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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

693 Words3 Pages

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 fiction novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story takes place on Long Island, New York. It follows Nick Caraway, a judgment-free man who is moving to the west. As Nick starts his new life in a new place, he is introduced to many characters, including Daisy Buchanan, his cousin, and Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband. Furthermore, Daisy’s dear friend and Nick’s soon-to-be love interest, Jordan Baker, Lastly, there is the mystery man in the novel, Jay Gatsby. As the novel develops, Nick and Gatsby become close friends, and the true story behind the perfect picture of Gatsby is revealed. The American dream is shown in the book and represented through Gatsby. In the pursuit of his so-called American Dream, we watch the downfall …show more content…

The American dream is a myth, and it's not truly achievable. The American dream is only for and achievable for the people it is made for. It's like the saying “reach for the stars”. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to reach or touch a star. You can try, but it won't happen. Just as Gatsby attempted to get Daisy, although he never actually got her, in the end she always ended up with Tom. The same goes for the American dream; it's not capable and successful unless it was made for you, and throughout the book we see Gatsby's pursuit of this unfeasible …show more content…

Tom catches on to Gatsby and Daisy's affair. Gatsby insists Daisy tell Tom she never loved him and only loved Gatsby, although when questioned about her statement, she admits she once had feelings for Tom. In this scene, Gatsby loses his composure when Tom continuously questions his education and business, which leads Daisy to be frightened of him and run back to her position as Tom's wife, which was the safest role to take. Gatsby's American dream seems to be fading away, as do his chances of getting his dream girl. Although Gatsby cared for Daisy even after the accident and the murder of Myrtle, she never cared the same for him and always left him for Tom. Which is why Gatsby is a representation of the American dream because it's truly not achievable and only achievable to certain people, just as getting Daisy was not achievable and was only achievable by Tom because of his

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How Does Daisy Buchanan Change Throughout The Novel

1303 Words | 6 Pages

The Gatsby becomes adamant about Daisy telling Tom she never loved him. Then Tom eventually finds out about their affair and makes sure she does not leave him. This is where Daisy starts to go down him. She tells Gatsby she loves him, but tells him that she also loves Tom, and can not choose between the

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The notoriously known American Dream takes dedication and perseverance to accomplish. Gatsby shows determination throughout this novel; however, his circumstances play a toll on his ability to obtain his dream. In Gatsby’s case, he is trying to accomplish the impossible; he has a visionary outlook on the American Dream. Gatsby is unsuccessful in his effort to obtain his American Dream in the sense of love; however, he successfully obtains his American Dream in the sense of wealth. Gatsby’s partial failure does not mean the American Dream is impossible to accomplish.

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How The Corrupted Nature Of Capitalism In The Great Gatsby

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The American Dream is a belief that everyone could obtain success despite what class they are born into. Jay Gatsby is a clear embodiment of the pursuit of the American Dream, as he was born poor but gained huge wealth. However, Gatsby’s rise in wealth didn’t bring him what he want — a romantic relationship with Daisy. This is evident through Nick Carraway’s remark on Gatsby. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…..

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Accurate Depiction Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

787 Words | 4 Pages

An Accurate Depiction of Gatsby There has always been the saying “The American Dream” because America is supposed to be the land of opportunity and where everyone in the world wishes they could go so they can have a life by having proper education, health care, and vocation. When the saying became popular in the 1920s, giving the world their first idea of what living in America was like, it not only brought people to America but it gave the social classes that we see represented in The Great Gatsby. That’s where we get the idea of the American dream in Gatsby time of the 1920s. The American Dream is the main theme of the book that everything else is based off of. The American Dream in the book is said to be hope for success and the chance of getting rich; this is

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Examples Of Duality In The Great Gatsby

884 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby has the American Dream of being successful and wanting to marry the girl of his dreams. However, Fitzgerald argues that The American Dream is a paradox because dreams aren’t supposed to be achieved, and are better off to remain in one’s imagination. For example, Gatsby wants to marry the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Sadly Gatsby sets such a high standard for her that she will never be able to live up to. Gatsby envisions Daisy as the golden girl, and once he put his plan into action, he realizes

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Lies In The Great Gatsby

712 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream in the book “The Great Gatsby” is portrayed in a way that is not achievable. The only way you would be able to get it is if , in Gatsby's case , to go the illegal route. While in Toms case, you come from very old money and somehow have buckets of it. So, Gatsby was trying to get daisy to love him in order to have the life he wants. So it’s not the typical american dream, it is his own idea of what he wants his life ,so his version american dream .

