The American Dream in the Adirondacks

A recurring topic that we have addressed in class is the notion that the history of the Adirondacks is defined by the narratives of those that inhabit it. Contested Terrain gives us brief glimpses into the lives of many of the park's earliest settlers and these collective stories provide a broader picture of the struggles and rewards of pioneering the Adirondacks. While reading, I thought of the possibilities that the early Adirondacks provided and imagined the horizon of opportunity that lay before its inhabitants if only they could dream it. The notion that they could aspire to be anything in the Adirondacks seemed, to me, to be the perfect example of "The American Dream."

The notion of an "American Dream" is something that is explored by many writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald in his book The Great Gatsby. While reading Contested Terrain I found many parallels between the early settlers of the Adirondacks and Jay Gatsby. Like Gatsby, these settlers were dirt poor, but had the desire for a grander life and the will to make it happen. One of the things that makes The Great Gatsby such an influential novel is that it defines what it is that makes America unique from the rest of the world; the "American Dream" is an idea that seems to be validated by the lives of these early settlers. The men of women who first moved to the area, "generally poor, hardworking laborers with no capital," (24)  were able to use the opportunities that the land provided to cultivate livings as farmers, store owners and entrepreneurs. 

We have discussed, in class, how the narratives of the Adirondacks address a larger theme about what it is to be American; what makes us unique from the rest of the world. The way in which the Adirondack landscape provided its inhabitants both with obstacles and boundless opportunity is a notion that has been present all throughout American history, from its founding, to the roaring twenties when The Great Gatsby was set to the present day. These opportunities encapsulate not only what it is to be an Adirondacker, but also what it is to be American.