INT E RMEDIATE IRP P R I ZE W I N N ER
By Maisie Greener
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n July 4th 1776, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson constructed the Declaration of Independence. He wrote: “All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This promise of opportunity, rooted in The Land of the Free’s history, presents the third U.S President as the architect of the American Dream, whose visions were the foundations from which democracy could grow. 155 years later, the American historian James Truslow Adams elucidated the ideology, coining the phrase ‘American Dream’ in his book ‘The Epic of America’ in which he wrote “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability of achievement.” Martin Luther King Jr also continued the definition in his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’, writing: “We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.” This new backdrop of the civil rights movement entrenched African-Americans’ pursuit of equality in the cornerstone of American society.
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For my research project, I looked at: ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck, as despite the varying socioeconomic contexts, one similarity amalgamates these four pieces of literature about the Dream: the fact it is not shown as being achievable. This, in turn, has arguably killed the American Dream. Arthur Miller’s most-celebrated play, ‘Death of a Salesman’, is constantly called upon by critics when exploring the unattainability of the American Dream. Set in the late 1940s, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning drama not only incorporates the American Dream, but other contemporary views. For example, continuing your parents’ aspirations and learning from past mistakes. In the play, Willy Loman becomes so consumed with the need to have success and money, that he overlooks the love his sons and wife have for him. In this way, Willy loses sight of the original American Dream: the opportunity and right to be happy. Throughout the play, Willy insists that charm will grant him success, as opposed to hard work and skill, as illustrated in: “And they know me, boys, they know me