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Synthesis Essay: The American Dream

1415 Words | 6 Pages

According to Source A, Gatsby is in pursuit of the American Dream; however, his dream is the personification of the love of his life, Daisy. This reveals that Gatsby had all the wealth he could ask for and therefore he only dreamed of obtaining the unobtainable. Source A states, “Gatsby fails to win over Daisy, he also fails to achieve his version of the American Dream.” In other words, the portrayal of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby proves that despite putting in all the effort, a vast majority of people do not always achieve their American Dream.

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940 Words | 4 Pages

However, another character in the book, Nick, had goals that were very different from Gatsby’s goals. Instead of being rich in the city, he wanted to move back to his original home in the west. One could say that Nick also achieved the American Dream, because he too never stopped

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174 Words | 1 Pages

Gatsby’s American Dream is ultimately to reunite with Daisy Buchanan; Daisy poses as a physically representation of Gatsby’s dream. Gatsby originates from a humble background, being the son of poor laborers from North Dakota, and rises to be very prosperous, only for his dream to die in the end, literally. Within the regular American Dream, people accomplish their goals through genuine hard work, but in Gatsby’s position, he immediately earns the most of his money by participating in crime. Gatsby does attempt the hard work appeal, through his years of employment to Dan Cody, but this doesn’t go well since Cody’s ex-wife winds up with the whole inheritance. Therefore Gatsby turns to crime instead, and manages to reach his desired worth.

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The Great Gatsby Research Paper

697 Words | 3 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is shown as a false ideal through many of its characters, including the two main characters. This is shown through Jay Gatsby whose riches fail to lead him the happiness, and Daisy Buchannon who thought a family would make her happy but is left unsatisfied and broken. Word Count: 57 Jay Gatsby had achieved the American dream by going from the average life to extreme wealth by working for it, but it just proved that ideal wrong by not granting him happiness. For example, when Nick looks back at Gatsby at the end of the novel and he says, “He had come a long way to the blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him” (180).

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539 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream is a vision held by the working class of America: a dream in which one can achieve all that he desires through hard work and perseverance. The reader sees Gatsby as a self-made man: a man with everything you could possible want in life, a man who has achieved the American Dream to its fullest, and yet, this image is marred by his unhappiness. A barrier between the inherently wealthy and ‘new money’ blocks his ability to win back the girl he loves, placed there by by the embodiment of the upper class in America - Tom Buchanan. Tom never saw Gatsby as his equal because Gatsby was not born with money, calling him a “Mr. Nobody from Nowhere” (130). The working class sees this statement as an example of why the American Dream is not worth the effort.

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Tom is not the only character flirting with the American Dream. Jay Gatsby worked his hardest to achieve this dream, but did not make it in the end. Gatsby is a determined man that worked very diligently, and illegally, to obtain all the wealth he had. While he had wealth, and was a rather healthy man, he did not have happiness. The reader sees Gatsby work his way to getting the girl of his dreams, only to see him suffer in the

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401 Words | 2 Pages

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612 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Gatsby is about a self-made wealthy individual, Gatsby, who is in pursuit of his long-lost love, Daisy. The story carries the reader through the complications and journeys of Gatsby trying to get to Daisy. The reader sees these journeys through Nick's eyes, who is the narrator. The American Dream is also a big topic that appears in the book because people want to be able to make money, no matter their background. Every main character, Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, and Tom, displays a different “American Dream” they wish to fulfill, which helps shape their stories throughout the book.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby is not simply a story of Jay Gatsby’s undying and misguided love for a Daisy Buchanan. The novel, The Great Gatsby, encompasses a number of themes, the most significant one is the disillusionment and corruption of the American dream. The ability to obtain prosperity such as happiness, or a car is what comprises of the American dream. It is a belief that anyone who is self-sufficient, or who is a hard worker can obtain this dream regardless of their social standing. In the book, the facade of a dream appears to be at the tips of Gatsby and Myrtle’s fingers but this “pursuit of happiness” sentiment is in actuality impossible.

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