Dissertation: A Lacanian Approach to the American Dream in F.

Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Sarah Le Fevre
This dissertation draws on a Lacanian perspective to explore how the American Dream is a symbol of the
ever-evolving nature of human desire.
Introduction
As a man in a dream who fails to lay hands upon another whom he is pursuing - the one cannot escape nor
the other overtake- even so neither could Achilles come up with Hector, nor Hector break away from
Achilles.
Homer The Iliad 8th Century BC
These lines from Homers The Iliad present the idea of an infinite attempt to achieve ones aim; the
continuous, never-ending pursuit of satisfaction is a concept Jacques Lacan defines as desire. With
reference to Achilles pursuit of Hector in The Illiad, Lacanian theorist Slavoj iek, writes, in Looking Awry:
An Introduction to Jacques Lacan, the relation of the subject to the object experienced by every one of us
in a dream: the subject, faster than the object, gets closer and closer to it and yet can never attain it.[1]
This notion is what Lacan explains as desire, a function central to all human experience, is the desire for
nothing nameable. And at the same time this desire lies at the origin of every variety of animation.[2]
Lacans theory suggests that the nature of human desire is, not to attain full satisfaction, but to reproduce
itself as a new desire. This concept can be seen within the American Dream, as Anthony Brandt claims it
stretches endlessly and forever toward the horizon.[3]
Jacques Lacan is a French philosopher, born in 1901, whose theories expand on Freudian ideas. Lacan
published three texts on psychoanalysis before commencing a series of annual seminars in Paris in 1952,
that spanned over twenty-eight years; the seminars were then edited and published by Jacques-Alain
Miller. Sean Homer comments on Lacans success, in Jacques Lacan, Deeply controversial, Lacans work
has transformed psychoanalysis, both as a theory of the unconscious mind and as a clinical practice. Over
fifty per cent of the worlds analysts now employ Lacanian methods.[4] Lacans work is not limited to just
clinical practice, however, as Homer explains:
From the perspective of literary studies, the discovery of Lacan in the mid-1970s, initially by feminist and
Marxist literary critics, revitalized the rather moribund practice of psychoanalytic criticism and reinstated
psychoanalysis for Freudian and post-Freudian readings of literature.[5]
Lacans theory on psychoanalysis opened up a number of different interpretations for literary texts as it
delves in to the origins of human psychosis and explores the causes of human behaviour. Malcolm Bowie
suggests, in Lacan, that Lacans theory:
was a theory of the desiring speech in which all human beings live and die. [] It was a listening station for
the whole conversation of mankind, a working model of the human world, a contrapuntal portrait of things
as they are.[6]
Lacans first theoretical publication, The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I, in 1936,
explored the significance of a child, between the ages of six to eight months, seeing its own reflection and
acknowledging itself as a separate entity from the rest of the world. Lacan writes:
The mirror stage is a drama whose internal thrust is precipitated from insufficiency to anticipation [] to the
assumption of the armour of an alienating identity, which will mark with its rigid structure the infants entire
mental development.[7]
The mirror stage suggests that, as the child witnesses the control it has over the movements of its
reflection, at a time when it is completely dependent on others to survive, the child begins to fantasise
about its future ability. Bowie comments that this process is to look forward in hope to the egos later career
and to perceive in outline upon a still distant horizon the mature; self, the self-made man and the social
success.[8] This is the origin of the human impulse to desire as, from the mirror stage onwards, humans
fantasise about their future selves. Lacan refers to this as phantasy, Bowie explains:
This is phantasy, in which the ego experiments with its own future. Here we may do a variety of things:
imagine an ideal counterpart, or a divine figure of authority, or a utopia of fulfilled wishes; impute to the
Other wishes by a miracle chime flawlessly with our own demand; represent the Other as holding the key to
our felicity, or as embodying in his or her own person the pleasure we seek.
This concept links to the American Dream, as humans forever imagine a future greater than their present,
constantly fantasising about the lives of their future selves. This idea is embodied in the American Dream
that encourages people to aim for a better future, regardless of their background.
The American Dream is a term coined by James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book, The Epic of America,
although the notion behind the term stems back to the discovery of America. Upon his arrival in the land
that would come to be known as the United States, Captain Edward Johnson, a Puritan who travelled from
England to New England in the 1630s, declared:
Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes! All you people of Christ that are here Oppressed, Imprisoned and scurrilously
derided, gather yourselves together, your Wifes and little ones, and answer to your several Names as you
shall be shipped for His service, in the Westerne World, and more especially for planning the united
Colonies of new England. Know this is the place where the Lord will create new Heaven, and a new Earth
in new Churches, and a new Commonwealth together.[9]
This image of America as a new Heaven, and a new Earth remained present in America, evolving into the
vision of the American Dream. James Truslow Adams asserts that the American Dream is the dream of a
better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank.[10] Encompassed even in the countrys
legislation, the United States Declaration of Independence manifests 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.[11] The ideals of the American Dream are present throughout the countrys
history, as Lawrence R. Samuel remarks, in The American Dream: A Cultural History, serving as the
backbone of the great social movements of the twentieth century including the New Deal and the Great
Society.[12]
From a Lacanian perspective, the American Dream is a symbol of the ever-evolving nature of human
desire. The object of the American Dream originated as the dream of a true democracy, in which all
American citizens would be equal and governed by no one. As the country developed, the object of the
American Dream evolved into the American pioneer working for the future of his family and his community,
and then to the capitalist striving for individual success and material possessions. Samuel comments that
the American Dream has always managed to bounce back to life, each miraculous recovery both shaping
and reflecting a renewal of the American spirit.[13] This argues that the evolution of the American Dream
mirrors the societal progressions that took place in America, accommodating the evolving desires of the
American citizens. Slavoj iek writes, in his article Desire: Drive = Truth: Knowledge, that desires raison
dtre is not to realise its goal, to find full satisfaction, but to reproduce itself as desire.[14] This concept is
arguably what the American Dream represents, an ever-evolving aim for success. Similarly, Samuel
claimsthat the American Dream is more about the journey than the destination, the getting there always
more exciting than the arrival.[15] In reference to the Declaration of Independence, Slavoj iek claims:
You have a serious ideological deviation at the very beginning of a famous proclamation of independence,
pursuit of happiness. If there is a point in psychoanalysis it is that people do not really want or desire
happiness.[16]
It is important to acknowledge Lacans differentiation between desire and drive; Slavoj iek writes that
desire is grounded in its constitutive lack, while drive circulated around a hole, a gap in the order of
being.[17] In applying this to the American Dream, the American Dream can be regarded as the lack, or
hole, that drive circles around. Dino Felluga explains, in his article Modules on Lacan: On Psychosexual
Development, that because desire is articulated through fantasy, it is driven to some extent by its own
impossibility.[18] This links to the impossibility of the American Dream that Brandt claims stretches
endlessly and forever towards the horizon.[19]
The presence of the American Dream is particularly evident in American literature, which both reflects and
