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How Is The American Dream Similar To Today

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Fitzgerald’s rendition of the “American Dream” shows Gatsby, a financially set man who has a large mansion where parties are thrown on the weekends with other wealthy people. It also shows contrast with the character Nick, a not-so-wealthy person who is trying to achieve the American Dream. Nearing the end of the novel, it is then we realize that neither Nick nor Gatsby ended up achieving the American Dream. This all means that Fitzgerald’s version of the American dream is more similar to today's ideals. The majority of adults today think that younger generations will not be better off than they were or that the American dream does not even exist at all. Some Americans seem to think we lost our values and that this is it, you cannot achieve …show more content…

Source A states that Daisy is Gatsby’s ultimate status symbol and he needs her to truly achieve his American dream. In other words, when Daisy refuses to leave Tom, and Gatsby is murdered, it is then we learn that Gatsby never achieved his dream and the novel ends with Nick’s thoughts on the American dream and its lost promise. In Source C, a man named Robert McAdams from Peru, Nebraska says “The American dream is long gone. Long, long gone. Politicians have ruined it, broken our values, sold out to folks with money who only care about themselves. Nobody cares about anyone who works with their hands anymore. We got to get this country straight again, before it all keeps sliding down into hell.” Once again, this shows that even fellow Americans today believe that there might not even be a dream at all. This reveals that many Americans seem to have “lost hope” and think that there isn't an American dream at all and if there is, it is unattainable. One might argue that if someone works hard enough, they would be able to attain the American dream. Perhaps if you do dirty tactics like Gatsby. Speaking of hard work, it does not always amount to …show more content…

In Source A, it says “In the novel, Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and a limited amount of social cache in 1920s NYC, only to be rejected by the "old money" crowd. He then gets killed after being tangled up with them.” Even after being “successful” and being able to live among the higher-ups, the new money and old money classes were still divided which didn’t allow them to fit in and live up to their full potential of success. In source E, it states “Those who live in areas with higher economic growth and better schools have a greater chance to climb the economic ladder. The studies also found that areas with large African-American populations, such as the South, have lower rates of mobility for all residents.” In other words, some people are already born with a disadvantage based on their location or class, and this does not allow them to live up to what they could have been. This matters because it shows how life is unfair, and someone may get a vast amount of opportunities simply because of the area they were born in. An opposing view could be that class doesn’t matter and that with enough blood, sweat, and tears, anyone could potentially be successful. If you are doomed from the start it will be extremely hard to exit that rut and the statistics from Source E shows it is very

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The American Dream is something which almost every American is familiar with, but it also is unattainable for the vast majority of Americans, something which F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates with his acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby covers the story of Nick, an all around average man who is thrust into the lives of both the ultra wealthy and the aspiring-to-be wealthy when he moves to New York. He meets his nextdoor neighbor, Gatsby, who owns an extravagant mansion which Nick finds out to be purchased with money of questionable background, and owned by an ever increasingly strange and dubious man. Over the course of the novel, different characters all chase their own goals - some want love, some want power, almost everyone

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The American Dream Portrayed in the Great Gatsby In the Great Gatsby, a historical fictional novel created by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character and subject of the book Jay Gatsby has gone from rags to riches. However, his peers, who have equally as much money as Gatsby himself reject him, because his wealth is acquired, not handed down. Through his decision to set the Great Gatsby in the roaring 20’s, where wealth hit an all time high, the author highlights the theme that the American Dream is an achievable accomplishment, despite how high one must rise to get there, despite the underlying mess that is often present.

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Into the Wild Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to escape the toxic relationship with his parents, but the real reason he left everything was to escape from the people that were trying to give him everything. Chris was a person that did not believe in the materialistic things. He believed in humanity and freedom. Chris McCandless reminds me of the younger sister in his book How Much Land Does a Man Need. The younger sister believed in earning from working.

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Unfortunately, this does not account for institutionalized racism, unequal access to education and services, and a system that perpetuates a growing divide between the rich and the poor. In McKinnon’s article he argues that our location of birth has an affect of how we are born: poor, rich, or middle class, “The reality is that where you’re born matters tremendously. where you start in life, unfortunately, has a huge impact on where you’ll end up. Think about it. A zip code is not just a number, it represents everything inside of that area – including the hospital in which you are born, the schools where you attend, the streets on which you will play, the stores and restaurants that will feed you, and the jobs to which your parents and eventually you might have access.”

