How Does Fitzgerald Create Happiness In The Great Gatsby

Michael O’Neal Final Paper Happiness or Flashiness:
The American Dream Every person in the world has heard of the dream, come to America to achieve what was thought impossible and make something out of your self. The idea that in America, success is achievable and everyone can achieve success. We tell folks from other countries around the world about the dream, we tell those living under communist rule that anything they earn they keep in America, we tell those living under a dictatorship that our leaders are chosen by the people in America, we tell those who living under fascism that our government swings left wing or those living under socialist rule that our government swings right wing. The dream is a lot of things, but most

F. Scott Fitzgerald views the American dream as something that can’t be achieved no matter how hard you try, you’ll always hear about and think about it but never get a taste of it. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby and Daisy as a way to represent America’s affair and obsession with the dream; Gatsby wants to live his life with Daisy but pursuits only lead him down a downward spiral. Fitzgerald uses several literary tools portray his view on the Dream, The green light that sits on Daisy’s dock symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes and dreams of living a life with her, and the Valley of Ashes is the ugly consequences of our obsession with wealth. What makes Gatsby’s life so interesting is the secretive nature around his life and his wealth, no one truly knows his past and anything that is known is probably just another rumor. Tom Buchanan and Gatsby represent the two sides of wealth, Old money and new money, Tom’s wealth comes from his family and has been past down for generations, while Gatsby started out poor but by using skills he learned from a rich tycoon, he

Thompson, I believe the dream is still alive and achievable, just not what we were promised all our lives. The dream has definitely become more focused on materialism and flashiness, instead of happiness. What originally started out as a way to help inspire immigrants to work low-level jobs has now become a commercial product you see on TV. The rise of reality television and celebrity culture has promoted an image of the dream that’s far from the original interpretation, we focus on what color a celebrities rims are instead of asking if their car can get them to and from work, we focus on their clothing designs instead asking if those clothes can keep them warm through a cold winter, We focus on who their dating or hooking up with but never ask if their happy with one another, and we don’t ask for quality entertainment from them, just more entertainment. Anyone can achieve the dream; you just need the money to buy it. The difference now is we know the end goal will never make you truly happy, social media has given us a glimpse into the lives of those with more, and glimpse of some of the insecurities that come with it. In conclusion, the dream is alive but seems to have changed its focus, its favors flashiness over happiness and makes daily commercial appearances as the must have product of the