criticises the notions embedded in the American Dream. Frederic Carpenter suggests, in American
Literature and the Dream, that the omnipresent nature of the American Dream has had a strong influence
on American literature, claiming the vague idea has influenced the plotting of our fiction and the imagining
of our poetry. Almost by inadvertence our literature has accomplished a symbolic and experimental
projection of it.[20] The projection of the American Dream on to American literature provides a more
personal and individual view on the effects of the American Dream. Louis Tyson writes, in Psychological
Politics of the American Dream: The Commodification of Subjectivity in Twentieth-Century American
Literature, that:
Because literature is a repository of both a societys ideologies and its psychological conflicts, it has the
capacity to reveal aspects of a cultures collective psyche, an apprehension of how ideological investments
reveal the nature of individuals psychological relationship to their world.[21]
As a result of this, this dissertation will explore two texts from American literature, that encompass the
notion of the American Dream, to argue that the American Dream is a reflection of human natures
continuous need to desire.
Two texts that encompass the notion of the American Dream are The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
and Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. The Great Gatsby was written by Fitzgerald in 1925, in the midst
of the roaring twenties, and depicts the decadence and rise in consumerism during an economic boom
after the First World War. Arthur Millers play, Death of a Salesman, written in 1949, presents the delusions
of sixty-four year old Willy Loman, whose life has been dedicated, unsuccessfully, to achieving the
American Dream. They are both written and set in the midst of post-war economic booms. Even in this time
of economic prosperity, when the ability and opportunity to achieve ones dreams are heightened, the two
protagonists are still unable to fulfill their dreams.
Chapter One explores Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, as the novel is set in the era of the leisure class, it
presents a time of heightened emphasis on individual pleasure and desire. Through an exploration of the
characters desires and their interaction with one another, this chapter attempts to prove that the nature of
desire is, like the American Dream, ever evolving. Chapter Two investigates Arthur Millers Death of a
Salesman, a play that presents the role of fantasy within desire. As the play presents forty-eight hours in
the consciousness of the protagonist, the audience is invited into the psyche of a salesman who is
struggling to accept the failure of his ambition for success. This chapter will attempt to prove Lacans theory
on desire, particularly through this mans fantasy and delusions.
Lacanian theory suggests that, fundamental to human nature, is the need to constantly desire and fantasize
about ones future, never to reach full satisfaction. This is evident in American literatures representation of
the American Dream, as a focus for individuals to aim their desires towards and envisage their future selves
as a part of. Both The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman present the troubles faced by two
protagonists with a particular capacity to dream and, as Lacan asserts, the only thing of which one can be
guilty is of having given ground relative to ones desire.[22]
The Joy of Fantasy in F Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby.
It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of
enchanted objects had diminished by one.
F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)
The 1920s in America witnessed its first economic boom as, at the end of the First World War, US
Servicemen returned to employment, as Tim McNeese notes, at the rate of 4,000 a day, which poured men
into the US work force at a startling rate.[23] The combination of a significant surge in employment rates,
alongside substantial savings made from wartime wages, resulted in an economic boom that sparked the
decade of the Roaring Twenties. Michael Spindler comments that after half a century of rapid
industrialisation America by the 1920s had achieved the highest standard of living any people had ever
known.[24] The increasing development in technological industry and consumerism resulted in a
transformation in the way American citizens lived; McNeese claims it was the beginning of modern
times.[25]
This transformation in American society fuelled the concept of, what would come to be known as the
American Dream, with the introduction of the leisure class and new money, social mobility appeared even
more achievable. The term new money applies to those who, from a previously lower class, attain
substantial money from within their own generation, as opposed to inheriting fortune. Lawrence R. Samuel
suggests that, from the effects of war, perhaps more than ever, Americans were fully expected to strive for
their particular Dream, in the interests of both individuals and the nation as a whole.[26] However, with the
introduction of a consumerist lifestyle, the traditional ideals of the American Dream shifted to a focus on
material possessions and individual pleasure. Rose Adrienne Gallo explains, in F Scott Fitzgerald:
It was an era of parties and good times, both for the wealthy like Gatsby and the Buchanans, and for those
less affluent who wanted to take part in the fun, like the guests at Myrtle Wilsons apartment, or the
thousands who flocked to speakeasies for liquor, jazz, dancing, and a general relaxation of inhibitions.[27]
The prominence of the leisure class and the new focus on individual pleasure, rather than the original
American ideals based on ambition, industry, and well-defined rules of conduct, demonstrates the
evolution of the American Dream.[28]
This transformation of the American Dream is encompassed in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald
himself was regarded as one of the lost generation, alongside Ernest Hemingway and T. S Elliot, who
returned from the war disillusioned and sceptical about society. The Great Gatsby could be considered a
critique of the shift in societys desires in this era. Michael Spindler claims that Fitzgerald:
saw more clearly than some of his literary contemporaries that the leisure class was a social phenomenon
of great importance, and he was particularly well placed by means of his own social position to sense
acutely and then fully articulate that ambivalent response which the society at large was experiencing.[29]
Throughout Fitzgeralds life he remained distinctly aware of the separation between the rich and the poor.
In a letter to Anne Ober, in 1938, Fitzgerald asserts that was always my experience, - a poor boy in a rich
town; a poor boy in a rich boys school; a poor boy in a rich mans club at Princeton I have never been
able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it had colored my entire life and works.[30] Fitzgeralds
ambivalent position in an upper-middle class status hold parallels with the narrator of The Great Gatsby,
Nick Carraway, who describes himself as being both within and without, simultaneously enchanted and
repelled by the upper class social circles in the novel.[31] Spindler comments that Fitzgerald, as a son of
bourgeoisie, was:
able to move in elite circles- there was no question of his having to mix with the lower classes- but he was
constantly accompanied by the shadow of economic insecurity and an awareness of his relative poverty.
[32]
Furthermore, parallels can also be seen between Fitzgerald and the character of Jay Gatsby, as Fitzgerald
nearly lost the woman he loved, Zelda Sayre, due to his lack of financial stability. Fitzgerald also held a
desire to live in luxury as the wealthy did, as both Gatsby and Fitzgerald go on to do, Spindler suggests that
Fitzgerald:
did not wish for the abolition of the very rich but simply for an extension of their privileges to himself, and
when his writing provided the financial basis he assimilated his lifestyle to theirs a Long Island mansion,
parties, sojourns in Paris and on the Mediterranean seaboard.[33]
This notion of both admiration and envy of the glamorous life on the one hand, and moral condemnation of
that life according to traditional values on the other is encompassed in The Great Gatsby through the
narration of Nick Carraway.[34] This conflicting aspect of desire assimilates into Jacques Lacans theory on
desire that claims, Desire full stop is always the desire of the Other. Which basically means that we are
