GG vs ARITS

There are many parallels and differences between the American Dreams of both the Great Gatsby and A Raisin in the Sun. Both strongly connect to the American Dream, but in different ways.

Both A Raisin in the Sun and The Great Gatsby have to do with money- whether it be gaining an inordinate amount or just enough to get by. In A Raisin in the Sun, the family’s main concern is having enough money to get by, and to escape the poverty that they live in. This is different in The Great Gatsby- the book is centered on gleaning excess money, and becoming wealthy. Even the poorest characters in The Great Gatsby have a substantial amount of money and are able to buy more than what they need, which is very different from A Raisin in the Sun. They are similar, however, in the fact that both focus on raising social status through monetary gains. This is shown when Gatsby tried to become rich just so he could climb up the social ladder- class differences prevented him from doing almost anything he wanted to do, namely marrying Daisy. 

One difference between the American Dream in the two books is that the Dream in the Great Gatsby focuses on love as well, while A Raisin in the Sun does not have that strong of an emphasis. Gatsby’s dream was to be rich, yes, but he only wanted all of his money and power so he could attract and be with the one he loved. Love is what keeps Gatsby going, not the money that he worked so hard to gain. This is seen somewhat in A Raisin in the Sun, but not as much. While Beneatha did have a love interest, her goals were primarily educational and monetary, unlike Gatsby. 

Education is another part of the American Dream that is different between the two books. In A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha’s primary goal is to get educated and go to school to become a doctor. She is less focused on money, other than the amount it will take to improve her knowledge and education. All that Beneatha wants is to become a smarter and educated person, and to help people when they need medical attention. She takes the steps to achieve this goal when she says that she wants to move to Africa to be a doctor. Education is not as prominent of a theme in the Great Gatsby, while it does show up. An example of this is when it is noted that Gatsby’s books are real, rather than cardboard imitations. While none of the characters value education over money and social status, education is key to getting where they want to be. All of the characters in the Great Gatsby are shown to have gone to college- with huge emphasis on Gatsby being “an Oxford man.” While in A Raisin in the Sun education is seen as being a goal in order to overcome obstacles, in the Great Gatsby it is just for looks.

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