"Indifferent Proximity?"
"Did you ever see an amusement park?"
"No, Father."
"Well, go and see an amusement park." The priest waved his hand vaguely. "It's like a fair, only much more glittering. Go to one at night and stand a little way off from it in a dark place- under dark trees. You'll see a big wheel made of lights turning in the air, and a long slide shooting boats down into the water. A band playing somewhere, and a smell of peanuts-and everything will twinkle. But it won't remind you of anything you see. It will all just hang out there in the night like a colored balloon-like a big yellow lantern on a pole." Father Schwartz frowned as he suddenely thought of something. "But don't get up close," he warned Rudolph, " because if you do you'll only feel the heat and the sweat and the life."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Absolution
What does the aformentioned passage imply about the "American Dream", and what is your reaction to this possible modernist (pgs. 523-536 in Am. Lit. text) commentary? Please comment and incorporate specific references to lines from the passage, Winter Dreams, and The Great Gatsby. (Due By 2:30p.m. On Friday, April. 12th.)
"No, Father."
"Well, go and see an amusement park." The priest waved his hand vaguely. "It's like a fair, only much more glittering. Go to one at night and stand a little way off from it in a dark place- under dark trees. You'll see a big wheel made of lights turning in the air, and a long slide shooting boats down into the water. A band playing somewhere, and a smell of peanuts-and everything will twinkle. But it won't remind you of anything you see. It will all just hang out there in the night like a colored balloon-like a big yellow lantern on a pole." Father Schwartz frowned as he suddenely thought of something. "But don't get up close," he warned Rudolph, " because if you do you'll only feel the heat and the sweat and the life."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Absolution
What does the aformentioned passage imply about the "American Dream", and what is your reaction to this possible modernist (pgs. 523-536 in Am. Lit. text) commentary? Please comment and incorporate specific references to lines from the passage, Winter Dreams, and The Great Gatsby. (Due By 2:30p.m. On Friday, April. 12th.)
posted by Greg T at Friday, April 12, 2013
22 Comments:
The passage compares the American Dream to a carnival. Carnivals may look like fun from a distance, but once you get close up to it you realize that it is not what you imagined. It is long, boring, worn down, and not fun in general. This is like the American Dream. The dream may seem good from a far, but up close and personal it is very hard to achieve and get. When you get down to the nitty gritty, the American Dream may not be worth getting. Like that carnival ticket, is it really wroth purchasing? Is the American Dream really worth achieving?
This quote has a very deep relation ship with the American Dream. In that as long as you have a dream it will always be glorious, but the second that you reach that dream it won't be as glorious as you first thought. This is because once you reach your current dream you will instantly have a brand new one that you want to achieve. Humans will always want to better themselves, but once they reach one goal or dream they will want even more.
The passage implies that the American Dream is big and bright and it looks appealing from a distance. But once you get up close and see how people have had to fight their way to attain their dreams, the Dream becomes less appealing. Like in Winter Dreams, Dexter's dream was Judy, but the process of trying to get her was long and hard and in the end, it lasted for a month. So this would make his dream unappealing even though it seemed beautiful at a distance.
This comment about the American Dream implies that the American Dream may seem perfect from afar, but up close the Dream may not be so perfect. In the modern world we strive to better ourselves through education and experiences. Ultimately, in the end, the main goal is to be a success. Many people define success differently, but most hope to live in a big home with beautiful cars and a family. Although being rich may seem perfect, according to this quote, it may not be so perfect. This quote is telling us to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
I think this passage is saying that when a person goes for their American Dream that it won't turn out the way they want it to go. Everyone thinks about their plans for the future and how amazing it will be. Although when you start to reacch your dream it turns out to be not how you planned it to be.
The quote relates to the american dream by stating that from a distance it holds intrigue and hope yet up close we see the human aspects and flaws. The american dream is an idea and although can be very prosperous and enduring the realistic elements can be much harsher. It all lies in the eye of the beholder.
I think this implies that the American Dream is something that is longed for by everybody. When the preist tells the boy about the ominous glow in the distance but not to get too close, its because he thinks it will harm him. Maybe it is harmful living in modern America. Gatsby has an empty life for a while thinking he is living the American dream when in reality he had an empty life. Its important to be careful and keep your distance.
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The American dream is much like the amusement park that Fitzgerald describes in one of his texts. From far away it has great promise and seems romantic, until you achieve it. In reality it is an empty dream or even an illusion. I agree with this to a degree because I have experienced it off hand with family members. The rich seem bitter and the middle are content.
The quote relates to the american dream by stating that from a distance it holds intrigue and hope yet up close we see the human aspects and flaws. The american dream is an idea and although can be very prosperous and enduring the realistic elements can be much harsher. It all lies in the eye of the beholder.
This quote is telling us that we can reach our American Dream, but we cannot have it within our grasp because problems may occur. In "The Great Gatsby", Gatsby tries to achieve his dream, but it is crushed when a problem of Mrs. Wilson's death. Mr. Wilson seemed to have anger that emerged with the help of Tom so Daisy could not marry/choose Gatsby over him. In "Winter Dreams" Dexter, the caddie, wanted to marry Judy Jones, but when they broke up it hurt his heart so much that when she intervened again, he did not want to marry her cause of all the pain he had with the long amount of years she left him. These examples both show along with the quote that if we try to gain our American dream, we fall apart and do not really achieve it.
