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The Theme Of Death And Resurrection In The Great Gatsby

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Seth Harvey Ms. Maggert English Honors III 7 April 2017 The Death and Resurrection of the American Dream In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald quietly critiques the American Dream and the way it has been besmirched through the use of strong symbolism and the story of Jay Gatz. In the novel, Gatsby symbolizes the American Dream, coming from rags to riches. The 1920s is where the American Dream began to change. It stopped being about working hard and keeping your morals, and Gatsby shows this by obtaining his fortune through lucrative, illegal means. Nick Carraway is also incredibly important in illustrating the allegory of the American Dream and how it is vapid and dying in the current age. Nick reveals how lonely and empty Gatsby is, and how he tries to fill that hole with money and love, and tries to gain love through money. The Great Gatsby shows how the American Dream isn’t really a goal of success and happiness and fulfillment, it’s a goal of power and vanity and luxury. …show more content…

Gatsby has a fortune, illegal albeit, but still a fortune. Gatsby was the son of a farmer and was inspired by Dan Cody to make a name for himself and achieve his dreams. However the American Dream lost its original meaning in the 1920s, thanks to bootlegging and the mob business that was becoming so popular on the east coast. Gatsby took advantage of this to make a shortcut of the American Dream. At this point Gatsby wasn't concerned with accomplishing anything as long as he felt accomplished. This is what the American Dream was in 1920, it was status and not a

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