Just because society follows the “American Dream” of monetary wealth, does that mean we should chase the dream? In all generations, people strive to be rich and famous, as if it is a timeless behavior. People are driven to chase the dollar above anything else. In the quest for true wealth, they may forget their morals and values ​​and focus only on one dream and one dream only. This causes them to be perceived as someone they are not. In F. Scott's Fitzgerald novel "The Great Gatsby" and Matt Ross's film "Captain Fantastic," the main characters Jay Gatsby and Ben Cash portray unrealistic perceptions of true wealth. This perspective from the two creators leads us to question the way we live and aspire to “true wealth”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby," Jay craves wealth not because he is greedy, nor for personal gain, but to win back Daisy's love. Jay believes that once he achieves his wealth, all his problems will be solved and everything will be perfect. But we will find out later that this is not the case. Instead of showing Daisy affection, Jay decides to try to impress her with his wealth by throwing lavish parties across the bay. “In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whispers and he the champagne and the stars.” As we all know, Jay aspired to become rich. With his upbringing being so poor, this is not necessarily a bad desire on his part. We begin to hear rumors surrounding the name Gatsby. How did he become so rich? His plan begins to unravel when we discover that Jay's wealth is not legitimate. He was smuggling for his money just to get rich. As a reader, we are sure to question Jay's morals and values. Has he forgotten his quest for the “American dream”. Not once did Gatsby reflect on his actions or change his opinions about the dream of being rich and famous. As a child, Jay viewed wealth as being able to solve any problem he might face. Gatsby's perception of wealth was wrong to begin with, because young Jay only cared about being rich. Jay didn't change his mindset and never realized that true wealth was valuing what he already had, his family. The view of wealth may have evolved into relationships around materials, he was able to make real friends who truly cared about his well-being rather than his money. If Jay had realized that he was isolated and that no one really cared about him, it wouldn't have ended in such tragedy. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock is a vital symbol that Fitzgerald describes throughout the novel. The light is symbolic of Gatsby's American dream; his quest to change the past for a better present and obtain Daisy's love. The light gave Gatsby something to strive for, a goal and a desire to achieve. When Gatsby searches for artificial light, Fitzgerald points out that his dream is "unrealistic." In Matt Ross's film, "Captain Fantastic," Ben Cash's view of "real wealth" is the polar opposite of Jay Gatsby's. Ben interprets wealth as the utopian world he created in the forest for himself, his children and his beloved wife. We later discover that his perception of wealth is just as unrealistic as Gatsby's. Ben Cash raised his children to believe.