The Great Gatsby vs of Mice and Men
The American Dream is an idea that many Americans share and have faith in, but it can be used as a false promise of success. This notion is explored through the texts The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men written by F.Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck respectively. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1926. The novel is set in the summer of 1922 and follows the life of Jay Gatsby who tries to get the love of his life back, Daisy Buchanan, through his wealth and social status. Of Mice and Men follows the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small who are migrant farm workers. Lennie is mentally incapable but George is there to protect him. They both share a dream of one day owning a farm together. The authors have constructed the setting, characters and conflict in their novels to develop an understanding of the idea of the American Dream and the culture of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. After recovering from World War One which had ended in 1918, America was enjoying the wealth and prosperity achieved through the economic boom. People greatly valued materialism, hedonism and partying. This period of time is most commonly known as ‘The Roaring Twenties’. But with the prosperity of the 1920s came the downfall of the American economy, the Wall Street Crash of 1929. There were many causes for the stock market crash but some of the main causes were people buying stocks through loans which caused the value of the stocks to decrease and overproduction of goods which lead to a loss of profit. Overproduction heavily influenced the farming industry as there were too many crops to sell which had decreased its value. The situation had gotten worst when America was hit by a drought which resulted in many farmers migrating to find work. The original, uncorrupted American Dream was the idea that hard work would lead to happiness and success. In the 1920s, most people had envisioned that the American Dream is only a promise of wealth and prosperity. the American