The Copernican: The End Of A Dream

A strange sunrise is an American dream
Under blue skies and over open grasslands
Awakening wingless birds to the heavens above
And soar beyond the world to newer sands

Leaving behind last night's turmoil happily
To look for greener patches with a higher tree
Pushed beyond the limits of worldly hope
Where birds flew only for joy and to be free

Strange is the sunrise that both pushes and pulls
For the highest tree has eagles atop
And so there is greater joy in soaring up
But somewhere, somehow, the journey must stop

The higher you are the farther you fall
So as those riding the crest will know the trough
None will know the blame when lawed by nature
The muscle is strengthened only in the rough

So will you look strangely at Gatsby for living
In the frail hope that he will be born again
Or will you look strangely at George for living
With the belief that life always will be sane

Or will you condemn Martha to keep some hope
For unliving sons to see the light of day
Will you shatter her dreams to little pieces
And leave her wondering about fun and games

Painful is the tragedy of being human
While beasts and birds roam careless and how
They who cannot dream know no joy nor sadness
While we in sorrow remain holier than thou

Yet without falling the stars are lost
As is all the green beyond every fence
Dreams once attained murder life's meaning
'Tis only the journey that always makes sense

The American dream is like a clock that’s alive but doesn’t know it. As soon as the clock finds out what it is, it will stop ticking because, let’s face it, when it can do so many other things, why must it tick? In much the same way, the American dream is something that should only be reached out to. Once it’s attained, it no longer remains a dream. It loses all its mystery and allure to become something we can see right through, and once we completely understand the world around us, it’s no longer something we aspire toward.

In ‘The Great Gatsby’, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is a former soldier who fought in World War II and has returned to his western home to “make it big”. Even though he stands to be appreciated for trying to start a new life and desire riches, his faith was corrupted with his intentions. With regard to what was ethical and what wasn’t, Gatsby’s moral compass was maligned. This was reflected in his belief that, despite where and how his loyalties lay, some glory he’d lost once could be regained, as is reflected in the exchange between him and Carraway:

"I wouldn't ask too much of her," I [Carraway] ventured. "You can't repeat the past."

"Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!"

He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.

"I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly. "She'll see."

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Living the American dream"] dream

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In Gatsby’s eyes, living the American dream was a salvation, an end that justified any means that were adopted to get there. In his eyes, the American dream was a precious illusion in pursuit of which he had lived his whole life, and once he’d lived it for a moment, he knew it was gone because he was one of the people living not the dream but the demands made by it. Gatsby had sacrificed his life for an idea, and the idea was hollow.

However, for the same reason, Gatsby cannot be blamed. Why? Because Gatsby did not invent the dream. It was presented to him as the destination of a journey he must undertake. Why did he undertake the journey? Because it gave him a sense of purpose in life. How did it give him a sense of purpose? Because it gave him something to do, because it gave him the opportunity to act, and people are only known by their actions. However, Gatsby let his actions be overwhelmed by the dream itself.

The American dream is a lesson that the destination is only the time remaining before you die when you reflect on the journey you had. Some attain the American dream without knowing it because they wouldn’t have lived for the dream, they wouldn’t have let it come in the way of their lives like Gatsby had. They’d have lived a full life and, finally, when given a chance to turn and look behind them, they’d have seen the ticking clocks they’d been. That is when the journey ends: when the clock doesn’t want to tick anymore.