who manages to rise to prosperity on the strength
of his character and determination. Decker believes
that these stories allowed turn of the century readers
“an outlet for reinforcing their belief in the residual
concept of character based success” (2). American
literature from this period and into the 20th century
is full of examples of characters who, because they
lack character, cannot be truly successful. Besides
the aforementioned Thomas Sutpen, there is Jay
Gatsby, the title character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
The Great Gatsby. Gatsby earns his wealth through
questionable associations with unscrupulous people,
all so that he may win the love of Daisy Buchanan.
Even were he to achieve this goal, he would not be
truly successful. He would be unable to enjoy his
achievement, because he showed poor character in
its pursuit, and because he is denying his true iden-
tity in the entire enterprise. Like Sutpen, Gatsby
ends up a victim of murder.
Willy Loman, from Arthur Miller’s death
oF a saLesMan, is an excellent example of a charac-
ter who strives his whole life for success, but because
he does not really understand what success is, he is
doomed to never achieve it. Willy wants only to be
“well-liked” and takes no joy from the job he thinks
will help him to achieve this end. He interacts with
his family only in the context of how successful he
is, and since this existence is a lie, his relationships
with them are empty. Like Willy, Rabbit Angstrom
in John Updike’s rabbit, run desperately bemoans
the life he sees as mundane and stagnant, think-
ing that his only successes in life are behind him,
with the glory of his high school basketball career.
Because he puts no focus, concentration, or passion
into his current life, he cannot feel, even to mourn
the death of his baby daughter.
On the other hand, a character such as Jo March,
from Louisa May Alcott’s LittLe woMen,^
despite a distinct lack of wealth, power, and social
status, ends the narrative very happy and, because
she achieves her aims, successful. Jo wants to be an
intellectually independent woman, and in 19th-cen-
tury New England, this was not a common or easily
attained goal. She rejects the love of Laurie because,
despite her affection for him, she knows he will want
a traditional marriage. She moves to New York to
pursue her love of writing and gain independence,
and there she meets her true mate, Professor Bhaer,
who understands and respects her forthright, deter-
mined nature. She opens a school, marries Bhaer,
and ends the novel the epitome of success.
While success as a theme is common in all
American literature, it is perhaps most common
in African-American literature. This is perhaps
because, as Audrey Edwards and Craig K. Polite
argue, for black Americans, success is “a relative”
phenomenon, “measured as much by what has been
overcome as by what has been achieved” (3). Often
systematically denied a level playing field, such as
equal educations, equal access to certain careers,
and equal opportunities to live and work in desir-
able places, African Americans have been forced to
define success differently than whites. In addition, the
specter of failure has been so internalized among
African Americans that many may feel that they
are inferior and cannot truly compete in the white
world. Thus, success and its pursuit are frequently
explored in texts by African-American writers.
Booker T. Washington’s up FroM sLavery pres-
ents one view of African-African success, albeit a
controversial one. Washington believed blacks’ road
to success was to be found in learning to work hard,
have good manners, and participate in the rank and
file of the working class. At the Tuskegee Institute,
a school he founded, all students had to participate
in menial chores as well as their studies. Although
many students rebelled, Washington was resolute
in his view that blacks had to build a modest foun-
dation before they could reach for the heights of
success.
Ralph Kabnis, in Jean Toomer’s cane, repre-
sents the rebellious students who did not agree with
Washington’s plan. Educated in the North, he does
not anticipate that despite his credentials and social
standing, he will be forced to act deferential around
all whites, even those who are less educated than he
and who hold a less prestigious place in society. Like
many African Americans both before him and after
him, he finds that he must begin in a metaphorical
hole and dig his way out just to get the respect any
human being deserves. Characters like Ralph chafe
against Washington’s idea that blacks should prove
their worth to whites. Instead, they want that worth
to be assumed from the beginning.success 109