Gatsby American Dream Quotes

According to the movie The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Sean Penn states, “To the land of plenty. When there's plenty for the few and nothing for the plenty. Is that the American Dream?” (1 Penn). F. Scott Fitzgerald's tragedy, The Great Gatsby, encapsulates this quote through its story around the rich never having enough. Desiring more, the rich leave nothing for the poor, hurting them and using them. The Great Gatsby is about Nick Carraway meeting his wealthy neighbor, Gatsby, who is in love with a woman from his past. As a result, he gets punished by his unrealistic expectations. The Great Gatsby shows the cruel reality of the American dream through its egotistical, greedy, and self-centered characters and how they affect the less fortunate.

Tom was born with wealth, thus he is living an American dream he did not earn. Tom uses his wealth as an excuse to do whatever he pleases, in doing so, he hurts others without remorse. For example, Tom uses Myrtle just for pleasure, treating her like an object and not caring about her emotions. He abuses her and doesn't care about the repercussions of his actions and how they impact Wilson, her husband. When Myrtle dies, Tom comforts Wilson just to protect himself. Tom, states this as he gets a hold of the shocked Wilson, saying, ” ‘Listen,” said Tom, shaking him a little. ‘I just got here a minute ago, from New York. I was bringing you that coupe we’ve been talking about. That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine — did you hear? I haven’t seen it all afternoon..’” (Fitz 106). Through Tom’s character, Fitzgerald shows that being born with the American dream gives an arrogant look on the less fortunate. The American Dream in this book makes almost everyone searching for it selfish and cocky, and the dream itself is difficult to understand, showing the cracks in its

He started with nothing and worked to become richer than most people can imagine. However, he still strives for more, which would be fine, but he strives for unattainable goals. After Gatsby’s party that Daisy attends, he talks about what he wants to Nick, “He wants nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ Nick said. ‘You can’t repeat the past.’ ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why, of course, you can!...’ ‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he said, nodding determinedly. ‘She’ll see.’ (Fitz 83). He wants to go back in time and gain back the love that he lost, by the time he became successful Daisy already made a life for herself and had a kid, a husband, and a stable life and he tries to force her to change everything just to love him. In the end, he is corrupted by the American Dream that he has accomplished, not caring about the consequences of his actions and the people he hurt along the way for this impossible love he searched for and the illegal acts he committed. In the end, he suffered the repercussions even with his desire and drive, even after accomplishing a dream that many thought would be impossible, even after that he wanted more, and the dream corrupted his perspective and in doing so he hurt people and got himself killed. The rich showing manipulated him so he could not