The American Dream is a concept that has been coveted by many, as it promises a better life, opportunities for success, and the ability to achieve one's aspirations. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby explores this idea and depicts how it is flawed in reality. With this definition in mind, Fitzgerald uses symbolism and other literary devices to represent the American Dream in The Great Gatsby as being associated with superficiality and a lack of morality.
In response to the simple idea of the American Dream, by the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is a symbol of hope for success and that any goal can be achieved. Gatsby's lifestyle is portrayed as a corrupted dream: achieving his wealth illegally and attempting to resume an unattainable past love with Daisy. In the book The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes life during the 1920s and the craving for people to reach the American Dream. The author examines the corruption of Gatsby's life when trying to attain the American Dream.
The American dream is every US citizen's goal. To choose your own career path and be successful in it. Sometimes people will try to take shortcuts to achieve the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby is a captivating story about corruption, power and love during the roaring twenties. Jay Gatsby is a powerful man that shows that the American dream is possible but it is not easy to obtain.
Nick is made to view Gatsby in a positive light and as a positive influence in order for readers to see his dreamer ideology in the same way. Gatsby’s whole persona and traits are built on dreams so when Nick can’t help but notice how Gatsby’s smile and demeanor seem to “concentrate on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor” and “[believe] in you as you would like to believe in yourself,” it reveals how beneficial Nick sees dreams as being to society (Fitzgerald 48). The emphasis on the “you” displays how dreams truly help those who have them. They don’t focus on anyone or anything else, they have a “prejudice” towards “you,” demonstrating how dreams will always support you, making them extremely beneficial. Similarly, the sense
George H. W. Bush once said, “The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something. And then I’d add to that, giving something back. No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving others.” The American Dream is an idea in which every citizen should have equal opportunities for success through hard work and determination. It is important because everyone wants to believe they can improve themselves.
The American dream is represented in The Great Gatsby in many different ways, in this essay I will explore almost all the different ways it is represented. I think the American dream is whatever you think it should be, I think the American dream is you living your life how you want it to be. I’ll be exploring how each of the characters sees the American dream. Some people think the American dream is having a family or making money, but I think that the American dream is whatever you want it to be. It can be making as much money as possible, living peacefully, living on a farm and raising animals and growing crops, or even raising a family.
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald can be seen as the American dream, where characteristics of hard work and ambitions of many characters are shown. The novel exemplifies many themes especially during the 1920s; however the most important one is the American Dream corruption. The American Dream as seen in The Great Gatsby is someone of lower economic social class. They have a high ambition to work hard towards prosperity and stardom, such as the character Gatsby. Throughout the story it is possession of fortune, a luxurious car, huge mansion, and a happy go lucky family that depicts the perfect American dream.
"The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream." In this quote, by Azar Nafisi, it explains how dreaming can be tainted by reality, and it that if you don 't compromise you may suffer. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is one the many themes in this book. The American Dream that most people in this book obtains to have is wealth, statist, a fun social life, and someone to lust. It is the life we all strive to have until we obtain it and see it 's meaningless composure.
Disapproved by some and glorified by others, the American Dream has been depicted in various formats. The American Dream is history and will be the future of America, however, the connotation of the true meaning of the American Dream alters the surrounding cadence. The American Dream is seen in Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, through the souls of the characters. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is seen more as wealth and gain to benefit oneself as well as an intense craving. Each character has a different American Dream.
The American Dream during the 1920s transitioned from being all about moral values to wealth and statues. In James Adams writing “The Epic of America,” the American Dream is an elusive fantasy that brought destruction and corruption upon the people who desired power, wealth, and happiness. Power and wealth corrupted people’s minds by believing a fantasy, which would later turn into reality. The American Dream that Gatsby desperately wanted to live up to was the one object of his affection, Daisy. His love for Daisy consumed his whole life and lead to his disillusionment.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich once stated that "The faith that anyone could move from rags to riches – with enough guts and gumption, hard work and nose to the grindstone – was once at the core of the American Dream. " Reich defined the American Dream as the ability for anyone, no matter the background, to achieve wealth with hard work. However, his use of the word "once" suggests that this definition may not be entirely true, or that the American Dream itself no longer holds true to this definition. Similarly, author F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the definition of the American Dream in his novel "The Great Gatsby." In his book, he employs the contrast between the East and West Eggs to warn that despite any sacrifices made in its pursuit,
“The American Dream,” something everyone hopes to accomplish spending their lifetime in search of prosperity, freedom, and happiness. When the idea of the “American Dream” comes to mind, the typical story is someone coming to America with nothing and then obtaining great wealth and having everything. It goes as far back as family’s moving out West to start a new life by farming or prospecting for gold. As time has changed though the image of wealth has changed by having materialistic items like a nice house, as well as other items. This can be seen in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, through the characters in the story, most notably being Jay Gatsby, with his luxurious lifestyle.
“ The Great Gatsby “ , written by F. Scott Fitzgerald , was an American novelist , short story writer, whose works illustrate the Jazz Age portrays a theme of rich quantities , love affairs , and corruption in the early 1920’s America . Fitzgerald wanted to fulfill the “American Dream “, live legendary , and create opportunity , think of a land that should be better , richer and fuller for everyone . The American Dream became what we know it to be nowadays, It is the right of freedom, prosperity, equality and pursuit of happiness through working hard . However, the American Dream is an interesting concept that never seemed fully attainable. Although it is supposed to represent independence, liberty and the ability to make something of yourself,
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered one of the greatest American novels and provides an elaborate representation of the pursuit for the “American Dream.” The character, Gatsby, is a walking representation of the American dream in the novel. Based on his representation, it provides a clear view of the ideals and lifestyle of individuals during the 1920s. Fitzgerald incorporates multiple themes into his novel that give light to the idea of America and what’s considered significant in American society.
There are many themes exist in the novel of The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. The most significant theme in this novel is the American dream. The meaning of the American Dream is someone who starting low on the social level or economic, which then working hard and try their best towards wealth and fame. In other word, it stand for one’s independence to strive in order to achieve desired wealth and fame with hard work, but it ends up being more about selfish and materialism pursuit of pleasure. American dream is achieve when a person having a car, money, big house, happy family and nice clothes.