always asking the Other what he desires.[35] The capitalisation of the o in Other, as Dylan Evans
explains, designates radical alterity, an other-ness which transcends the illusory otherness of the imaginary
because it cannot be assimilated through identification.[36] Lacans use of the Other is related to the law of
language and the Symbolic Order as he explains, in The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-Analysis,
what I call the capital other, the locus of speech, and potentially, the locus of truth.[37] This theory
suggests that individual desires are formed when witnessed in the desires of others, and this notion can be
seen throughout The Great Gatsby, the American Dream and Fitzgeralds life.
The Great Gatsby embodies the themes of the roaring twenties through its portrayal of decadence, social
upheaval and excess spending, in a time Fitzgerald termed the Jazz Age. Nick Carraway, the narrator,
returns from the First World War restless and moves to West Egg in Long Island to pursue a job on the
booming Wall Street as a bond salesman. The novel takes place in the summer of 1922; following Nicks
experiences with the wealthy Buchanans and Jordan Baker, as well as his elusive neighbour, Jay Gatsby.
As the summer progresses, Nick learns more about the affairs of the Buchanans and is introduced to
Gatsby, a man who throws extremely lavish parties every weekend for complete strangers from all over the
city. Eventually, Nick discovers that the purpose of Gatsbys eccentric mansion parties were an attempt to
attract the attention of Daisy Buchanan, whom he fell madly in love with before the war. As the story
unfolds, the reader is given an insight to the world of the roaring twenties, a time of excessive drinking,
corruption and betrayal contrasted with the unwavering devotion by Gatsby to his Dream of a life with
Daisy.
Gatsbys story is archetypal of the American Dream, as Spindler posits:
Gatsbys dream might be described as the American Dream of success. It is the dream of rising from rags
to riches, of amassing a great fortune that will assure a life of luxuriant ease, power, and beauty in an ideal
world untroubled by care and devoted to the enjoyment of everlasting pleasure with nothing to intervene
between wish and fulfilment.[38]
The journey Gatsby endures in the novel parallels Lacans theory of desire, as the closer he gets to fulfill
his dreams, the further away his dreams become. At the opening of the novel, Gatsby has already achieved
the rags to riches aim of the American Dream, however he still desires to attain the love of Daisy
Buchanan. Gatsby has a number of aims to achieve before he can fulfil his desires. Firstly, Gatsby needs to
become wealthy, then to attract the attention of Daisy, then to make her love him, then for her to tell Tom
she never loved him and so forth. This relates to Zeno, the pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, idea of the
Dichotomy Paradox, that suggests for a man to arrive at his destination, he needs to travel half of the way,
and before that a quarter, and before that an eighth, resulting in an infinite number of aims that prevent you
from reaching your destination. Slavoj iek employs this paradox as a way of explaining Lacans theory,
asserting:
Can we not recognize in this paradox the very nature of the psychoanalytical notion of drive, or more
properly the Lacanian distinction between its aim and its goal? [] Lacans point is that the real purpose of
the drive is not its goal (full satisfaction) but its aim: the drives ultimate aim is simply to reproduce itself as
drive, to return to its circular path, to continue its path to and from the goal. The real source of enjoyment is
the repetitive movement of this closed circuit.[39]
This concept can be seen in The Great Gatsby, as Nick remarks on the colossal vitality of Gatsbys dream:
It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to
it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can
challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart.[40]
This suggests that the depth of Gatsbys dream exceeded the reality of Daisy and his relationship with her,
to the extent that reality could never live up to the fantasy world he had designed in his dream. Nick goes
on to comment that:
Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with
an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a
satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a
fairys wing.[41]
These lines represent the enjoyment Gatsby gained from dreaming of his future with Daisy, the satisfaction
of fuelling his drive with his fantasies of the future. iek argues that it is only through fantasy that the
subject is constituted as desiring: through fantasy we learn how to desire.[42]
This is evident in the novel in Gatsbys pursuit of Daisy, as when Gatsby finally gets to provide Daisy with a
tour of the mansion he had designed to impress her, Nick senses an aspect of doubt in Gatsbys mind, As I
went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsbys face, as
though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness.[43] This links to
Lacans theory of desire, as Dino Felluga specifies:
It is that lack at the heart of desire that ensures we continue to desire. To come too close to our object of
desire threatens to uncover the lack that is, in fact, necessary for our desire to persist, so that, ultimately
desire is most interested not in fully attaining the object of desire but in keeping our distance, thus allowing
desire to persist.[44]
The doubt that Nick suspects Gatsby is feeling, arises as Gatsbys fantasy starts to play out in reality, the
anxiety he feels comes as he threatens to uncover the lack at the heart of his desire. As Gatsby informs
Daisy of the green light that shines at the end of her dock, Nick observes:
Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. []
Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.[45]
The green light represents to Gatsby the pursuit of his dream and his drive to satisfy his desires; the
revelation of this symbol is described in this statement as a loss to Gatsby. This notion of loss as Gatsby
gets closer to fulfilling his dream, supports Lacans theory that desire is at the very core of our being and as
such it is essentially a relation to lack; indeed, desire and lack are inextricable tied together.[46]
As Gatsbys reality plays out alongside his fantasy, Nick remarks, There must have been moments even
that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams- not through her own fault, but because of the
colossal vitality of his illusion.[47] Gatsbys need for reality to reflect his fantasy is evident when Daisy first
attends one of Gatsbys parties; he interrupts her conversation to instruct her that she must see the faces
of many people youve heard about, exposing the depth of detail encompassed in Gatsbys fantasy.[48]
The inability of reality to align with Gatsbys fantasy is evident at the end of the night as Gatsby, with an
unutterable depression, comments She didnt like it She didnt have a good time.[49] On the same
night, Gatsby and Daisy have their first disagreement as Gatsby wanted nothing less of Daisy than that
she should go to Tom and say: I never loved you.[50] Additionally, Gatsby wanted Daisy to divorce Tom
so that they could return to Louisville and be married from her house- just as if it were five years ago.[51]
The colossal vitality of Gatsbys dream further relates to Zenos Paradox, as there is an endless list of aims
Gatsby needs to complete before he can fulfil his desire. This supports Dino Felluga claims that, Because
desire is articulated through fantasy, it is driven to some extent by its own impossibility.[52] The
impossibility of Gatsbys dream is significant as, ultimately, Gatsby desires to relive the past, Nick
comments, He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea
of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy.[53] Lois Tyson suggests that Although Gatsby
believes that his ultimate goal is the possession of Daisy- a belief Nick, Jordan, Tom and Daisy seem to
share- Daisy is merely the key to his goal rather than the goal itself.[54]
Furthermore, Jacques Lacans theory on desire suggests that The object of mans desire [] is essentially
an object desired by someone else.[55] This can be seen throughout The Great Gatsby in the behaviour of
a number of characters. Firstly, Gatsbys desire of Daisy is fuelled by the knowledge that other men have
desired her:
It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their
presence all about the house, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions.[56]

