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How Did Gatsby Pursue The American Dream

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Narrated by 29 year old Midwesterner Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby took place in Long Island and New York City during the roaring 1920’s. Nick was on a business venture from Chicago when he got the opportunity to reconnect with his cousin Daisy, eventually leading him to move and stay in New York. Nick’s new neighbor, Jay Gatsby, has had an obsession with Daisy since the day he met her as an Army officer stationed in Louisville right before the start of World War I. As time passed, the plot continued to become more complex and a truly great novel that represents everything Americans want to be and can be. Educator and NPR book critic Maureen Corregan stated that, ¨Gatsby´s magic emanates not only from its powerhouse poetic style - in …show more content…

Granted, the American dream means something different to everyone, but that’s also the beauty of it. James Gatz had to work hard for everything he had earned, “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people...The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby didn’t want to live the life his parents had, he wanted to pursue fortune and fame, so he decided to follow his dream by running away and working his way through many hardships. This hard work and determination is what makes the American dream so unique because only in America can someone work so hard to go from being dirt poor, to having endless luxuries and living the life they want as Gatsby had done. Further, Nick was explaining his family’s lineage when he stated, “The actual founder of my line was my grandfather’s brother who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on today” (Fitzgerald 7). Nick was explaining how this portion of the lineage has more prominence than others because they truly achieved the American dream; they had obtained their wealth and respectability through hard work and determination, not through inheritance. It’s only in America where …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald should be considered a great American novel because it truly shows the way Americans want to be, and the way they are; while also displaying the American dream. America is unlike any other country in the world through the freedoms and potential of which the people hold. Further, anything is possible in the United States, and the novel reveals the way the country allows for all of this, which is why it should be considered a great American

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269 Words | 2 Pages

Fitzgerald 's focus on this passage this passage relates to how he presents the rest of the novel shows his cynic approach toward the American Dream. This cynicism is highlighted throughout Gatsby, the first time being when Tom crushes his American Dream, and the last when Gatsby dies. The American Dream is viewed as more of this unattainable concept rather than a completely achievable possibility. After this point in the novel, the concept of lost hopes and desires remains present. Without this passage, Nick would not have a moment of realization where he sees the American Dream as unattainable, which influences his decision to want to go back home and leave New York and the possibilities he could potentially have.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

Nick, Jay, and the Search for The American Dream Who is the real Jay Gatsby? Is he an Old Rich gentleman who grew into his money or a New Rich partier who "worked" for his money? What about Nick Carraway? Is he a young man who traveled east to escape his old life or to begin a new chapter? Through the narration of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald elaborately tells the exhilarating, exciting, and extremely emotional story of Jay Gatsby on his quest to acquire true love.

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994 Words | 4 Pages

Since Gatsby only focused on getting Daisy back, he did not interact with anybody that did not know Daisy or would not be able to help bring Daisy to him. This caused people to make up stories about him that they thought were true. Also Gatsby never thought about how Daisy would have changed throughout the years, while he has been somewhat frozen in time. He thought that Daisy would be the same girl that he had a relationship with years back. He has a conversation with Nick Carraway that proves it.

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940 Words | 4 Pages

Overall the American dream is the pursuit of goals. However, those goals are different for everyone. In the book The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s goal was to make something of himself and get Daisy, the girl of his dreams. Gatsby did achieve his dream of making something of himself, even if he did make his money illegally.

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442 Words | 2 Pages

The American Dream is deeply valued by American society. Per-contra, it is also deeply questioned. The American Dream is “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone” (Investopedia.com). Although Americans value it and hold onto it, it may not even be achievable. If the American Dream is, in fact, unachievable, then what prevents it from being accomplished?

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842 Words | 4 Pages

The Declaration of Independence states: “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence is a written version of our rights as humans in America. It is saying that every person is equal, with equal opportunities. The people are given rights at birth that can not be taken away. The document gives all the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as basic human rights.

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409 Words | 2 Pages

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a great book that displays crime, love, and just America in general in the 1920s. The topic of the “American Dream” can be displayed a lot throughout the entire book. Many people interpret the American Dream differently, but the general idea is to have a successful life through hard work or just live life to the fullest extent with freedom in America. Could you say Gatsby attained the American Dream? I certainly believe he did.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

F.Scott Fitzgerald is an American novelist and a short story writer. He is the author of the famous novel “ The Great Gatsby”, which is written in the 1920’s. The period of the 1920’s is well known as the roaring twenties due to lack of morales and the lowering of standards and expectations, people intended just to have a good time not caring about the outcomes of their and how they will effect their lives. Fitzgerald wants to prove in his novel the death of “The American Dream” it’s just a myth. The author of this novel shows the death of the american dream through the events surrounding Gatsby, and Daisy.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream was an ideal in the 1900s and on that equality was available to any American. This ideal has been debated about whether this is achievable by anyone. The American Dream today has many barriers that prevent this ideal from being achievable. The barriers that prevent the American Dream from being achievable involve intense pursuit of wealth. For example, in the Great Gatsby, Gatsby has been so hypnotized with this pursuit for his amount of wealth, made his ineligible to achieve the American Dream.

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587 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream is the opportunity to become successful with hard work and initiative. Gatsby himself achieves the American dream of success just to impress the love of his life, Daisy

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543 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream was the idea that anyone, regardless of their background, could achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. The characters in the novel all have different interpretations of the American Dream, but they all share a common desire to attain wealth, power, and success. For example, Jay Gatsby, the novel's protagonist, is a self-made man who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most successful people in New York. He is driven by his desire to win back the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, and prove to her that he is worthy of her love. However, despite his wealth and success, Gatsby is never fully able to attain the American Dream as his past continues to haunt him and

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783 Words | 4 Pages

As a result of an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overall cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The character Jay Gatsby is the best character to show the American Dream and its awful outcome. Gatsby’s American Dream is the life he strived to have and obtained for himself. When growing up he wasn’t born rich like most of the upper class.

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald focused on the shift in the American Dream - from being the idea of self-fulfillment, dignity and comfort that is achieved through hard work, to being equated with the pursuit of wealth and power, and identifying happiness with having money. The novel depicts the rise and fall of the concept and describes the causes of its decay. The downfall of the American Dream is most accurately shown through the main protagonist of the story – Jay Gatsby. To reiterate, the American Dream is the concept that anyone can achieve a better life and become self-fulfilled, if they put enough effort to it and make the most of their abilities.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby discusses and portrays various themes and ideas that tie into the American Dream. Fitzgerald develops several life-like characters that convey the reality of achieving the ideal every American dreams of. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the novel The Great Gatsby, illustrates the corruption behind aiming to achieve the American Dream through Gatsby’s

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723 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how Jay Gatsby tries to fulfill the ideals of the American Dream. When Gatsby was young, he set goals and worked hard to improve. He pursued the typical American dream of gaining wealth, finding a companion, and being admired by others. Gatsby thought it was best to try and change everything about himself. He wears a thick mask of lies throughout the story, hiding his past, changing his name, suppressing his emotions, and even adapting his word choice.

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