The American Dream between the Question of Identity and the Quandary of Absurdism: A Comparative Study The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FITZGERALD and Bone by Fae Myenne NG

Abstract

The notion of the American Dream inspired several writers and critics who had interpreted it. Both Fitzgerald, the American writer, and Ng, the Chinese American writer, adhered to express the meaning of the American Dream through different angles. Both writers reflected the natives and Chinese Americans, respectively. This entails a comparative study between both writers’ masterpieces, The Great Gatsby and Bone. Specifically, the American comparative school is required since both narratives are written in English. Both literary works did not solely define the American Dream on its own scale, but they have been trying to link it to the quest of identity that it is highly investigated by modern and postmodern writers through fictional characters. Both Fitzgerald and Ng focused on the endless struggles of the individuals who search to realize the American Dream and the luxury life. Some characters collided with the frightening reality, which imposes on them to adopt a new identity other than theirs. For others, they reckoned that their unbridled desire to win the American Dream will be subsided because of their failure. In this case, it will not be easy for them to perceive failure. They will have a negative view around the world that can be gradually developed to achieve absurdism.