The United States of America is seen as the terrain of infinite opportunities, which is deeply rooted in the history of this country. People came to the New World in their search for a better life ready to work hard and achieve the established goals. In fact, this is the essence of the American Dream that has two major components: hard work and success. The high stand of the nation is due to many people’s firm belief in their dream. American writers could not leave this important topic aside and devoted their works to this aspect of their people’s life. Some of the most recurrent and thought-provoking themes related to the American Dream include courage and satisfaction, as well as dissatisfaction. These ideas are properly highlighted in some works by Sherwood Anderson and Robert Frost.
One of the most pertinent topics associated with the American Dream is taking the courage to act and seize the opportunity. Sherwood Anderson discussed human fears and reluctance (or sometimes terror) to make the first step. In his short stories, “Mother” and “Adventure,” the writer shows the feelings of those who do not dare to pursue their dreams. Regret and constant dissatisfaction make the life of a person miserable and meaningless. The mother who used to be quite a daring young creature wearing men’s clothes and accompanying different males visiting her city became a shadow of herself (Anderson, 2012b). She was almost permanently feeling unwell because “some obscure disease had taken the fire out of her figure” (Anderson, 2012b, p. 269). The disease had an actual name as it was regret and constant dissatisfaction. She did not realize her potential and felt desperate about it. She chose not to step forward and leave her city as she feared failing since everyone said she would.
Another example of unmet expectations is Alice Hindman who had an adventure in her life but missed her opportunity. Although some may think that the adventure was the young woman jogging naked in the night streets, the real adventure was her adolescent love. Again, she believed her love could make her happy and was ready to go to the big city with her man (Anderson, 2012a). In reality, she longed for a life in a big city and tried to seize the opportunity of starting the adventure if she needed to go with the young male. However, she was not courageous enough, so she had to live through a monotonous routine that led to a burst one night. The female ended up in tears and “began trying to force herself to face bravely the fact that many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg” (Anderson, 2012a, p. 277). She gave in and failed her American Dream, which made her miserable.
Another type of personality is described in Robert Frost’s poems. For instance, in his “The Road Not Taken,” the poet is sufficiently bold to take action and choose the road associated with risks. The road that can be seen to “where it bent in the undergrowth” stands for life with no risk and a low chance of great success (Frost, 2012b, p. 241). Frost (2012) does not refer to this road as something completely dissatisfying. However, the poet chooses another path that is more intriguing, even understanding that the choice can be incorrect in the long run. The poem “After Apple-Picking” is another success story where a person, after hard work, has an orchid full of apples (Frost, 2012a). He is blessed to fulfill his own American Dream. Importantly, both poems are positive and optimistic in their tone, which is a different case from the short stories under analysis.
The poem “After Apple-Picking” deserves special attention as the poet shows what can come of a fulfilled dream. A man who has worked hard and achieved unprecedented success may also feel almost unhappy. Frost (2012a) describes the case when a successful person seems dissatisfied due to the overwhelming nature of his success. Thus, the American Dream can make a person unhappy, temporally or permanently, irrespective of the outcome. It is necessary to be quite careful with dreaming and managing the fruit of one’s labor.
In conclusion, it is necessary to note that the works of Sherwood Anderson and Robert Frost dwell upon two important themes related to the American Dream, courage and satisfaction, as well as dissatisfaction. The main characters in the literary works by Sherwood Anderson did not take a risk and remained dissatisfied and miserable for their entire lives. The narrators in the poems by Robert Frost were much more courageous and seized the opportunity they had. Although the success and fulfillment of the dream may seem debatable, the overall tone of the poems is positive. The narrators have some fears, but they are both rather satisfied. Therefore, it is possible to state that these American writers encourage people to take a stride and, at least, try to change their lives, which will lead to their well-being. The poet and the writer note that failure is not as dramatic as lost chances are.
References
Anderson, S. (2012a). Adventure. In R. S. Levine & N. Baym (Eds.), The Norton anthology of American literature (8th ed.) (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.
Anderson, S. (2012b). Mother. In R. S. Levine & N. Baym (Eds.), The Norton anthology of American literature (8th ed.) (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.
Frost, R. (2012a). After apple-picking. In R. S. Levine & N. Baym (Eds.), The Norton anthology of American literature (8th ed.) (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.
Frost, R. (2012b). The road not taken. In R. S. Levine & N. Baym (Eds.), The Norton anthology of American literature (8th ed.) (p. 241). W.W. Norton & Company.