream of being with Daisy.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

To me, wealth is defined as an abundance of something. Whether it be money, property, knowledge, happiness, or whatever else, I think of wealth as having more than enough of a certain thing. The most common association with wealth is having a lot of money, and I think that part of this comes from it being easy to perceive someone as financially wealthy. For example, someone with expensive clothing or jewelry will easily be identified as being wealthy more so than someone who has an abundance of joy, as they are less likely to display their wealth in materialistic ways. In my definition of wealth, Gatsby was of course wealthy in terms of money. However, I would consider him poor in terms of love since he spent the second half of his life chasing after a memory that was rapidly disappearing.

3. What are Americans' attitudes towards wealth and poverty?

I think that all Americans desire to be wealthy in one form or another. The most popular desire, of course, is to be wealthy in terms of money because there is a common idea that money is the source of happiness. I think that many Americans assume that to have more than enough money is equivalent to being content with life, something that we saw to be far from the truth when looking at Gatsby. As we live in a society where money is the driving force for everything, many Americans associate wealth with success. As high school students, we look at individuals with high-paying jobs and automatically see them as examples of success. The idea that wealth is the equivalent to success is so ingrained into our society that we as Americans fear poverty. I think that Americans desire to be financially wealthy so much that we reject anything that does not fit that ideal, and we therefore associate poverty with failure in the same way we see wealth as success. This fear of poverty was displayed by Gatsby, as he was so intent on escaping his poor family that he created an entirely new life and name for himself in order to completely eradicate the ties he held with poverty.

4. What is your attitude towards wealth and poverty?

Personally, I don't see wealth as the source of happiness. I desire a future for myself in which I can live comfortably without having to worry about providing for myself or my family, but I am not possessed by a need to be wealthy. I desire to live a happy life, not one where I waste everyday killing myself with work that doesn't fulfill me just so I can one day live an expensive lifestyle. However, I am guilty of associating positions of wealth with success. I have caught myself looking at massive houses with luxurious cars thinking "I want whatever job THEY have", but then I come back to my realistic desire to just be happy. If it ends up that I'm passionate about a career that makes bank, then that'll be a nice benefit. I feel that poverty can be combated if the wealthy use their abundance of finances to aid. While the American Dream fosters the idea that hard work can bring one out of poverty, the reality is that poverty perpetuates itself the same way wealth does. In order to stop the cycle of poverty, wealthy individuals should offer donations and assistance to those living in poverty in order to help them into a more comfortable lifestyle.