The American Dream aspects that are displayed among the characters of "Great Gatsby" are mostly reflected in corresponding characters in "A Raisin in the Sun". The characters of course come from very different social and economic backgrounds, but they often have very similar principles and dreams. The most prominent example of this correlation are the similarities between Gatsby and Walter. Another is the similarity between Daisy and Ruth. A less strong, but still present example is the common goals of Beneatha and Ms. Wilson. Gatsby and Walter share the desire to become wealthy, Gatsby seeks it to make Daisy fall in love with him and to achieve luxurious and fantastic lifestyle after his relatively deprived childhood. Walter also had a poor childhood, made worse by the fact that he grew up as a black child during the Great Depression, and was subject to racism and poverty. Walter desires wealth simply to be rich and own lots of fancy and opulent items. Walter doesn't seem to have a really important motive besides simply amassing wealth to become like "a rich white man".
While I don't have exact quotes I can remember a part in "A Raisin in the Sun" where Walter was speaking to Travis about his dreams. He tells Travis that he can do anything he wants and that Walter will help him achieve anything. Walter basically goes on a rant of all the amazing and luxurious things he will own and get once he gets rich. I don't remember the exact words, but it was a really resounding quote to me, because it seemed to me that Walter was sort of deluded and crazy with his obsession over wealth. It seemed as though Walter expected he was going to get rich, without really seeing reality or having a plan. Once he became rich it would solve all his problems magically. I felt the same way about Gatsby's dreams of wealth and love. Gatsby seeks wealth as a means to impress and woo over Daisy, to make her think he is a stunning gentleman. Gatsby chases Daisy for his whole life, living a delusional life believing he can get her no matter what, as long as he is wealthy. The insane dreams of Gatsby and Walter are very similar, as they both pursue impossible dreams.
Another important example is the comparison between Ruth and Daisy. Both are wives to troubled men and upset with how their marriages have turned out. The women seek love and a "happy family" but find that their convoluted family life often draws them away from their husbands. Ruth wants to care for Travis and her new baby. Most of all she wants Walter to return to normal and love her again, to restore their broken love. Meanwhile, Daisy seeks the true love of Tom and wants him to leave the Ms. Wilson and actually care about her for who she is. In desperate efforts to get the love both women do things that upset their husbands and it leads to conflicts about the actions of both groups. It seems the dream of both Daisy and Ruth is to be loved, and love, and to raise their families the right way. They seem to feel like their children are being hurt and are in danger because of their father's bad actions. Like Daisy's daughter who is shunned by Tom, and Travis being fooled and hurt by Walter's promises.
Ultimately the Dreams of the characters in both stories are paralleled between similar characters with similar characteristics. Despite their different backgrounds, it seems that people often have the same dreams and ideas, like everyone seeks the same goals.
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