Kevin LaZur Assignment 1

In the poem "Inventing My Parents", the author makes an allusion to F. Scott Fitzgerald and his idea of the American Dream. This plays a big role in the theme of the poem because the setting of the poem/painting is in the 1940s, just like Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The presence of the American Dream could be seen in the poem as "a hawk flying over, its shadow sweeping every town." The air that is as "warm as a bath" is saturated with opportunity. Wealth and riches await those whose dream is to seek it. The narrator sees his parents as those individuals who believe in the american dream, who walk leisurely into the shadows of hope and motivations. They are content with their place in the world, because they know there is no better option.