This passage basically states that everything looks good from afar but it doesn't reach the same expectations once you get a different perspective on it. This resembles the American Dream because someone who lives a successful life full of excitement might look overwhelming and exciting, but maybe they are depressed, or lonely. Once you get a closer look at a person's life, you can understand the struggles theyre dealing with.
In the passage, Fitztgerald talks about seeing a fair from the distance, but it is unattainable. Fitzgerald talks about seeing a dream and not being able to accomplish it necessarily. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby has the dream of marrying Daisy however in reality if might not actually happen. I believe that Fitgerald is implying that as the country gets more advanced, we lose our ability to accomplish our dreams.
This comment about the "American Dream" implies that it looks spectacular from far away but when you actually get there, it really isn't too great. It is kind of like the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side". I completely agree with what Fitzgerald is saying. In the Great Gatsby, the same idea is present. The wealth, parties, and possessions all look so dazzling from a far, but when you have that life and you are used to it, nothing ever completely satisfies you and you just want more. That relates a lot to our America Dream today, once we have reached what we were aiming for, we just aim higher. We are never happy where we are.
The passage is describing how the American Dream is like a amusement park. It looks beautiful and perfect from the out side perspective but in reality it is not as pretty close up. When a dream is achieve it is very exciting and for those who are on the outside do not realize how much work was put into the dream. They may think it was easy when in reality it took a look of hard work and sweat to achieve that dream. Gatsby was very rich and in my opinion achieved the American dream. How he got there was not an easy thing however. The road to achieving the American Dream is a long harsh road. So the question is is the road worth taking?
This passage talks about the American dream from someones perspective. They describe it as something awesome with great value and beauty with lots of joy, but then say that don't look to much, because odds are you wont ever achieve it like the roller coaster ride. People can never be satisfied and all we want is more. Sooner or later the roller coaster will just be something that once was amusing.
In the passage, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American dream as an amusement park. From a distance the park is a beautiful display of color and light, seemingly perfect, but once inside the amusement park one sees that it is not a pleasant environment and is not as great as it had seemed from a distance. To many, the American dream seems simple and perfect, to have a wife and kids, be financially stable, and to enjoy life. But just like Fitzgerald’s amusement park the reality of the American dream is not as attractive. Many people struggle working jobs they don’t enjoy in order to provide for their family and leaving little leaguer time. A similar theme can be seen in Fitzgerald’s Winter Dreams. In the story Dexter sees Judy Jones as the perfect woman and dreams of having a relationship with her, but when he finally does the relationship is short lived and he realizes they are not the perfect couple he imagined they would be.
This quote implies that the American Dream is only great at a distance. It compares it to a carnival to explain that everything seems fabulous at a distance. When people imagine a carnival they see it as a magical place where children of all ages run and play, however when you get up close they aren't that great. They are dirty, the rides get broken, kids cry there and many other bad things. This is just like the American Dream. People look at it like it is a magical life that comes easy to all and will make everyone happy. The American Dream looks perfect if you aren't in it. It is hard, takes plenary of work, and causes disappointment. The purpose of that quote is to show how life must be enjoyed through the big screen with no focus on the horrible nitty gritty. If you focus on too much detail, too many horrible things are exposed.
This quote implies that the American Dream is only great at a distance. It compares it to a carnival to explain that everything seems fabulous at a distance. When people imagine a carnival they see it as a magical place where children of all ages run and play, however when you get up close they aren't that great. They are dirty, the rides get broken, kids cry there and many other bad things. This is just like the American Dream. People look at it like it is a magical life that comes easy to all and will make everyone happy. The American Dream looks perfect if you aren't in it. It is hard, takes plenary of work, and causes disappointment. The purpose of that quote is to show how life must be enjoyed through the big screen with no focus on the horrible nitty gritty. If you focus on too much detail, too many horrible things are exposed.
This quote implies that the American Dream is only great at a distance. It compares it to a carnival to explain that everything seems fabulous at a distance. When people imagine a carnival they see it as a magical place where children of all ages run and play, however when you get up close they aren't that great. They are dirty, the rides get broken, kids cry there and many other bad things. This is just like the American Dream. People look at it like it is a magical life that comes easy to all and will make everyone happy. The American Dream looks perfect if you aren't in it. It is hard, takes plenary of work, and causes disappointment. The purpose of that quote is to show how life must be enjoyed through the big screen with no focus on the horrible nitty gritty. If you focus on too much detail, too many horrible things are exposed.
This quote implies that the American Dream is only great at a distance. It compares it to a carnival to explain that everything seems fabulous at a distance. When people imagine a carnival they see it as a magical place where children of all ages run and play, however when you get up close they aren't that great. They are dirty, the rides get broken, kids cry there and many other bad things. This is just like the American Dream. People look at it like it is a magical life that comes easy to all and will make everyone happy. The American Dream looks perfect if you aren't in it. It is hard, takes plenary of work, and causes disappointment. The purpose of that quote is to show how life must be enjoyed through the big screen with no focus on the horrible nitty gritty. If you focus on too much detail, too many horrible things are exposed.
This quote shows that not everything is what it appears to be. From a distance, the carnival looks amazing and wonderful, but when you get up close, it's not as great as you thought it was. This quote relates to The Great Gatsby because on the outside Gatsby had a great life that everyone was envious of. In reality Gatsby was sad and lonely and did not have such a glamorous life. This quote relates to the American Dream because it demonstrates that not everything is as great as we want it to be.
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