“I want the money, the money and the cars,
cars and the clothes, the hoes, I suppose
I just want to be successful”
The song
“Successful” by Drake embodies the perceived ideal of the American Dream and its associated benefits. Drake
claims that all that he wants is the “money, cars, and the clothes” that
symbolize social and economic affluence in the United States and modern society. However, Drake follows this verse with
a doubtful, “I suppose”, indicating that the wealth and luxuries obtained from
success may not be as fulfilling as they were made up to be.
![]() |
Gatsby's car |
"This lost boy
got fly without Peter Pan”
This lyric suggests
that Drake has not only “made it”, but has made it without the help of a “Peter
Pan” or anyone else to lead him.
He has achieved social mobility solely from his hard work and
dedication, illustrating that success is a tangible reality for anyone who puts
forth enough time and effort, even if he/she starts with nothing. Drake’s music video ends with a quote
from Barack Obama that conveys the essence of success through the American
Dream and the ability to rise from rags to riches.
"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you chose to persevere."
Barack Obama
![]() |
Drake |
“They be
starin’ at the money like it’s unfamiliar”
Now that Drake has lived
the fast life and become famous and wealthy, the people surrounding him are
attracted to his limitless lifestyle because it is “unfamiliar” and exciting to
them. However, Drake sees that
success and wealth do not necessarily erase life’s burdens as one might be
inclined to believe.
"But as of late, a lot
of sh•t been going sideways
and my mother try to run
away from home”
Despite his
accomplishments, Drake is still haunted by a broken family life that money
cannot repair, indicating that even though success is welcomed and celebrated,
it does not fix all problems. Drake reveals the darker, more sinister side of wealth that is not often
looked at.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, wealth is praised and celebrated as the epitome of success. When the main character, Nick Carraway, moves to the East Coast, he is exposed to the superfluous lifestyle of the rich and famous. In contrast to the poor who live in the valley of the ashes, the wealthy seem to have a luxurious, care-free lifestyle; his observations of the
elite class leaves him with the impression that wealth alleviates and
eradicates all burdens that the lower classes have to endure.
![]() |
One of Gatsby's extravagant parties |
On his first encounter
at the Buchanan household in fashionable, upper-class East Egg, Daisy Buchanan
and Jordan Baker are described as “two women who were buoyed up as though upon
an anchored balloon" (pg. 8). The language in this scene creates a
picture where the rich are not tied to the ground by work or hardships, but
instead appear to be surrounded by a lack of gravity due to their economic and
social status.
However, as the novel progresses, Nick begins to see the unspoken drawbacks of wealth and success that Drake refers to. Nick's change in perspective is illustrated in his description of Daisy and Jordan in a similar scene later in the novel as "silver idols weighing down their own white dresses..." (pg. 115). Instead of being "buoyant" and unrestrained by a lack of burdens, Nick now sees that the rich do not necessarily have the perfect life that is advertised with wealth. The fact that Daisy and Jordan are weighing themselves down suggests that their burdens stem from the corruption that accompanies a life where neither responsibility nor sincerity is required. Gatsby's death ultimately represents the sinister side of wealth and the extent of the corruption from money in The Great Gatsby.
"Just enough to solve your problems [because] too much will kill ya"
I like how this blog shows the direct connections between Gatsby's American Dream and Drake's American Dream and how it shows that money cannot erase one's past.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection of Gatsby's american dream to Drake's american dream. It is expressed that both came to their wealth through hard work and once there there accumulation of vast material treasures.
ReplyDelete