Death by a White Picket Fence The American Dream promises a life of happiness. However, this promise, surprisingly to some, often fails. People come to realize that a life consisting of a perfect family, perfect children, a perfect home, and even a perfect dog is not a formula for guaranteed happiness. However, there is no formula that can guarantee happiness. In The Truman Show, Truman's realization of his unhappiness and lack of satisfaction with what many would consider a flawless life triggers his insistence to leave Seahaven and pursue a life contradictory to the commercial version of the American dream in an attempt to find happiness and satisfaction elsewhere. . The Truman Show exemplifies Tocqueville's writings in Democracy in America about the dissatisfaction and problems that the American dream can bring in Truman's path to escape his life in Seahaven. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Despite his perfect life, Truman experiences immense dissatisfaction and the need to escape this life he has been placed in. This is a result of Truman's nagging feeling that the world around him doesn't seem quite right and his obsession with his lost love Sylvia. Tocqueville describes having seen “men placed in the happiest condition that exists in the world; it seemed to me that a kind of cloud usually covered their features; they seemed serious and sad to me almost even in pleasures” (Tocqueville 511). Truman's life is the epitome of the American dream, which is supposed to guarantee happiness, but his life has been far from happy for Truman as he has aged and becomes more skeptical. This life for Truman is orchestrated by the show's creator Cristof. Cristof's vision for Truman is a perfect life to be seen by millions of people, one that succeeds as a result of people's obsession with the American dream and the ability to live vicariously through Truman. However, Cristof's vision for Truman ultimately fails, because the American Dream fails to take into account the fact that happiness looks different for each individual. For some, the American Dream might simply look like not living paycheck to paycheck. To another person, the American dream might look like earning seven figures a year. For Truman, the American dream seems to be simply escaping to Fiji to be with Sylvia. Truman does not want a life of an office job, a suburban house, and a picturesque wife that Cristof mistakenly thought would satisfy Truman for his entire life. Cristof's vision for Truman did not take into account individuality or how superficial the dream was; Cristof's vision represented only what would sell the shows millions of viewers. As a result, Cristof's vision fails and Truman leaves behind Seahaven and that cloud of sadness, which Tocqueville refers to. Additionally, Cristof's divine role in the American Dream and his insistence on controlling every aspect of Truman's life initiate Truman's desire to escape following Cristof's removal of Sylvia from the show. According to Christianity, when God created the Earth, he created it with a utopia in mind, which is similar to Cristof's approach to Seahaven. Cristof created this utopia separate from the wicked world outside. However, Cristof's world eventually becomes corrupt and falls apart when Truman begins to realize the truth and act on his free will, similar to how God's plan for the Earth fell apart when sin entered in the worldthrough Adam and Eve when Eve acted with her free will. and ate of the “forbidden fruit.” The “forbidden fruit” came from the Tree of Knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the two could no longer remain in the Garden of Eden due to their newfound knowledge and lack of respect for God. When Truman begins to realize the truth about his surroundings, he cannot no longer stay in his Eden, which is Seahaven. Cristophil's possession of material goods “is permitted by religion and mortality” (Tocqueville 509) through his position as the creator of this separate world. Tocqueville explains that “the heart, the imagination, the life are handed over to these without reservation; and in trying to grasp them we lose sight of the most precious goods that make the glory and greatness of the human species” (Tocqueville 509). Cristof, in pursuing his vision, lost sight of these precious assets. One of the "precious goods" that makes the human species great is love, of which Truman is deprived by Cristof. Truman falls in love with a woman on the show named Sylvia, who eventually tries to reveal the truth about the show and her life to Truman. Sylvia is immediately removed from the show by Cristof to supposedly go with her father to Fiji, and Truman is left confused and heartbroken for years. Cristof's removal of Sylvia and his attempt to play God rob Truman of the love he feels for Sylvia. Despite being given this ideal life, Truman finds himself longing for a different life, the one with Sylvia. Tocqueville describes men who “constantly dream of possessions they do not have” (Tocqueville 511), as in the case of Truman and the “precious possession” that Cristof took from his life. Throughout the film, Truman spends time cutting out pieces of women from magazines to construct a representation of what he remembers Sylvia looking like. Truman still owns Sylvia's sweater, which can be seen breathing in one of the scenes where he reminisces about his time with Sylvia. Truman repeatedly stumbles into his past, because his past included Sylvia. His obsession with what once was and what is not now is the primary source of his dissatisfaction with his life in Seahaven. However, The American Dream does not include a sequence in which the protagonist flees to Fiji to find a lost love. Cristof's removal of Sylvia to keep the show in line with the American Dream triggers Truman's obsession that he simply cannot let go, which creates this inner turmoil for Truman that creates his need to leave. Throughout The Truman Show, the obsession with materialism leads to the collapse of the show through advertising and product placement. The possibility of being like Truman entices many, because Truman is living what is considered the American dream. Viewers of the show watch to live vicariously through Truman, because his life appears to be so ideal. Truman is the shortcut to the American dream for the show's viewers. Truman witnesses embarrassing advertising moments on the show, and this ignites a sense of unease because he doesn't understand why the products appear to be advertised. In one scene, his wife Meryl gives a short speech about the brand of cocoa powder they use. Truman asks her who she is talking to, and this is one of the key moments in Truman's realization of his reality. In Democracy in America, Tocqueville writes, “the love of material enjoyments must constantly drag Americans towards the disorder of morals, disturb their families, and finally compromise the destiny of society itself” (Tocqueville 508). In The Truman Show, the infatuation with material enjoyments literally contributed to the compromise of Seahaven society. The.