During the 1920s everyone was chasing the same illusion, the American dream which is an idea held by many united states of America that through hard work, courage and determination can achieve prosperity. Fitzgerald uses this illusion in all four texts, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button which is a film inspired by Fitzgerald’s text but is directed by David Fincher, The Great Gatsby which is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Winter Dreams and The Jelly Bean which are both short stories from Fitzgerald as well. Throughout these storeys, characters are chasing the unrealistic concept of achieving the American dream. In these novels, short stories and films, Fitzgerald expresses the American dream as an illusion as everyone is chasing this life of being wealthy but really they will never be satisfied with what they have because the American dream entails always striving for something more than what we already have in which is shown in all four texts.
The curious case of benjamin button
The curious case of benjamin button is a film inspired by Fitzgerald’s text, it shows how many people back in the 1920s were chasing this unrealistic lifestyle of completing the American dream. Despite Benjamin being different and living life backwards, this did not stop him from joining the trend of wanting to be a wealthy man with a beautiful woman. Even though benjamin was an old man at a young age he decided to make the most out of his life by working on a tug boat as working hard leads to the completion of the American dream. “I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” This quote was said at the end of the film and shows how benjamin always strived for the American dream as he did have a disadvantage of living life backwards. The American dream was not just about being a wealthy man but also about having a beautiful woman and family. Benjamin fell in love with Daisy who was the obvious character in this film that thought that the American dream was attainable as she goes to New York (the place to go to make all dreams a reality) to become a professional ballet dancer and eventually performs on stage, achieving her own American dream.
The Great Gatsby
The novel of the great gatsby is a critique of the American dream, as no character was ever satisfied with what they already had. Gatsby was not always a wealthy man ended up cheating his way to achieving this American dream as he got most of his money from illegal businesses such as bootlegging.
Hi Anna,
It appears that you still have a lot of work left to do on this piece. Make sure you ask any questions that you need to in order to feel in control of this assessment.
You have selected a strong connecting idea and from your introduction, I can tell that you have a good understanding of what the American Dream is and how we can interpret it as an illusion created by society.
Keep building your paragraphs. Look back that the task and the planning guide to help you structure these. Remember, we need to know what is so significant about the feature you have selected- why should we take notice of it? What can the audience gain from the way it is presented in each text?
Ensure that you do not get caught up in explaining the plot of the story- you do not need to. Your explanation of the key quotes you have selected is more valuable. You should give context to your quotes but not explain the storyline behind in in too much detail.
Mrs. P