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What Is The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

1203 Words5 Pages

DC English Literature Final
Kursten Prater
The American Dream “That’s why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” - George Carlin. The American Dream is the idea that every United States citizen will have equal opportunity to achieve their success, but you must work hard with determination. You should not be based off of your social class or the kind of life you were born into. Everyone has their own way of describing the American Dream. We read four stories and each of them represented the American Dream in their own way. One story we have read is Of Mice and Men. Each character in this story has their own type of an American Dream. George’s dream is to own a bunch of acres of land. He believes that …show more content…

Daisy’s dream is to be the best of the best. She wants a representation of herself of doing nothing wrong. Daisy is unsatisfied with her wealth and is constantly achieving to get more. “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” Gatsby’s dream is to better himself and to have Daisy. Once Gatsby gets with Daisy, it is all ruined. All Daisy wants is wealth and high class, Gatsby doesn’t have this. He can never be happy with Daisy. “I knew it was a great mistake for a man like me to fall in love.” Tom sees the American Dream as a myth. Tom was born into wealth and doesn’t really have to work hard to get anything. He has everything he could ever dream of. “Pride, precision, and perfect product.” Daisy did not achieve her American Dream. She was always focused on her social status and getting more. Daisy has everything she could ever need, but will always try to get more. In her eyes, she will never achieve the dream. Gatsby achieves his dream of getting to be with Daisy. He comes to find out that Daisy isn’t what he wants. He believes that you can always achieve more. Tom can’t fail or achieve the American Dream because he doesn’t believe in it. He has everything and can’t really get anything

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While Gatsby tries to obtain a romantic life with Daisy, he is portrayed to be rising above all the corruption to be with Daisy. Daisy is in an emotional state because she is stuck between her past and present, she cries to Gatsby, “Oh, you want too much!" "I love you now—isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly.

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In fact, Gatsby’s power to make his dreams real is what makes him “great.” He does this by using his wealth, but can his wealth get him Daisy? Chapter

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Gatsby has spent his whole life trying to prove to Daisy and everyone around him that he is worthy of her. The only way to be on the same social level as her is to turn himself into new money. Since this is not possible, he has to try to convince to others that he truly is old money. To do this, he becomes rich, and lies about his past, but the only way for him to complete this idea is if he is with Daisy. She is the final piece in his American dream.

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If Gatsby had created a new dream once he had Daisy, then he would have had something to look forward to and something to strive for.

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1627 Words | 7 Pages

All Daisy ever wanted was this extravagant life with a lot of money and expensive things, some people’s definition of the American dream. Daisy is wishing upon her daughter to be a fool so she will be oblivious to the things that could hurt her and focus on the more lush things of life. Meanwhile, Gatsby was trying to find his way back to Daisy. Nick Carraway, the narrator in The Great Gatsby, stated, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-- not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion,” trying to explain the fault of

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If Gatsby is to truly love Daisy, instead of destroying her marriage, he would have let her go. However, because of his extreme devotion towards Daisy, he dreams of a utopia where their feelings for each other is mutual. Thus, he demands her to say that she has never loved Tom to affirm that she loves him only, but Daisy does fall in love with Tom at some point in her marriage, in between the five years of Gatsby’s absence. Nonetheless, Gatsby does not give up. He “[clutches]

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1415 Words | 6 Pages

As stated in Source A, Daisy simply has to “maintain her position” of being a housewife instead of fighting for “something better”. Daisy had the opportunity to be with a man who would be faithful to her, but she ultimately instead chose to stay with Tom since she knew that with him, she would not worry about facing any issues. Source A also states that Jordan Baker has a tie connecting to her family's money which also shows her to be a “poor representation of the dream.” This further proves that F. Scott Fitzgerald only portrayed the American Dream through characters who already had it easy and they put in low effort to obtain their status. Others may claim that anyone regardless of status, race or gender can chase the American Dream, and while that is true, people who are white and rich often receive more of an advantage than those who are not which often deems it

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When everyone hears the term “American Dream” they think of striving to get what you want, no matter what it takes. Coming from hardship, whether that be poor to rich, emigration, or overcoming family troubles. The American Dream is being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Three films that carry aspects of this idea are The Great Gatsby, Stranger than Paradise, and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They.

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He had fashioned his entire existence around this dream, but the dream remains just a dream which is impossible to realize. Gatsby does’t want to believe his dream girl is a materialist who is just play with him. In the argument of Tom and Gatsby, Daisy said “[Gatsby wanted] too much” (127). Indeed, Daisy clearly shows her heart belongs to Tom and she will never leave him for Gatsby. So, just as Daisy's voice is fluctuating, feverish warmth, it is only a voice.

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901 Words | 4 Pages

The idea that anybody can achieve their definition of success in a society where everyone has the opportunity to grow, regardless of where they were born or what class they belonged to, is known as the American dream. The books Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, along with The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson narrate tales about the pursuit of the American Dream which is still relevant today. To begin, in the book, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck speaks about what it's like to long for the American Dream. According to the author, “‘Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece of lan’.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby is first introduced as a mysterious figure who appears to be captivating and surrounded by luxury. He was a man full of dreams, hoping to take his past lover back, Daisy. However, he "wanted no less of Daisy " (p.g 117) than to say that Daisy "never loved" (p.g 117) Tom. It is clear to see that Gatsby only wishes to please his pride and not a genuine affection towards

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1188 Words | 5 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, we see Tom and Daisy, a part of the ¨old money¨ crowd. Wulick says, ¨They do not need the American dream, since they were born with America already at their feet¨. Tom and Daisy did not have the traditional rags-to-riches story as Gatsby and the Wilsons do. They are seen as just money, careless, reckless, and bored. Wulick shows, ¨..unlike Gatsby and the Wilsons, who actively dream and hope for a better life, Daisy and Tom are described as bored and careless, and end up instigating a large amount of tragedy through their recklessness.¨ You can see this when Daisy runs away with Tom after the incident with Myrtle.

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739 Words | 3 Pages

His disregard for reality is how he formulates his dream to rewrite the past and reunite with Daisy, according to his belief that sufficient wealth can allow him to control his fate. He establishes an immense fortune to impress Daisy, who can only be won over with evidence of material success. As Gatsby attempts to make his ideal a reality, things do not run as smoothly as he plans because Daisy can never live up to his dream. When Nick is reflecting on Gatsby's idea of Daisy he notes, "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you'" (105). Gatsby’s ideal life is not a realistic expectation because Daisy is already married and has a family to take care of.

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803 Words | 4 Pages

Daisy seemed really nice and pretty and was the goal of Gatsby to get, but turns out she's not as great and Gatsby imagined her being, represents the false sense of glory people see in the American Dream. This proved in chapter 5, page 93, "Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.

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97 Words | 1 Pages

The American Dream is the idea that anyone, regardless of their race, class or gender, can obtain their own version social success. To most people, this dream includes a stable family with various fortunes in both monetary and social value. However, it may be more easily accessed by people not included in the minories to achieve this. While it would be nice to believe everyone has an equal chance at having a ‘perfect’ life, the reality is much more depressing. In contrast to what Americans would like to think, The American Dream is ironically it’s own

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