Name: Muathe Al Rowaily
Date: 16/11/15
Course: Focused Inquiry
Assigned Instructor: Jennifer Selman
THE PURSUIT OF A MIRAGE
The American Dream is an ideal that encompasses the values of hard work and
perseverance. Without adopting such important values that set individuals on the road of success,
my family would have been stuck in the lower social class. My father was born in Turaif, which
is a small town in the northern outskirt of Saudi Arabia. People who are born in this town are
automatically set to fail because of its lack of technology, abundant social barriers, and absence
of education. However, my father chose to defy this social norm by going outside of his comfort
zone and risking everything he has. At the age of 18 he traveled to Riyadh, the capital city of
Saudi Arabia. He did not know anyone in the city, but he had the vision of enrolling in King
Saud University, known as the best university in the whole country. Although he had all the
credentials including good academic standing, he was unable to sustain himself financially.
Henceforth, he chose to work for two years in a supermarket in the hopes of gathering just
enough money to pay for his tuition. Even after getting the degree he desired for so long, no one
wanted to consider his application in the private sector. In Saudi Arabia, getting a job highly
depends on who you know and your background rather than what degree you have. As a result,
he turned to the public sector in the hopes of climbing up the ladder and achieving his dream. My
father has paid his dues through working hard and now he is reaping its benefits. From working
at a supermarket, he became the Council General of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong and even the
Ambassador in Mexico. Ever since, he has given me the best educational opportunities from
allowing me to learn English at such a young age, to helping me obtain a scholarship. As a result,
without my father’s belief in the American Dream I wouldn’t be in America and you wouldn’t be
reading this essay.
The pursuit of the American Dream can be seductive, but deadly just like a mirage. Jay
Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, had decided to pursue his dream at such a
young age. Moreover, Gatsby had chosen to run away from his poor parents in the hopes of
striking it rich. However, Fitzgerald’s pessimistic point of view that reflects his disbelief in the
American Dream was shown through the way Gatsby pursuit his goal. From January of 1920 to
1933, alcohol consumption in America was illegal. Forbidden fruit is sweet and hence the
consumption of alcohol has increased. With that said, Gatsby made his money through resorting
to organized crimes and bootlegging alcohol. In comparison, Author Miller had also associated
the American Dream with a negative connotation in the play “The Death of a Salesman.” The
protagonist in this play, Willy Loman, chooses to create his wealth through illegal acts. In this
case, Willy has decided to commit suicide by crashing his car in the hopes that his family could
redeem the insurance money. Finally, the illegal actions of both Gatsby and Loman have gotten
them killed by the end of the texts.
Instead of pursing his dream illegally, Dawayne Taylor has summoned the traits of
perseverance and determination to achieve it. Tylor likes to identify himself as an entrepreneur
because he owns a chain of barbershops in Richmond. A few years ago, he had the vision of
quitting his job to pursue what seemed to be a mirage. There were many people around him that
became apprehensive for Tylor’s future, as they had confused his belief in the American Dream
with what some call a “mid-life crisis.” Tylor have kept encouraging others to find a purpose in
their life, perhaps a dream, and become motivated to achieve it. In 2013, Taylor opened his first
barbershop only seven months after deciding to pursue his passion. Each year consecutive to that
has witnessed the expansion of Taylor’s business by one store. In November 1st of 2015, Taylor
felt proud to witness his wish become true after opening his third barbershop. Even though
Taylor waited for many years before pursuing his dream, he identified that it is never too late to
achieve it. In response, I also believe that it is never too early to pursue what you are very
passionate about. At the age of 14, I have started my own YouTube channel with the vision of
becoming a superstar. My whole family felt skeptical because they did not share the passion nor
the vision for what I wanted to pursue. They began to tease me by yelling “xkeyminecraft”, the
name of my channel, every time I walk into the house. Within the first two years, I had 22
thousand subscribers with over two and a half million video views. Not just that, but I had also
earned over two thousand dollars from my channel, which at that age made me feel like a
billionaire. Only then, they started believing in what I was doing and I became proud of them
calling me “xkeymiencraft.”
Although there is a discrepancy in how the American Dream is defined, it is mostly
associated with materialistic objects. For example, people identify weather a person has achieved
this ideal through looking at what car they drive, the amount of salary they earn, and the number
of houses they own. As a result of this shallow perspective, people started “living to work” rather
than “working to live.” When someone doesn’t invest all their time in the development of their
careers, there is no one to blame for their minimum wage but themselves. This became reflective
in the play the “Death of a Salesman” as the protagonist had devoted all his life to becoming a
good salesman. Willy wanted to succeed at his job in order to elevate to the American upper
social class. The houses surrounding Willy’s home were all the size of Jay Gatsby’s huge
mansion. Henceforth, he wanted to belong to that part of society rather than be known as the
poorest family in the neighborhood. With that said, he followed the steps of the American Dream
that promised him as long as he kept working hard, he would one day belong to them. However,
his dream was corrupt by his selfish desire to obtain the materialistic objects others own. Willy
started borrowing money from everyone he knew, which enabled him temporarily to live above
his means. Even though this created an illusion in his head that he belonged to the upper class,
when the money ran out the truth became apparent. Therefore, Willy wasted his life chasing a
false perception of the American Dream that eventually set him to fail.
Rather than brining satisfaction in one’s life, devoting more time to achieving these
materialistic items have tarnished people’s contentment and happiness. Constantly working hard
for extrinsic materials is outlandish in the sense that it cannot be a constant source of happiness.
For example, Gatsby has spent lots of money in order to live an extravagant lifestyle that
revolves around purchasing a big mansion, owning a gold car, and hosting huge parties. The
character lives this superficial lifestyle in the hopes that these objects could bring him happiness.
Instead, he became lonely and depressed because of his shallow perspective on life. When he
hosts parties, hundreds of people show up. Though when he died, none of those people who kept
attending to his parties showed up to the funereal. In fact, only four individuals have showed up
to his funeral including his father whom he has disowned. It can be seen that the importance of
intrinsic objectives has become devalued including spending time with one’s family, falling in
love, or even establishing good social relationships. With that said, characters including Gatsby
and Willy had tried to fill these gaps through following social norms that encourage
consumption. However, Taylor had chosen to pay more attention on continuous sources of
happiness that brought him containment in his life. For instance, he kept referring to the support
he was getting from his daughter, wife, and family. Surely, money can bring financial stability in
one’s life. Though people are unable to obtain other important factors including guidance,
encouragement, and support merely from extrinsic objects.
The American Dream is similar to that of a ghost in the sense that some people can see it,
others can’t, but the debate of weather it is real or not is still relevant. With that said, there are
multiple perspective of what this ideal entails depending on each individual. Some people might
view me as an example of the American Dream. Without having any Arabic speaking schools in
Hong Kong, when my family moved there I was forced to enroll in a Canadian school. I literally
failed every single class due to the language barriers. At that time I felt stuck and believed that I
was set up to fail. However, through hard work and perseverance I started developing my
English skills that I’m currently using to write this essay. Since then, I was able to obtain a
scholarship that enabled me to study in America. If I hadn’t taken the risk of learning English, I
would most probably be in Turaif. This has taught me the lesson that people must peruse the
opportunities available to them in order to succeed in life. Even when there are no opportunities
presented, people shouldn’t give up easily. Instead, they should create their own opportunities
just like Tylor starting his own business, and my father working to get money for his own
university tuition. These examples show that the American Dream is not a mirage, but a road to
one’s own dream destination.
Citation
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Trade Pbk, 2004. Print.
Miller, Author. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. Print.
Taylor, Dawayne. Personal Interview. 7 November, 2015.