Jay Gatsby and Ben Cash as The Examples of American Dream Obsession

Introduction

Just because society follows the ‘American Dream’ of monetary wealth, does this mean we must chase the dream? In all generations, people strive to be rich and famous as if it is a timeless behavior. People are pushed to chase the dollar above anything else. In the pursuit of true wealth, they can forget their morals and values and only focus on one dream and one dream only. This pushes them to be seen as someone who they are not. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925) and Matt Ross’ film Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2016), both the main characters of Jay Gatsby and Ben Cash depict unrealistic perceptions of true wealth. This perspective from both creators makes us question how we live and strive for ‘true wealth’.

Jay Gatsby and Ben Cash as Examples of American Dream Obsession

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay strives for wealth not because he is greedy, not for personal gain, but to win Daisy’s love back. Jay believes that once he has attained his wealth, all his problems will be resolved and everything will be perfect. But we later find out this is not the case. Instead of showing Daisy affection, Jay decides to try and impress her with his wealth by throwing lavish parties across the bay. “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 39). As we all know, Jay aspired to be wealthy. With his upbringing so poor, it isn’t necessarily a bad desire for him to have. We begin to hear rumors shadowing around Gatsby’s name. How did he become so wealthy? His plan begins to become a little unstuck when we find out Jay’s wealth is not legit. He was bootlegging for his money just to become rich. As readers, we are persuaded to question Jay’s morals and values. Has he forgotten in his chase of the ‘American Dream’? Not once did Gatsby reflect on his actions or alter his opinions on the dream of being rich and famous. As a child, Jay viewed wealth as being able to solve all problems that he might face. Gatsby’s perception of wealth was flawed to begin with, as young Jay only cared about being rich. Jay didn’t switch his mindset and never realized that true wealth was valuing what he already had: family.

The view of wealth may have shifted to connections over materials. He could have made real friends who genuinely cared about his well-being instead of his money. If Jay realized he was in isolation and no one really cared for him, it wouldn’t have ended in such a tragedy. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is a vital symbol Fitzgerald portrays throughout the novel. The light is symbolic of Gatsby’s American Dream; his pursuit to change the past for a better present and obtain Daisy’s love. The light gave Gatsby something to strive for, a goal and desire to achieve. When Gatsby’s reaching for the artificial light, Fitzgerald is highlighting that his dream is ‘unrealistic’.

In Matt Ross’ film, Captain Fantastic, Ben Cash’s view of ‘true wealth’ is the total opposite of Jay Gatsby's. Ben interprets wealth as his utopian world that he has created in the forest for himself, his children, and his beloved wife. We later find out his perception of wealth is every bit as unrealistic as Gatsby’s. Ben Cash brought his children up to believe wealth was shown through bonds in family. Living in an idyllic state forest at the foot of Mount Rainier, Ben raises his children with the fundamental skills to survive with so little. Although they are able to hunt a deer and protect themselves through any type of conditions, Ben isolated them from their social skills. When visiting Leslie's sister, Ben's parenting skills are questioned: is he restricting his children from reaching their full potential? “We are defined by our actions, not our words” (Ross, 2016). For most of the film, Ben would push the children beyond the point of too far. Later on, Ben’s mindset takes a major shift when he nearly loses Vespyr when she falls off the roof of the grandparents’ house. This is different from Gatsby’s story, as Ben had a wake-up call which ended up causing change. Ben rethought his actions and made a decision to do what’s best for his children’s future. If only Gatsby had that wake-up call that Ben had, he could have realized his perception of ‘true wealth’ was totally wrong and his life wouldn’t have ended in such tragedy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Jay Gatsby and Ben Cash demonstrate a harmful obsession with the chase of the ‘American Dream’. Being stubborn and not wanting to change their views affected the accomplishments of not only them but others. This exploration of their lives urges us to reflect on our own pursuits of wealth and question whether they align with our true values and happiness.

References

• Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner's Sons.
• Ross, M. (Director). (2016). Captain Fantastic [Film]. Electric City Entertainment.