Lois Tyson claims that Daisys image as a woman possessed by other men, symbolically if not literally,
increased his desire to possess her himself.[57] Similarly, upon Daisys first visit to his mansion, Nick
notes:

He hadnt once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the
measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his
possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer
real.[58]
In Gatsbys re-evaluation of his property through the desires of Daisy, he demonstrates Lacans theory of
desire as being present in the Others desire. Furthermore, when Tom discovers Daisys love for Gatsby, he
gains a sudden determination to win her back:

She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded. His mouth opened a
little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognised her as someone he
knew a long time ago.[59]

This supports the Lacanian theory that our desires are always inextricably bound up with the desires of
others.[60]

The concept of continuously regenerating desires can be seen within the American Dream, as David Kamp
argued, by the early 2000s, the American Dream was almost by definition unattainable, a moving target
that eluded peoples grasp.[61] In describing Tom and Daisys marriage, Nick remarks that They had spent
a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people
played polo and were rich together.[62] This idea of the couple living unrestfully supports ieks claim
that desire is of course metonymical, it shifts from one object to another, through all its displacements,
however, desire nonetheless retains a minimum of formal consistency.[63] After Toms considerable
success at college as a football player, Nick believes that Tom would drift on forever seeking, a little
wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrevocable football game.[64] Similarly, in Toms relationships
with women, whilst continuing his marriage with Daisy, he has affairs with women, usually of lower class, in
an attempt to satisfy his desire for attention. From one of the chambermaids in Santa Barbara Hotel, to
Myrtle Wilson, to the common but pretty girl at Gatsbys party, Tom goes from woman to woman in an
attempt to satisfy his ever evolving desires.[65] Lois Tyson comments that by having affairs with women of
a lower socioeconomic standing than his, Tom can be the hero theyve been hoping would rescue them
from the limitations placed upon them by their class.[66]

Additionally, with regards to the relationships portrayed in the novel, both Tom and Daisy, alongside Myrtle
and Wilson, are presented as formerly happy couples. With regards to Tom and Daisy, Jordan recalls their
relationship shortly after they had been married, noting Id never seen a girl so mad about her husband It
was touching to see them together.[67] Moreover, later in the novel, Tom claims Daisy loved me when she
married me and she loves me now, he goes on to describe his affairs with other women as a spree and
justifies himself by proclaiming I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time.[68] Similarly,
but to a lesser extent, Myrtle and Georges relationship seemed to have begun in happiness as Catherine
remarks You were crazy about him for a while,[69] which Myrtle greatly denies. Additionally, after Daisy
and Gatsbys separation during the war, Daisy is described to have waited to hear from Gatsby until
suddenly she was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men.[70] The inconsistency
presented in the relationships in the novel supports the theory that desire is, as Lacan suggests, neither
the appetite for satisfaction nor the demand for love, but the difference that results from the subtraction of
the first from the second.[71] This theory implies that desire lies in the separation between human want
and human need, and therefore always remains constant. Arguably, this concept can be seen throughout
The Great Gatsby, as the characters desires evolve and develop in the novel.

