American Values In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream is believed to have started around the time America was created. It continued to be developed in the Declaration of Independence through the expression of a sense of hope. The American Dream during the 1920's transitioned from being all about hope to being all about money. Many people started to focus more on materialistic goals such as who could have the biggest party, who could own the best car, and who could get the most women/men rather than moral values such as hope and peace. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays this change in American values in "The Great Gatsby." This new view of American morals would eventually unravel and fail, which we see in the book. During the twenties, people started to want to break out of the norm. They wanted to live life, break the laws, and be free. Relaxing activities, such as dances, sports, and movies rose by a lot. Gambling became very popular, and many people invested extra cash into the stock market. The Great Gatsby reveals some of these new trends. In the beginning of the book, Gatsby is only known because of his fun parties and his willingness to have a good time. Gatsby was looked up to because of such parties. In order to uphold a high-class reputation, one needed the best of the best when it came to products and what

Gatsby has spent the last five years dreaming of Daisy and literally wanting to turn back time, so the theme of time is central to this chapter. The clock symbolizes the passage of time, and Gatsby wants to turn back time because in the five years since he has seen Daisy, she has married Tom and had a child. If he could destroy the clock, he would be able to turn back time. However, it is clear that Gatsby has a distorted view of time--for example, he thinks Daisy is late when she isn't, and he will never be able to turn back the