The American Dream 2 Essay, Research Paper
Thomas Jefferson described the American Dream as life, autonomy, and the chase of felicity. Every individual has a dream and in the three short narratives, The Catbird Seat by James Thurber, Winter Dream by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, the subject is one common American Dream: felicity. The hunt for felicity is found in The Catbird Seat when the chief character Erwin Martin plays an luxuriant stunt to salvage his occupation and dispose of a annoying colleague. In Winter Dreams the effort to happen felicity is found in Dexter Green s attempt to woe Judy Jones, a immature flirtatious adult female of the upper category who is out of his conference. Emily Grierson the chief character of A Rose for Emily was a lady of high position every bit good, but she had an overprotective male parent whom felt she was excessively good for any of the work forces in their town.
When her male parent dies, she mets a adult male and fails in her effort to happen happiness with him. In all three of these narratives the chief characters will fight to carry through their American Dreams.
The chief character of James Thurber s The Catbird Seat, Mr. Erwin Martin, is best described in his foreman s, Mr. Fitwieler s, words Man is fallible, Martin International Relations and Security Network t. ( Pg.602 ) . Mr. Martin is a perfectionist, who has a set agenda he follows mundane, and he enjoys his life that manner. Then a fellow colleague named Mrs. Ulgine Barrows disrupts his felicity. Mrs. Barrows is hired two old ages before and was invariably harassing Mr. Martin with raging expressions such as Are you rupturing up the pea spot? ( Pg. 602 ) and Are you sitting in the Catbird place? ( Pg. 602 ) For about two old ages [ she ] baited him. In the halls, in the lift, even in his ain office ( Pg. 602 ) It had driven Mr. Martin near to distraction from his perfected ways. When Mr. Martin discovers she is be aftering to reorganise his section, he decides to rub [ her ] out ( Pg. 601 ) . He so executes his secret plan in which he would carry through his American Dream. He follows his everyday as usual but after him dinner, he walked to Mrs. Barrows place. He arrives unnoticed and Mrs. Barrows lets him indoors. He sits down, and pulls out a coffin nail, from which he bought a battalion a few yearss earlier. He drank the score Mrs. Barrows pours for him and told her he is traveling to acquire coked to the gills ( Pg. 605 ) and kill their employer, Mr. Fitweiler. This was really uneven behaviour for Mr. Martin because it was good known that he neither drank nor smoke-cured ( Pg. 603 ) . Mrs. Barrows kicks him out of her house and he returns place. The undermentioned twenty-four hours at work Mrs. Barrows came in early and warned Mr. Fitweiler about what had occurred the old dark and he doesn t believe her. Alternatively, Mr. Fitweiler thinks she is insane and fires her. Mr. Martin would carry through his American Dream by happening felicity one time once more.
Unlike Mr. Martin, the chief character of F. Scott Fitzgerald s narrative Winter Dreams, Dexter Green ne’er achieves the felicity he reaches for. Dexter Green is a 14-year-old male child working at a golf class as a caddy, when he meets an 11-year-old miss named J
udy Jones. Dexter is instantly attracted to her. After that twenty-four hours of caddiing for her, he could non halt thought of her. A few old ages subsequently Dexter meets her once more and she invites him to a picnic supper ( Pg. 617 ) . Before traveling to the field day supper she tells him I think I m in love with you. She finally leaves the field day with another adult male. Dexter became tremendously upset and was barely able to be decently civil to the other people present. ( Pg. 617 ) After fighting with the hurting Judy had brought, he subsequently engages Irene Shires. Then he meets Judy at a party, and she says, I wish you d get married me ( Pg. 621 ) . Dexter so breaks his battle with Irene and engages Judy. After non excessively long Judy terminates their battle stating that she did non desire to take him off from Irene. ( Pg. 622 ) He becomes really disquieted and his American Dream would ne’er be accomplished.
In William Faulkner s short narrative A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson s American Dream is to happen felicity and love. She yearns for felicity, because her male parent is really authoritarian and ne’er truly shows her love. He is a baronial adult male in the community of their little town and believes she is excessively good for any of the hapless townsman. The town s people frequently think, she carried her caput [ excessively ] high ( Pg. 512 ) significance she is clannish. After her male parent dies, she is left with nil but the house. The townsfolk said they remember all the immature work forces her male parent had driven away ( Pg. 512 ) and they know she has nil left. Old ages subsequently she meets a adult male named Homer Barron and the townsfolk began to see him and Emily on Sunday Afternoons & # 8230 ; ( Pg. 512 ) together. Not to long after run intoing Homer, Emily asks him to get married her. Homer tells her he is non the marrying type. ( Pg. 513 ) She becomes so disquieted that she decides if he is no traveling to get married her now, she is traveling to do certain he still comforts her. So she buys arsenic from the drug shop and all the townspeople think, she will kill herself ( Pg. 513 ) . After she kills Homer with the arsenous anhydride, she leaves his organic structure in bed and frequently lays following to it. She dies a long clip subsequently as an old, lonely adult female, go forthing her American Dream unfulfilled.
In The Catbird Seat by James Thurber, Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, all three chief characters struggle in their effort to carry through their American Dream. Although merely Mr. Martin of The Catbird Seat finds felicity, they all try to do better for themselves what they can. In The Catbird Seat, the writer portraits Mr. Martin s American Dream by demoing us the mental trouble Mr. Martin goes through everyday at work and how he works to alter that for himself. Dexter Green s American Dream is shown to us by the writer s descriptive usage of the emotional agony, that Dexter must travel through. Emily Greirson ne’er received the true love she desired, but the writer shows utilize how much she wants love when she kills Homer, so that she can be with him dark and twenty-four hours. Most Americans can t carry through their American Dreams, but merely like the characters in these narratives, they try every bit hard as they can.
