The Ship that Never Reaches Shore Essay Example for Free

The Ship that Never Reaches Shore Essay â€Å"Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time† (Hurston). Men long for things they do not have. Some men get what they long for. Other men never get what they long for. What they dream of having is clear to them, but never attainable. They know that their dreams are unattainable, but still watch the ships that never reach the shore. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is unattainable due to Gatsby’s lack of morality. Additionally, in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is unattainable due to Lennie and Georges’ lack of faith. Furthermore, in the movi, A Raisin in the Sun, the American Dream is unattainable due to the families lack of financial security. Lastly, in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is unattainable due to Willy’s lack of follow through. Overall, these American literature authors show their readers that the American Dream is not attainable to all people. In the first place, in Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is unattainable due to Gatsby’s lack of morality. Gatsby achieves his wealth through criminal activity, which he does to gain wealth for Daisy. Additionally, Gatsby tried to steal Tom’s wife, Daisy, away from him. Not only did Gatsby fail to get the woman of his dreams, but Tom blamed the killing of Wilson’s wife on Gatsby, which resulted in Gatsby’s death. Lastly, he is prepared to take the blame for Daisy driving the car and killing Myrtle. â€Å"Of course I’ll say I was driving† (Fitzgerald 143), he says. This can be seen as a heroic action, but he shows his dishonestly in a legal situation. The love and protection he had over Daisy cost him his life, and the end to pursuing his American Dream. At the end, his dedication to the achievement of wealth which he pursued throughout his life failed because he denied his true roots and his true self. In addition, in Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is not attainable due to Lennie and Georges’ lack of faith. The ranch is full of men who had abandoned their dreams, and spent their pay on temporary pleasure. For example, George blows all the money they had been saving for their ranch to stay all night in cat houses. He lost faith in his dreams right when things slowly started to take a downfall, and as the other men, he turned to temporary pleasure. In addition, Lennie had lost faith in himself when he says, â€Å"Now I won’t get to tend the rabbits† (Steinbeck 85). Lennie thought George was going to be disappointed in him after he found out that he had killed Curley’s wife and the pup. Lennie made a run for it because he lost control, and was disappointed in himself, and was afraid of George’s reaction. Lastly, George had his doubts about getting his own ranch; he knew from the beginning he was not going to achieve it because of Lennie’s illness, and that he had always known in the back of his head that Curley’s wife was going to cause trouble with Lennie, and mess things up. Furthermore, in the movie, A Raisin in the Sun, the American Dream is not attainable due to the family’s lack of financial security. Walter received the money he wanted for his liquor business from his mother; he then gave the money to his â€Å"business partners† to help him get his liquor license and without realizing it, and they had betrayed him. His dream was then deferred. In addition, Ruth’s dream was unattainable because she wanted to be wealthy and have a fine family. When Walter lost the money, she also lost her dream. Lastly, Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor was crushed when she found out Walter did not put any money in the bank for her medical school. â€Å"All the talk about dreams and sunlight that goes on in this house, its all dead now (Raisin), Beneatha said when she gave up hope in her dream of becoming a doctor. Lastly, in Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is not attainable due to Willy’s lack of follow through. â€Å"You can’t raise a carrot in the backyard† (Miller 17), says Willy. His spacious dream house becomes surrounded with new apartments being built around it. The hope of his dream house fades away and the hopes it once stood for. In addition, Willy spent his whole life trying to convince himself and the people around him that he was popular and successful, but when he had died, he didn’t not achieve his illusions because no one showed up to his funeral. Lastly, Willy hopes for a family who has the ability to obtain wealth. He then takes his own life because he believes that his family will be financially secure if he was dead. He hopes for twenty thousand dollars from the insurance policy, but his son Biff does not receive the money because suicide was not covered in the policy. Willy’s lack of follow through had a huge impact on his dreams. In conclusion, these American literature authors show their readers that the American Dream is not attainable to all people. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is unattainable due to Gatsby’s lack of morality. Additionally, in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is unattainable due to Lennie and Georges’ lack of faith. Furthermore, the movie, A Raisin in the Sun, the American Dream is unattainable due to the family’s lack of financial security. Lastly, in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is unattainable due to Willy’s lack of follow through. Society is the blame for people who strive for dreams that are unattainable. From the times we were children, society told us that we can do anything if we set our minds to it but, it is unrealistic and it results to disappointments in those who were told to dream. Works Cited A Raisin in the Sun. Dir. Kenny Leon. Perf. Sean Combs, Sanaa Lathan, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad. Sony Pictures, 2008. DVD. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York; Scribner, 1925. Print. Hurston, Zora. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Trans. ArrayPublishers in 2006. 10 East 53rd Street, New York, Print. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Lit Charts. N. p.. Web. 4 Jun 2013. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York; Penguin Group, 1937.