Friends and fellow scholars, I stand before you today a changed man, a man who has become disillusioned, a man whose faith has been misplaced in that concept we Americans we hold so dear, ‘The American Dream’. A few months ago I left my familiar confines in the Midwest to take up residency on Long Island in New York. I attempted to create a life for myself and fulfil my dreams and ambitions, to achieve that great American dream. Perhaps I was too optimistic or maybe indeed naïve but I accomplished nothing of the sort. The East holds a quality of distortion for me. Its morals are twisted, its values are self focused, its views are tainted by decadence. I left New York feeling disheartened and cynical about human integrity and above all, the American Dream. My experiences highlighted the dream’s demise and futility, and made me aware of those determined to corrupt its worthy cause.

When our founding forefather’s eyes first fell upon the fresh, green breast of the new world they were filled with wonder and held their breath in the mere presence of the continent. They entered a new life in a country where anything is achievable. They entered the land of the free. Th

Also while in the East I made my acquaintance with a man by the name of Gatsby, some of you may have attended his glamorous parties. I often refer to him as the Great Gatsby because he came from nowhere to achieved power. The power most men only dream about. He was also somewhat of a magician – a man practised in the art of illusions. Extremely wealthy, popular and above all notorious, I was constantly oscillating between admiration and distaste for Gatsby. He was a visionary, capable of grand passion, guileless optimism and great dreams. Though Gatsby accepted hundreds of us into his home during his decadent parties, yet he was never himself accepted in return. He never really belonged. In life he welcomed hundreds, in death he was farewelled by three.

Despite the dream, our society is full of opposing forces: East and West, black and white, male and female, rich and poor. These forces exist together yet are far from harmonious. The East is seen as exciting and a catalyst for success whereas the West is safe but boring. Each holds a deficiency that makes it unadaptable to the other. Where race is concerned, we hold supreme power over Negroes and other races. Women, though constantly striving for liberation, are even now constrained, present only to act as our ornaments. Where is the equality?

George Wilson, an acquaintance of mine who dwelt in the Valley of Ashes, a grey wasteland that harbours no hope of happiness, no hope of success and no hope for those that dwell there. Wilson represents the fate of the failed dreamer, whose poverty deprived him of even his ability to hope. Wilson was not that unlike Gatsby. They both came from humble beginnings and worked tirelessly for the dream. However, where Gatsby reinvented himself and was deceitful, Wilson was one of the few real people I encountered in the East. Both Gatsby and Wilson paid the ultimate price for their dreams.

ey entered America. And so a dream was born.

In these times of decadent disrepute, who are we to look to for deliverance and guidance towards attaining the dream? Once we could look to our presidents, men that personified human dignity. Can we now admire President Harding in the same nature? Will he, whose government betrayed our trust, sold our security and undermined our society in the Teapot Dome scandal, all in the name of personal gain, lead us? America’s love affair with her presidents is over. They are corrupters of the dream, favouring materialistic wealth above duty, safety and truth.

Some topics in this essay:
American Dream, Harlem Renaissance, World’s Series, East West, Gatsby Wilson, Myrtle Myrtle’s, Quota Act, Island York, Valley Ashes, Declaration Independence, american dream, freedom liberty equality, freedom liberty, liberty equality, corrupters dream, achieve dream, personal gain, created equal, gatsby’s dream, break free, life country,