So Far Gone: Drake and Gatsby's Success

“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"