Another aspect of the American Dream that can be seen throughout the novel is the increasing power of
capitalism through the introduction of consumerism to American lifestyle. This is evident in the novel
through Gatsbys excessively lavish parties, large amounts of alcohol consumption, and arguably in the
characters treatment of others. Slavoj iek proposes that:

At the immediate level of addressing individuals, capitalism, of course, interpellates them as consumers, as
subjects of desire, soliciting in them ever new perverse and excessive desires; furthermore, it obviously
also manipulates the desire to desire, celebrating the very desire to desire ever new objects and models
of pleasure.[72]
This suggests that the capitalist aspect of the American Dream reflects and encourages societies need to
desire. The importance of material wealth is presented in the novel through Gatsbys mansion, his car, and
the lifestyle of the characters, in particular Daisys emotional reaction to Gatsbys beautiful shirts. The
extent to which the consumerist lifestyle is encompassed in the characters psyche can be seen throughout
the novel as the characters commodify each other, and in some cases themselves, for their own personal
gain. Commodification is defined as the act or condition of relating to persons or things in terms of their
exchange value or sign-exchange value to the exclusion of other considerations.[73] Lois Tyson suggests,
in Psychological Politics of the American Dream: The Commodification of Subjectivity in Twentieth-Century
American Literature, that Tom Buchanan is a perfect representative of pure agency: a subjectivity for whom
all else must be object, and for a rich man who relates to the world through his money, all objects are
commodities.[74] Tyson goes on to argue that Toms marriage to Daisy Fay was clearly an exchange of
Daisys youth, beauty, and social standing for Toms money and power and the image of strength and
stability they imparted to him.[75] Prior to Toms marriage to Daisy he gave her a string of pearls valued at
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and in his relationship with Myrtle he rents an apartment for her
and at the slightest request buys her a dog. Tom arguably uses his money to possess women and therefore
commodifies them into objects he can purchase, like a consumer.

On the other hand, it could be argued that Daisy commodifies herself, debatably selling herself to the
highest bidder in her relationship with Tom and her affair with Gatsby. In a conversation with Nick, Daisy
recalls the moment she found out her baby was a girl, declaring Im glad its a girl. And I hope shell be a
fool- thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.[76] Tyson suggests that Daisys
reaction acknowledges that given that woman is a commodity, she had better be marketable, and to be a
fool provides marketable ignorance. [77]

It could also be argued that Gatsby commodifies Daisy in his pursuit of his dream, as Daisy belongs to the
West Egg world of old money, he believes, by possessing her, he can transform his new money in to old
money, and truly achieve social mobility. Tyson comments that:

Gatsbys possession of Daisy would undo history and cancel his identity, replace his historical past with a
fictional past, then he could eliminate the existential pain that accompanies an awareness of lack, loss, or
limitation.[78]

The commodification of characters within the novel represents how a consumerist lifestyle, fuelled by
capitalism and the American Dream, gives individuals a focus to aim their desires. Marius Bewley argues
that the American Dream essentially represents the romantic enlargement of the possibilities of life on a
level at which the material and the spiritual have become inextricably confused.[79] As a result of the
suggested entwinement between material and spiritual worth, the American Dream is thus a dream of the
commodity and the implied premise is that ones spiritual worth and well-being are directly proportional to
the value of the commodities one owns. As consumerism is, in itself, a never-ending process by which one
can always attain more, consumerism assimilates in to the Lacanian theory that desire is a constant human
state, never to be satisfied. As the characters in the novel commodify each other, they are, essentially,
consuming commodities in their continuous attempts to satisfy their desires.

Fitzgerald employs the symbol of the green light to represent Gatsbys dream of his future. Nick notes, on
his first sighting of Gatsby, he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, towards the
green light.[80] The significance of the green light recurs at the end of the novel as Nick ponders on the
fresh green breast of the new world that America symbolised to the Dutch sailors that arrived there.[81]
Nick ponders:

for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent,
compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time
in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.[82]
This is the origin of the American Dream, a new land that offered a blank canvas for the fantasies of the
soon to be American citizens. The fresh green breast of America is what Gatsby envisages in the green
light at the end of Daisys dock, a symbol of his fantasy future self. Nick notes that Gatsbys dream must
have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.
[83] Nicks remark that Gatsbys dream is already behind him relates to Lacans theory that desire in so far
as it has been chosen from among the appendices of the body as an index of desire, it is already the
exponent of a function, which sublimates it even before it has been exercised.[84] This explains that, at
desires inception, it is redirected and already destined to fail, linking to Nicks belief that Gatsbys dream
was already behind him. Fitzgerald ends the novel proposing:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us
then, but that's no matter-to-morrow 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.[85]

Fitzgeralds ending fully captures the nature of human desire as the orgastic future that year by year
recedes us, ever eluding our grasps, as we are incapable of reaching full satisfaction. Additionally, the
notion of being borne back ceaselessly into the past, parallels Lacans statement that every drive is
virtually a death drive. This means that in every endeavour to satisfy a desire, our true aim is not to satisfy
our desire, but to create new desires and ensure that our drive circles these desires. Malcolm Bowie
asserts, in Lacan, that each drive, if and when it is individually considered, bears the mark of impossibility:
each is desire seeking and failing to find its point of satiation.[86]

Throughout The Great Gatsby, the characters are presented as subjects to their desires; Gatsbys ever-
expanding fantasy of a life with Daisy, Tom and Daisy unrestfully drifting from place to place attempting to
find happiness, as well as the affairs they engage in, provide evidence for the Lacanian concept that
desires raison dtre is not to realise its goal, to find full satisfaction, but to reproduce itself as desire.[87]

The Need to Desire in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman.

Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.

Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1949)

In the fourteen years after the publication of The Great Gatsby, America suffered a drastic decline from the
economic prosperity it experienced during the Roaring Twenties, into the era of the Great Depression. The
Great Depression was a period of global economic repression that ran from the 1930s through to the
Second World War in 1939. The Depression had a significant impact on society, Arthur Miller, author of
Death of a Salesman, recalls in an interview the effect it had on American citizens:

There were three suicides on the little block where we lived. They couldnt cope. The impact was
incalculable. These people were profound believers in the American Dream. The day the money stopped
their identity was gone.[88]

The economic decline shed new doubt on the possibility of achieving the American Dream, as Hays
comments, the Depression undermined the solidity of the capitalist system, and showed the flimsiness of
the American Dream that hard work equals success.[89] In Millers autobiography, Timebends (1988), he
claims that the Depression was only incidentally a matter of money. Rather it was a moral catastrophe, a
violent revelation of the hypocrisies behind the faade of American society.[90] The psychological impact of
the Depression created a sense of disbelief in the American Dream that would not diminish until Americas
entrance into the Second World War in 1941. William Chafe writes, in The Unfinished Journey: America
Since World War II, that The war had brought, for the moment at least, a conclusion to want and
unemployment. For millions more, the war brought something else a sense of possibility and optimism for
the first time in a generation.[91] The end of the Second World War sparked an economic boom similar to
that of the First World War, but on a far greater scale. Chafe writes that with full employment, higher
wages, and social welfare benefits provided under government regulations, American workers experienced
a level of well-being that, for many, had never occurred before.[92] Advancements made in technology
allowed for improvements in the industrial sector, and a long-unsatisfied demand for consumer products
coupled with massive savings created a huge market, a market that was sustained by unparalleled
population growth.[93] This transformation in the American economy paralleled the evolution of the
American Dream, as its focus swayed towards a consumerist lifestyle. Woods comments that:

by 1960, the American economy had completed its transformation from a simple production economy, in
which the primary task was to meet basic human needs, to a consumer economy, [] and that the task
ahead was to stimulate and expand consumption in a never-ending drive to increase production and raise
profits.[94]

The consumer-oriented society in post Second World War America is presented in Arthur Millers play,
Death of a Salesman, which opened in 1949. The play presents two days in the consciousness of Willy
Loman, a sixty-three year old failing salesman, whose passion for the American Dream, and success, blurs
the lines of reality in his mind. The narrative shows the breakdown of the Loman family as the eldest son,
Biff, returns home and brings to light the reality of the delusions they had fooled themselves into believing.
As Death of a Salesman opened just four years after the end of the war, the play reflects the struggles of
many American citizens coming out of the Great Depression and WWII, faced with rapidly evolving
industries. Hays comments that there were tales in 1949 of grown men, hardened by the Depression and
WWII, breaking down in tears at the climax of the play.[95] Miller affirms that Death of a Salesman is about:

what happens when everybody has a refrigerator and a car. I wrote Salesman at the beginning of the
greatest boom in world history but I felt that the reality was Depression, the whole thing coming down in a
heap of ashes.[96]

This statement from Miller supports Lacans theory that, despite the greatest boom in world history, a time
when the ability to achieve ones dreams is enhanced, the reality was depression, as one can never truly
fulfil their desires.[97]

Millers ability to connect with the audience through his play, and relate to their experiences, made it hugely
successful, performed seven hundred and forty-two times from 1949 to 1950, and since then revived four
times on Broadway. The play demonstrates the difficulties faced by American citizens at a time of great
societal change, in terms of economy, technological advancements, increasing migration, equality and the
evolving American Dream.

Lacans theory of desire can be seen throughout Death of a Salesman, in the characters attempts to satisfy
their desires. Both Willy and Happy fantasise about the success of their careers, deluding themselves into
believing that their fantasies are reality. Slavoj iek posits, in The Plague of Fantasies, that:

Fantasy does not simply realise a desire in a hallucinatory way: rather, its function is similar to that of
Kantian transcendental schematism: a fantasy constitutes our desire, provides its co-ordinates; that is, it
literally teaches us how to desire.[98]

This theory suggests that, through fantasy, ones desires are formed. This is evident throughout Death of a
Salesman, as the characters repeatedly fantasise about their future success, to the extent that they blur the
reality of their present success. Throughout the play, Willy professes to be a successful, renowned
businessman declaring to Biff:

America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up
and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, therell be open sesame for all
of us, cause one thing, boys: I have friends.[99]
Willy insists on maintaining his delusions to repress his feelings of failure and encourage his desire for
future success. Lois Tyson proposes that if he can just keep this vision intact until he kills himself, Willy will
not have to face the repressed awareness of his failed life that keeps threatening to break through into his
consciousness and overwhelm him.[100] Willy is able to maintain these fantasies through the support of
Linda and Happy, who accept, support and even encourage his delusions. Tyson suggests that In their
eyes, he was the success he pretended to be, and their belief in him helped him to deny the reality of his
small sales commissions.[101] The support Willy attains, from both Linda and Happy, exposes their own
personal need to fantasise about success and desire for the future. Happy himself is guilty of deluding
himself and others into believing he is more successful than he truly is. In response to Happys declaration
that they always told the truth, Biff exclaims, You big blow, are you the assistant buyer? Youre one of the
two assistants to the assistant, arent you?[102]

Additionally, as Biff attempts to break Willy free from his fantasy conscience, Happy tries to stop him,
claiming Willy is never so happy as when hes looking forward to something.[103] In Act Two, Biff
expresses his desire to confess to Willy the truth about his career since leaving school, testifying He thinks
Ive been spiting him all these years and its eating him up.[104] Biffs attempts to free Willy from his
delusions of success are squandered by Happy, who instructs Biff to tell him something nice and pretend
to leave the house tomorrow and come back at night and say Oliver is thinking it over. And he thinks it over
for a couple of weeks, and gradually it fades away and nobodys the worse.[105] Happys belief that Willy is
never so happy as when hes looking forward to something is proven when Willy prevents Biff from telling
him the truth about his meeting with Oliver, protesting:

Im looking for a little good news to tell your mother, because the woman has waited and the woman has
suffered. The gist of it is that I havent got a story left in my head, Biff. So dont give me a lecture about
facts and aspects. I am not interested. Now whatve you got to say to me?[106]

Willys refusal to acknowledge the truth shows the strength of his desire to achieve his American Dream,
and his demand for good news exposes his need for something to desire.

