Corruption Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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Coming from nothing at all, to a world renowned figure, Jay Gatsby’s story is a tragic one. He was a self-made millionaire who tried to have everything he wanted yet was not successful. After World War 1, America promised many opportunities and success for people willing to work hard: the American Dream. However, this dream was very corrupt and didn’t lead to true happiness. Through the four characters of Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Dan Cody, Fitzgerald expresses how the American Dream is attainable to anyone however it does not guarantee satisfaction through various rhetorical devices. One character who tried to chase their dreams was Jay Gatsby. Through the use of tone, Fitzgerald illustrates people's perspective on Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was born poor, who took the opportunity and …show more content…

He would throw parties every weekend, call everyone “old sport”, and was a very optimistic person. Gatsby, whenever calling anyone an old sport, never too seems to have a wrinkle of madness on his face. Gatsby calling people “old sport” shows that Gatsby was a very friendly person. However, that was not the whole truth. Everyone had their suspicions about Gatsby. People gossipped things like, “Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.” Everyone had a negative tone of Gatsby but they continued to go to his house because of what he had. No one spoke anything nice of Gatsby, only pessimistic opinions. People only cared to get drunk and dance to the band, with little to no regard for Gatsby. Gatsby never had any true friends. Gatsby in the past had only loved one person so much and that was Daisy. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Daisy and Gatsby had previously been together, before he was stationed away for World War 1. In the time Gatsby spent away, Daisy fell in love with someone else. When Gatsby discovered her love for rich man Tom Buchanan, he worked to become rich in order to win Daisy back from