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How Does Fitzgerald Present The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender or nationality, can be successful in America if they work hard enough and desire it. The American Dream presents a “perfect” view of America and ignores problems like racism and inequality. There is a developed class system in America but due to this dream, all problems of America and this system, is disregarded. The 1920’s were an intense time because of immigration and women's roles changing, like given the right to vote. This is when the idea of becoming rich on Wall Street exploded. In 1929, this all crashed and lead a huge epidemic of depression. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald was published right in the middle of this time, 1925. It is understandable as to why this book gives a pessimistic view of this big idea. 3 Characters in this book suffer because of the American Dream so The Great Gatsby definitely presents the American Dream as corrupt and unreachable. …show more content…

involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 4). In our first look of Mr. Gatsby, we see him reaching for the green light that's not too far but is unreachable. This green light is a symbol of Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream. An idea that people are always reaching for something that they will never actually get to. This intro to Gatsby is likely foreshadowing his negative outcome. But Gatsby is not the only one affected by this Dream. We see Myrtle and Daisy also watch as their dreams slip through their hands throughout the

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One evening, Gatsby and Daisy take his car to go home; that same evening, Michaelis saw Myrtle and Wilson fight and after a little while Myrtle runs into the street and got struck by a car “The “death car,” as the newspaper called it, didn’t stop... Michaelis wasn’t even sure of its color- he told the first policeman that it was light green” (Fitzgerald 144). Gatsby only cares about Daisy and winning her back, he disregards the fact that Daisy caused the accident and is responsible for Myrtle’s death. Daisy hides her crime behind Gatsby, but he ignores her crime to win her back. Almost all character's dream dies when Myrtle dies.

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457 Words | 2 Pages

Is money more important than having family and real friends? The American Dream is different from the American reality for Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald because Gatsby slowly realizes he has no real friends, no family, and no love. Gatsby did not have any true friends. When Gatsby had big parties the whole west egg would show up but when Gatsby’s funeral was going on everyone was too busy to attend. During the part where Nick is calling people for Gatsby's funeral Nick say’s, “However, that was my fault, for he was one of those who sued to sneer most bitterly at Gatsby’s on the courage of Gatsby’s liquor, and I should have known better than to call him”(Fitzgerald 169).

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681 Words | 3 Pages

To begin, there is a “single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 22). Whenever Gatsby “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way.” (Fitzgerald 21), he is hoping to reach his dream. The symbolic meaning of the green light changes from being a  dream, to a dream forever out of reach.

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777 Words | 4 Pages

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America if they just work hard enough. The American Dream presents a view of the American society in which ignores racism problems, income inequality, etc. In the 1920’s, it was a very difficult and resulting time for the American Dream. Due to increased immigration, changing women’s roles, and a extraordinary income inequality. The country was also in the midst of an economic boom, which fueled the belief that anyone could “strike it rich”.

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1364 Words | 6 Pages

Through love, loss, and lust, Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, twists the intentions of the ideal American dream. The marriages of the characters and Gatsby's forbidden love for Daisy are centered around materialistic values. The majority of the residents of East Egg have come from family money, giving them a sense of superiority over others. This becomes evident to the narrator Nick and influences his expectations and personal judgment. The battle for fulfillment comes face to face with the reality of emptiness.

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1265 Words | 6 Pages

Unveiling the American Dream. All humanity struggles with striving to be a superior version of oneself. Displayed through movies, novels, and everyday life, the sought-after American Dream conveys this idea and consumes many people’s lives. It embodies the ideas of determination, perseverance, and the ability to achieve one's deepest aspirations. Through the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald traces the life of Jay Gatsby from the eyes of Nick Caraway to display the struggle and longing that comes with the desire for unattainable goals.

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1618 Words | 7 Pages

This novel portrays the American Dream in the 1920´s realistically, where the belief of the American’s was promoted by capitalism because the poor could become millionaires through hard work. Jay Gatsby was born as James Gatz on a farm in North Dakota and used to go to the school St. Olaf’s. He dropped out because he had to work as a cleaner, but he didn’t like it to be huilitated and also because from his early youth, he despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication. When he later started working as a fisher, he met a wealthy man called Dan Cody. One day, Gatsby knew that a storm was coming so he warned Dan.

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998 Words | 4 Pages

History places the 1920s or the “Jazz Age” as the time when the American Dream started to shift away from succeeding and more towards profiting. A work that highlights this shift in the American Dream is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional novel, The Great Gatsby, published in 1925.

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Money is a powerful weapon that ultimately leads people to their predetermined deaths. F. Scott Fitzgerald is the brilliant writer behind The Great Gatsby. He is a member of the lost generation and he decided to write the novel in dedication to his wife Zelda. The purpose of his book is to publicize how the American dream is in reality to how he envisioned it. Baz Luhrmann directed The Great Gatsby based on the novel.

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696 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ the American dream is dead in the story because by the end of the book Nick and Gatsby alike do not achieve their versions of the American dream. This also shows how the events leading up convey their dream from rise to downfall. This informs the reader of what clinging to the past can do and how the colors in a story show significance. Such as, when Nick narrates “He knew that when he kissed this girl forever wet his unutterable visions to be her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer for a tuning fork that had been scratched upon a star.

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1089 Words | 5 Pages

The definition of the American dream is the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have the opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Since he was young, Jay Gatsby longed for fabulous wealth. Furthermore, he spent most of his childhood poor until he began his life of organized crime as a bootlegger. He felt that he had to do whatever he could to win Daisy´s affection, even if it meant becoming a criminal or having one hundred drunk strangers in his house meddling in his business. Jay Gatsby lived the entirety of his adult life working for the green light that he thought would award him the affection of Daisy Buchanan, using his luxurious mansion and abundance of money.

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1053 Words | 5 Pages

Everyone has dreams of their desired future, the only thing they dream of is the only thing they do not have. The American Dream is the hope for happiness, success, and money that someone has. For most people, the dream is based only upon living a greater and higher standard in life. In the catastrophic novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald created Gatsby as a character who became outstanding. He began his life as a lower-class, ordinary, citizen and had to work his way up to being wealthy without help from his family.

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688 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby's fixation on the green light at the end of Daisy's dock represents his unattainable dream and his desperate desire to recapture the past. His relentless pursuit of this dream ultimately leads to his tragic

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1034 Words | 5 Pages

John A. Pidgeon says that, “The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American Dream”(Pidgeon 179). The prime example of this is Gatsby, who “believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (Fitzgerald 180). The green light symbolizes Gatsby’s dream to be upper class with Daisy, but he can never reach it. Furthermore, it is frustrating for him that when he does attain wealth, Daisy is still out of his reach.

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507 Words | 3 Pages

Kallie Schell Hour 3 The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a story that portrays the American Dream and it's ups and downs. F. Scott FItzgerald's view on the American Dream is that it is not possible and he's shows this through his characters stories. Fitzgerald's character Jay Gatsby dedicates his entire life to achieving the American Dream and achieves it financially but during the process lost the love of his life.

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