American Dream
In the early years of the United States, people would immigrate to the United States in search of a better life for themselves as well as their families. They wanted to start fresh, build from the ground up and become wealthy enough to live comfortably and have financial stability. Throughout time, this idea has become known as the American Dream. Throughout the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many themes presented. One of the most prominent, however, is when Fitzgerald shows the impossibility of achieving complete happiness and condemns the idea of American Dream throughout the characters and by providing the readers with multiple different symbols and motifs that support this idea, including: Gatsby’s
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These parties were extravagant. Hundreds upon hundreds of people would attend these parties, and bring their friends. Mr. Gatsby even hired live music for each party and they occurred every Saturday. To explain the size and extravagance of his parties in greater detail, Fitzgerald notes that hundreds of oranges were fresh-squeezed for the juice for each party. All of the people that attended these events seemed to be there to enjoy the glamour they believed to be the American Dream. In all reality, the guests were simply showing up to prove their social status. This is a prime example of the excessive materialism resulting from pursuing the dream. Most of them did not seem to be happy either, as Nick claims that many of the men brought their mistresses to these parties to cheat on their wives. None of the party-goers showed more than just the slightest curiosity about Gatsby’s character, although they came over nearly every weekend to enjoy his parties. This is reiterated at the end of the story when only two people show up for Gatsby’s funeral. This shows the hollowness of the American Dream as the people only care about themselves and what others think of them. Unfortunately, a common occurrence in the story is