Winter Dreams

2 Pages 622 Words

“Winter Dreams” – Dexter Green and the American Dream
Dexter Green, the main character of the short story “Winter Dreams”, is striving for the American Dream. His goal to achieve this dream affects the way he lives his life, and the consequences that come with the choices his makes. Dexter’s desire for the American Dream—which includes status, wealth, and ability—is what ultimately leads to the demise of his winter dreams.
One’s status is almost essential to make one feel important and loved. Those are exactly the feelings that Dexter is searching for in trying to gain a healthy status. He feels that if he stepped “from a Pierce-Arrow automobile, like Mr. Mortimer Jones, he [would be able to] stroll frigidly into the lounge” (p. 1026) of a popular club. One of the ways Dexter tries to strive for an admired status is through Judy Jones. Judy is the epitome of the success that Dexter is trying to gain, and status comes along with success. The fling he had with Judy, at the moment, made him feel like he was living in a dream, but without Judy, he was greatly unhappy. “Succeeding Dexter’s first exhilaration came restlessness and dissatisfaction.” (p. 1035) Dexter’s relationship with Judy made him feel like he was just one of her many flings—and indeed he was! Realizing this, he decides to join the army, and “he… [became]… one of those young thousands who greeted the war with a certain amount of relief, welcoming the liberation from webs of tangled emotion.” (p. 1040)
An American Dream without wealth is just not an American Dream. Dexter’s dream of wealth comes from his observations of the rich at the golf club of which he worked. Dexter’s quest for wealth serves for the purpose of showing it, which makes him feel like he is superior. “He wanted not association with glittering things and glittering people—he wanted the glittering things themselves.” (p. 1029) He took the ...