“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Franklin), the principles of Declaration of Independence underlie the American dream. This was Americans’ firm conviction until the end of World War I when people lost their belief in government and had no interest in anything after seeing the extreme cruelty of the war. People instead turned their focus on movies, jazz music and all kinds of entertainment. Thus, the American dream was defined as pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, a decade later, the Great Depression hit people hard, and people were suddenly suffered in poverty. This led to their longing for freedom and owning property. The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men depicted two different American dreams in those two periods respectively. Both novels exposed the dark side of the society and the failure of the main characters, but the great disparity in status has a huge impact on them choosing their own way to chase the dreams

  Dreams are illusionary, they are easy to be achieved, but they are also easy to be changed. Human never satisfied, which has been proven since Eve ate the apple on the Forbidden tree, leads to the predictable tragedy. Jay Gatsby, who was born poorly, wants to make a fortune and to reach a high status. He believes “He was a son of God,” (Fitzgerald, p.105), so he changes his name to try to cut his relationship with his poor parents. For Gatsby, his “American Dream” was to escape from poverty and from the bottom of society. He succeeds in doing that, and becomes wealthy. However, he desires more. He is now longing for “a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald, p.24), where Daisy lives. He wants more and more, but never feels satisfied. Therefore, the tragedy ends with his death. In a similar manner, characters depicted by Steinbeck are mostly discontented about their position on the farm. George and Lennie want to own a farm and attract Candy join their plan. Later, when Candy and George are telling Crooks their goal and the possibility of achieving that, Crooks sways and says: “If you . . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand” (Steinbeck, p.77). They are all unhappy with their lives now and are chasing for a better life. But when George kills Lennie, all the illusion ends.

Even though both Gatsby and George are doomed to fail, they still live for their dreams and work hard to make it come true. Gatsby is different from others who Nick has met before, because he possesses “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness” (Fitzgerald, p.4), which Nick has never found in any other people. He stakes everything on his dream that he holds big parties every week to which “people were not invited” (Fitzgerald, p.45) go and gaining money by selling illegal alcohol. He is crazy about winning Daisy’s favor and does everything he can. Similarly, George and Lennie are dreaming of getting “the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs” (Steinbeck, p.16), all the way till George kills his best friend Lennie. It is no doubt that Lennie always got in trouble on the ranch and being kicked out with George, but they never give up, always trying hard to find another job and to save money for a ranch.

Both Fitzgerald and Steinbeck criticize the moral corrupt and cruelty of society which depress people and prevent those following steps of “American Dreams”. After Gatsby died, no one is willing to come to Gatsby’s funeral except for Nick and Gatsby’s father. “I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone” (Fitzgerald, p.175), as Nice put it. Everyone is afraid of getting into trouble by attending Gatsby’s funeral, even “Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” (Fitzgerald, p.186). There’s no trust amongst people. Nick thinks he is “one of the few honest people” (Fitzgerald, p.65), as most people don’t have this good quality. The same as Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck describes a society full of loneliness and distrust. Slim was surprised when he heard that George and Lennie travel together, since he thinks “everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck, p.36). Not only Slim, has Crooks also challenged their relationship in front of Lennie but is retorted by him: “every word’s the truth, and you can ask George” (Steinbeck, p.70). George and Lennie are dreaming of owning a farm together when others are working individually. Sarcastically, the partner Lennie trusts the most ends up killing him and finishes up the purest and strongest friendship of them. In this cruel world, there is no such longstanding friendship, because no one is trustable. 

It is doubtless that they both work hard to chase their dreams, but in different ways. Gatsby gains wealth as a “bootlegger” to sell alcohol illegally. Then, in order to steel Daisy back from Tom, he paid a fortune to buy a fancy house “with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald, p.7) in the East Egg to get closer with Daisy. George and Lennie on the other hand, save all the money they have, to buy their own ranch. Deflation reduced the working opportunity so badly that finding a stable job seems impossible for people.  Under this circumstance, to save money to buy a farm is almost impossible, not to mention spend a fortune on entertainment.

What’s more, even though they are all optimistic to life, Gatsby has more advantages than George and Lennie. Gatsby has “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it”, and “it understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood” (Fitzgerald, p.53). His smile is one of the most powerful and charming part of him, which can bring him a lot of luck. Wealth and his attractive appearance can easily draw Daisy close to him, and help him to fulfill his dream. In the contrary, Lennie is “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders” (Fitzgerald, p.4). His huge body shows his bluntness, on top of that, he is mental disabled. His dullness impedes his steps following his dream. He killed Curley’s wife and ends up being killed by George and buried their sharing dream. Unlike Gatsby, whose “starting line” is way closer to the destination, Lennie is scorned by others for his congenital defect and appearance.

Another important difference between two novels regarding to the American dream is that the meaning of the dream. Fitzgerald is dedicated to put the American dream as the pursuit of wealth and happiness. From Daisy whose “voice is full of money” (128), to Tom who cheats on his wife without a blink, everyone is enjoying themselves in the urban prosperity, and expected more wealth and authority. Nevertheless, in “Of Mice and Men”, protagonists are craving for something concrete. For example, Crooks, as a Negro who “kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (Steinbeck, p.68), is sick of being along and aloof and wants a company. He describes himself as “a guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too” (Steinbeck, p.74). He is jealous of Lennie since he needs a someone to listen to him, with whom he can share his thinking all the time. His simple dream is to get a friend which is banned due to his born.

The American dream is a paradox. It stimulates people to work hard for a better life, while hitting them ruthlessly to the ground at the end. In fact, the failure is predictable due to the downfall of society. In “The Great Gatsby”, American dream is all about wealth and prosperity. However, in “Of Mice and Men”, people want freedom and friendship. What’s more, Gatsby takes advantage of his superior appearance to help him achieve his dream; but Lennie’s appearance can only incapacitate him. “Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… and one fine morning— so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald, p.193). The American dream lights up people’s lives. It is not a single goal, but the sum of every American’s personal pursuit, which put every American’s hope of life together. That is American dream, like sea wave that pushes people towards bank of paradise; even though wind sometimes hinders the advance, people would raise their oars and drive the boats against the current.