r reached his goal. Daisy rejected his love, for fear of losing her social lifestyle and material stability. In the end, Gatsby was killed, pursuing his dream. Fitzgerald shows his opinion of the American Dream through the narrator, Nick. When Nick first moves to West Egg, he desires that material wealth. But near the end of the book, Nick is disgusted by it; he moves home, and no longer desires riches. He wants to become a dreamer, like Gatsby. Gatsby may have died, but Nick realizes that living is trying to attain dreams, not materialistic success. The character Biff in Death of a Salesman has a similar revelation, as Nick did. Biff, at one point, had his future all planned out, to follow in his fathers footsteps. He had a scholarship lined up for the University of Virginia, all he had to do was make up a class he was failing. But, after seeing his father having an affair, Biff never even tried to make up his math class. When Biff saw his father, in bed with another woman, his image of his father was shattered, enough so that he could see who his father truly was. Biff had to reevaluate his life, and he came to a realization; " To devote your life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying. To suffer fifty weeks a year for the sake of a two week vacation, when all you want is to be outdoors"( Death 139). Biff came to the conclusion that humans were not meant to work in pursuit of this economic goal, but were meant to work outside. His father could never accept that, and if Willy had, the story would have had a much different ending. The American Dream has no singular definition, but a multitude of interpretations. Yet, in these two completely different literary works, the authors share the same message; the American Dream should not be a materialistic goal, but a goal in pursuit of true, spiritual happiness. This is shown in both Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and The Gr...