Additionally, throughout the play, Willy repeatedly refers to his idols such as Dave Singleman, his father and
Ben, as well as American legends such as Thomas Edison. Dino Felluga asserts that the fantasy image of
oneself can be filled in by others who we may want to emulate in our adult lives, such as role models.[107]
This concept is evident in the play, as Willy measures individual worth by the standard of the American
Dream and his idols. Willy places an emphasis on the worth of each person through his or her individual
success, and this is largely to blame for the troubled relationship between himself and Biff. Willy places high
expectations on both Biff and Happy to become successful salesmen; his dreams grow to a mythic
standard, which is evident as he refers to them as Hercules and Adonis. As Willy remembers Biffs
sporting success at school, he recalls Biff like a young God God Almighty, hell be great yet. A star like
that, magnificent, can never really fade away![108] In Willys idolisation of men like Dave Singleman and
American legends such as Thomas Edison, he builds his fantasy image of himself. The American Dream
provides people, like Willy, with a standard by which to build their fantasy image.

Similar to The Great Gatsby, the concept of commodification can be seen throughout Death of a Salesman,
in the characters relationships with each other as well as their self-perception. Commodification, the act of
relating to persons or things in terms of their exchange value, meaning a value is placed on a person or
thing in the fashion of a consumer.[109] Consumerism is an important element of the American Dream, as
individuals are continuously encouraged to desire new things and gain material wealth. The consumerist
aspect of capitalism reflects human natures ever-constant need to desire, as Slavoj iek claims,
capitalism celebrates the very desire to desire ever new objects and modes of pleasure.[110] The human
drive, or will, that Lacan argues comes as a result of desire is, as iek claims, that which propels the
whole capitalist machinery, it is the impersonal compulsion to engage in the endless circular
movement.[111] This suggests that the concept of consumerism, an important element of the American
Dream, is an extension of the human need to constantly regenerate desires.
With regards to Death of a Salesman, Lois Tyson notes that it is in the American Dream- specifically, in its
relation to commodity psychology that the plays psychological and political strands are inextricably
entwined.[112]The commodity psychology that Tyson refers to can be applied to the commodification of
women exhibited by both Willy and Happy. Willys flashback to his affair with The Woman, recalls a
conversation in which she affirms you didnt pick me, Willy. I picked you Ive been sitting at that desk
watching all the salesmen go by, day in, day out. But youve got such a sense of humour[113] Miller
doesnt provide any personal details about Willys mistress, such as her name or her appearance, as these
details are irrelevant, she simply represents Willys discontent with life. Willys affair with The Woman
provides him with a sense of superiority over the other salesmen in the company that he lacks in his career.
Tyson comments that For Willy, this woman was a commodity the acquisition of which conferred upon him
the professional sign-exchange value he was unable to attain otherwise.[114]

Similarly, Happy has an affair with the wife of an executive in his company, to attain a feeling of supremacy
that he cannot attain in his own personal career:

I dont know what gets into me, maybe I just have an over developed sense of competition or something,
but I went and ruined her, and furthermore I cant get rid of her. And hes the third executive Ive done that
to I hate myself for it. Because I dont want the girl, and, still, I take it and I love it![115]

Additionally, after learning of Biffs failed attempt to negotiate business with Oliver, Happy abandons Willy at
the restaurant to pursue women. In response to one of the women asking Dont you want to tell your
father-, Happy replies No, thats not my father. Hes just a guy. Come on, well catch Biff, and, honey, were
going to paint this town![116] Happys determination to pursue the women, to the extent of abandoning his
father, comes as a result of the disappointment of another failed dream, as he had just discovered his
dream of the Loman Brothers Sporting Goods company would no longer be possible. In a conversation
with Biff, Happy boasts about his success with women, claiming I get that any time I want, Biff. Whenever I
feel disgusted.[117] When success in his career is lacking, Happy looks to find self-worth in the attraction
of women, similar to Tom Buchanans behaviour in The Great Gatsby.[118] Tyson suggests that:

In the Lomans case, not only are the familys sexual attitudes compatible with the commodifying ideology
of the American Dream, but, like that dream, the familys sexual mores help them disguise and deny their
own psychology and thereby avoid existential inwardness.[119]

This theory suggests that, when their fantasies are threatened, such as the brothers inability to start their
own business, the Lomans commodify women to overpower any feelings of failure. Furthermore, in Willys
final act he commodifies his own life, committing suicide so his family can receive money from life
insurance. The tragedy of Death of a Salesman is that, after decades of attempting, and failing, to sell
himself as a commodity in the business world, the only way he can successfully sell himself is by selling his
own life. Lois Tyson suggests that Like all his other defences, Willys suicide draws on the same American
Dream in which personal and financial success are at once wed in and transcended by sign-exchange
value.[120] The notion of self-commodification and commodification of others could be linked to the
increasingly consumerist and capitalist nature of society, fuelled by human natures need to desire. Michael
Spindler suggests that The spirit of independence and self-reliance and a hierarchical status system
created an anxiety- producing interpersonal assessment of social worth.[121]

Throughout Death of a Salesman, Miller questions the validity of the American Dream as something to
aspire towards. The setting itself represents the negative impact of the American Dream, as migration to the
cities increased after the Second World War; increasing amounts of apartment blocks were built. This is
presented in Death of a Salesman as Willys house is surrounded by towering apartment buildings that
block out the sunlight. Sterling suggests that the claustrophobic effect of the large apartments implies
Willys insignificance and the idea that progress and business seemed to have passed him by.[122] Willy
acknowledges the claustrophobic nature of their neighbourhood as he complains the way they boxed us in
here The street is lined with cars. Theres not a breath of fresh air in the neighbourhood. The grass dont
grow anymore, you cant raise a carrot in the back yard.[123] Similarly, it is noted in the play that the entire
setting is wholly or, in some places, partially transparent, which Sterling proposes is an indication of the
hollowness of the American Dream and the failure of Willy, who falsely claims that his house is well
built.[124] The idea of the American Dream as hollow mimics the Lacanian idea there is a lack at the
heart of human desires that drive circles. Sean Homer explains that the drive always circles around its
object but never achieves the satisfaction of reaching it. The purpose of the drive, therefore, is simply to
maintain its own repetitive compulsive movement, just as the purpose of desire is to desire.[125] The
hollowness of the Loman household, where they fantasise about their dreams of success, represents the
hollowness of their desires, whilst their endeavours outside the house, such as Biffs attempt at a meeting
with Oliver, represent the drive that circles their desires.

