The movie Cinderella Man, and the book, The Great Gatsby, both capture the two sides to the “American Dream”; the difference lies on how they get there, and the authenticity of their “American Dream” lifestyle. The American Dream is the idea of living in wealth, with a healthy, happy family, and having a job you enjoy. In Cinderella Man, the Braddock family starts out as a normal middle class family; not overly wealthy but not poor. When the Great Depressions hits, the Braddocks are hit with a streak of bad luck, Jim Braddock’s boxing career is not what it used to be. In order to feed and support his family Braddock must fight with his broken left hand, but conclusively gets his license taken away after “bad matches”.
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby, from the outside is living the American Dream, pre Great Depression. Gatsby lives in an ostentatious mansion, in west egg, New York. In order to lure in his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby flaunts his wealth by throwing outrageous parties every weekend. Gatsby lives in a streak of good luck, he lives among the wealthiest in the community.
Eventually, because of hard work and persistence, Jim Braddock is able to get his family back on their feet. Braddock is able to win his boxing license back. Every time he goes into the ring, he…show more content… The “American Dream” is the idea of living in wealth, with a happy, healthy family, with a job you enjoy; but the “American Dream” is also so much more than that, it is how one gets there. The American Dream is built around hard work and determination. The American Dream is the journey to success, by following the law and using it to your advantage, exactly what Jim Braddock did. The American Dream is not skipping hard work and finding loopholes through the law, this is where the fault in Gatsby’s “American Dream” lifestyle is
