Laura Brown is the second example of an individual who has
achieved the American Dream but is ultimately unhappy. First is Gatsby, who has
the companion of his wealth, but not the intimacy of companions. Laura, on the
other hand, is not blessed with riches like Gatsby, but she does have a family
including a child and a loving husband. One would think that she is the epitome
of a comfortable woman of middle class suburbia. However, this is all but true,
as she contemplates suicide and ends up running from her family and starting a
new life on her own. This makes me question what “success” truly means. Some
people say that success is when you’ve reached the top of the economy and can
buy anything you can dream of. Other people conclude that all you need is the
love and support of family and friends. Laura had one and Gatsby had the other,
yet neither of them felt successful. Society gave us two different definitions
of success, but I’ve come to realize that neither are true. Every being is
programmed with different needs, so who are we to define success for someone
else? To be happy is to be successful—whether it is money or love or donuts…it’s
really not up to society to generalize.