Miller employs a stream-of consciousness technique to allow the audience inside Willys psyche; this
exposes the causes of Willys behaviour through his regressive flashbacks and imaginary conversations
with Ben. Miller additionally utilises the set to imply the blurred lines between Willys reality and fantasy, as,
during Willys fantasy episodes, the actors walk through the wall lines of the house instead of using the
doors. In exposing the nature of Willys psych, the audience is offered an explanation as to his behaviour,
his admiration and need to be like his father and Ben, as well as his need for hope for the future.

The character of Biff holds a perspective similar to Lacan, questioning as to whether one can truly attain
happiness through the pursuit of the American Dream. In Act One, Biff informs Happy of his attempts at a
career since leaving home:

its a measly manner of existence. To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer. To devote your
whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying. To suffer fifty weeks of the year for
the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off. And always
to have to get ahead of the next fella. And still thats how you build a future.

Biffs description of an endless attempt to attain success links to Anthony Brandts theory that the American
Dream stretches endlessly and forever toward the horizon.[126] Additionally, this concept links to Lacans
theory that, as desire regenerates and reforms the closer we get to fulfilling our desires, one can never
attain full satisfaction. This is evident in the play as Happy recalls a merchandise manager who just built a
terrific estate on long Island. And lived there about two months and sold it, and now hes building another
one. He cant enjoy it once its finished.[127] This supports the Lacanian theory that Homer expands on in
suggesting that desire refers to something beyond basic human needs that cannot be satisfied.[128]
Similarly, the fact that Willy, in spite of his inability to pay his mortgage, considers building two guest
houses, as Sterling says, manifests how unattainable the American Dream is for him and how out of touch
Willy is with reality.[129]

Death of a Salesman highlights the significance of fantasy in forming human desire, and in Willy Lomans
case, what occurs when the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred. Additionally, the play
exposes the effect of the American Dream in giving people an unrealistic standard to aspire to. The legends
of the American dream that Willy incorporates into his fantasy image of himself, dwarf him in comparison,
and equally dwarf the success of those around him.

Conclusion

The American Dream, the vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, is a vision that, from an
early age, humans fantasise for themselves. Lacan claims that humans, between the ages of six to eight
months, go through a mirror stage, in which the child identifies itself as separate from the mother and the
rest of the world. Lacanian theorist, Dino Felluga, notes that, in the mirror stage:
the child misrecognises in its mirror image a stable, coherent, whole self, which, however, does not
correspond to the real child (and is, therefore, impossible to realise). The image is a fantasy, one that the
child sets up in order to compensate for its sense of lack or loss.[130]

The concept of creating a fantasy image of oneself is, as Lacan argues, a process that continues
throughout the course of human life. Felluga posits that, in constructing our fantasy-version of reality, we
establish coordinates for our desire.[131] It is this fantasy-version of reality that is presented in both
Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman. Jay Gatsbys ever-
expanding fantasy of his life with Daisy Buchanan began with young James Gatzs platonic conception of
himself.[132] Fitzgerald writes that Gatsbys dream had gone beyond everything. He had thrown himself
into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his
way.[133] Similarly, Willy Lomans fantasy image of himself, as a renowned and successful Salesman, is
coloured with his idolisation of his father and brother Ben. Willys submission to fantasy, rather than reality,
represents the human need to desire for something greater. The faults of the protagonists in both novels
come as a result of the vitality of their fantasies; linking to Lacans claim that the only thing of which one
can be guilty is of having given ground relative to ones desire.[134]

The American Dream acts as a metanarrative of the human instinct to fantasise and desire for a greater
future. The transformation of the American Dream, from its origins as a dream of a true democracy, to the
more contemporary dream of material wealth, has reflected the desires of a nation rather than formed
them. Lawrence R Samuel claims that, because the American Dream is a product of our collective
imagination, it could mean whatever we want or need it to mean, after all, something as ethereal as the
concept of independence or as material as a new Cadillac.[135] With the American Dreams increasingly
capitalist and consumerist nature, Slavoj iek explains it celebrates the very desire to desire.[136]

The American Dream is an accurate representation of the nature of desire, as Frederic Carpenter suggests,
the American Dream existed before America was discovered- indeed, it helped to discover America. The
discovery of America was regarded as an almost biblical event, as Captain Edward Johnson claimed, it was
a new Heaven and a new Earth.[137] This vision of America, the American Dream, is a projection of the
nature of human desire, mirroring the evolution of society. Lawrence R Samuel remarks, it has always
managed to bounce back to life, each miraculous recovery both shaping and reflecting a renewal of the
American spirit.[138]

It is the constant presence of the American Dream, and the transformation it has undergone since the
discovery of America, that proves the nature of human desire as ever evolving. Lawrence Samuel suggests
that the American Dream is more about the journey than the destination, the getting there always more
exciting than the arrival.[139] This supports the Lacanian theory that desires purpose is not to realise its
goal, to find full satisfaction, but to reproduce itself as desire.[140] In John Millers book, Origins of the
American Revolution, he quotes a statement from the Royal Governor of Virginia in 1774, claiming that the
Americans for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are settled and
that if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west.[141] The
green light beckoning from across the bay as true in 2014 as it was in 1774...