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The American Dream has been a goal for many Americans for many decades. This dream often consists of “pulling up your bootstraps” and moving from a lower class position to a high class one through hard work. Even though this has been a prominent value throughout the decades, it is difficult to think of this as truly attainable. Although F.Scott Fitzgerald highlights the extremely wealthy and elite in the novel, The Great Gatsby, the failure of George Wilson and the way Tom Buchanan views everyone as disposable proves that the American Dream is not attainable. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald places emphasis on the material wealth of many of his characters including the Buchanans and Jay Gatsby.

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Living the American Dream, a once in a lifetime experience. That’s how it’s depicted in The Great Gatsby, like in real life you must be lucky to live the American Dream. Yet, that experience can slip right out of your hands with today’s society. Fitzgerald’s vision of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby is similar to today’s ideals as it was influenced by American history, depicts the hardships, different ideas of the American Dream, lack of mobility, and inequalities in society. Like in real life, the character’s actions were influenced by historical events.

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Not because it's an impossible task but because it has its qualifications. Some believe all it takes is hard work. Not necessarily. Although hard work is a key component to achieving this “dream,” opportunity is the essential factor needed to actually fulfill it.

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The historic American dream (the one in The Great Gatsby) was more achievable back then but now we can not achieve it due to countless problems that have developed over the years. Overall Fitzgerald's' version of the American dream in The Great Gatsby is very different from today’s version because of the attainability, happiness, economically, and

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Only a small group of people have the skills it takes to solve the puzzle that is the American Dream. This belief can be seen

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The American dream is much more than what meets the eye When people think of the American dream, their heads automatically go to the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is famously known for its portrayal of the American dream and it has become the stereotypical story for every American dreamer. It has done many wonders in American literature; however, people are starting to forget that it is all solely fictional and to not strive for their lifestyles. They also seem to forget the true nature of the American dream and its powerful significance of it. The critically acclaimed Novel, The Great Gatsby does not portray the real American dream because modern society has changed its expectations.

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald's interpretation of the American Dream in the fictional novel The Great Gatsby is different from today's ideals due to people struggling financially, lack of acceptance, people losing hope, gender inequalities, and the cost of living increasing. People worry about their financial state because of their yearly

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America is known as “The Land of Opportunity” and it established the concept of the American Dream in the 1900’s. The fight for this dream was prevalent even before it was given a name in 1930. The founding fathers wrote this belief into the constitution with the words “All Americans are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” .Some Americans believe that the American Dream can still be obtained in the 21st Century with hard work and perservance ; however, a majority of the American population among race gender and class has a different point of view on what America still provides to their citizens because economic insta8bility and lack of equal opportunity.

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The American dream states that any individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, and/or religion simply by working hard. The 1920’s were a time of corruption and demise of moral values in society. The first World War had passed, and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as advanced technology and innovative inventions. The novel The Great Gatsby exploits the theme of the American Dream as it takes place in a corrupt period in history. Although the American Dream seemed more attainable than ever in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby demonstrates how materialism and the demise of moral values in society leads to the corruption and impossibility of the American Dream.

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Just as the American Dream- the pursuit of happiness- has degenerated into a quest for more wealth, Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy has become the motivation for lavish excess and criminal activities. He used his dream to escape from his past, but then was stuck on hold for when he lost Daisy the only part of the dream he really cared for. Gatsby made a dream just for Daisy so she could be apart of his, but saw the meaningless of it when she didn’t choose him in the end. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….

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Fitzgerald focused on the shift in the American Dream - from being the idea of self-fulfillment, dignity and comfort that is achieved through hard work, to being equated with the pursuit of wealth and power, and identifying happiness with having money. The novel depicts the rise and fall of the concept and describes the causes of its decay. The downfall of the American Dream is most accurately shown through the main protagonist of the story – Jay Gatsby. To reiterate, the American Dream is the concept that anyone can achieve a better life and become self-fulfilled, if they put enough effort to it and make the most of their abilities.

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