An Analysis Of The American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's Winter Dreams

James Truslow Adams once said, "The American Dream is the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." The American Dream, although different for every American, is a personal paradise, to which all aspire. It promises prosperity and self-fulfillment as well as rewards for hard work and self-reliance. In "Winter Dreams," a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist Dexter Green strives to obtain his dream in gaining the status of what he considers to be "elite." This story demonstrates how personal ambition and networking presents an opportunity for success and the achievement of the American Dream. However, life based on materialism alone can be a corruption rather than a fulfillment of the American Dream. Dexter Green has worked as a caddie at the Sherry Island Golf Club since he was fourteen years old to help make connections with the wealthy players for his future as the nouveau riche. His goal to achieve wealth and status affects the way he
One of the ways Dexter tries to strive for an admired status is through Judy Jones. Judy is the epitome of success and is portrayed as the typical American dream; beautiful and charming, but with an ‘ungodliness' in spirit. Fitzgerald states, "Judy Jones, a slender enameled doll in the cloth of gold: gold in a band at her head, gold in two slipper points at her dress's hem." (11) She is conveyed to be a pretty doll. Like a doll, she represents what Dexter wants to see her as; a perfectly illusive beauty. These illusions are found in the American Dream because people choose to only see what they want and refuse to look long term to the effects and consequences of their