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Why Is The American Dream Important In The Great Gatsby

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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 …show more content…

Nick also feels “at [his] best” when Gatsby smiles at him in this way which signifies how dreams are not only beneficial to those who have them, but also the society around them (Fitzgerald 48). Nick’s appreciation of Gatsby’s dreams is additionally expressed when he “[looks] with admiration at his car” because, as previously mentioned, everything about Gatsby is built on his dreams, including his car, so Nick’s “admiration” for the car represents his admiration for the dreams which that car stands for (Fitzgerald 164). Likewise, Hustvedt argues that Gatsby is only great because of such opinions from Nick as “Nick is the only one who is able to see the greatness of his wish” which further demonstrates how important Nick is to seeing the power of dreams and how Nick sees dreams, “wish[es],” as things of greatness (Hustvedt 266). These interpretations on the power and greatness of dreams by Nick are translated to the readers as they follow the only train of thought which they are offered, their narrators, leaving them, as James Mellard argues, with a “belief in the quest and the quester” and a support of dreams as a whole (Mellard

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Nick’s personification of Gatsby’s smile describes Gatsby himself. This quote reinforces the fact that there is something different but mysterious about Gatsby that intrigues Nick. From Nick’s point of view, only Gatsby’s has these rare qualities. Nick takes something as simple as a smile and thoroughly describes it with such descriptive words. He does not do this with any other character, and this shows his growing interest in Gatsby’s curious character.

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Fitzgerald 's focus on this passage this passage relates to how he presents the rest of the novel shows his cynic approach toward the American Dream. This cynicism is highlighted throughout Gatsby, the first time being when Tom crushes his American Dream, and the last when Gatsby dies. The American Dream is viewed as more of this unattainable concept rather than a completely achievable possibility. After this point in the novel, the concept of lost hopes and desires remains present. Without this passage, Nick would not have a moment of realization where he sees the American Dream as unattainable, which influences his decision to want to go back home and leave New York and the possibilities he could potentially have.

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257 Words | 2 Pages

Distinguished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby illustrates Nick dealing with Gatsby’s death. Fitzgerald’s purpose is to capture Nick’s process of acceptance for Gatsby not being alive anymore. His wistful imagery and nostalgic word choice serves to produce a sentimental attitude in Nick to convey sympathy in the audience. Fitzgerald opens up his passage by utilizing wistful imagery that goes along with Nick’s attitude.

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708 Words | 3 Pages

Nick’s American Dream was the opposite of Gatsby’s; he always strived to see and do new things every day, constantly reaching for the future, while Gatsby only wanted to relive his past with Daisy. Once Nick feels like there is nothing left for him to discover in New York, he moves back west to rediscover the lost excitement after Gatsby’s death. Nick also believed that Gatsby was foolish in his American Dream because it was unattainable. Nick uses imagery to illustrate the appeal of West Egg before Gatsby’s death, describing the illusions of “those gleaming, dazzling parties”, stating that he could “still hear the music and the laughter, faint and incessant” (Fitzgerald 179).

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464 Words | 2 Pages

The passage from The Great Gatsby,which begins on page 179,conveys a depressed attitude that Nick has towards Gatsby. His depressed tone is created by the usage of concrete details , which works together with the flashbacks of previous memories that Nick had with Gatsby. Fitzgerald also uses hyperboles which over-exaggerate the feelings that Nick has towards Gatsby. The usage of these rhetorical devices help nick better develop the depressed attitude.

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924 Words | 4 Pages

Nick is made the narrator of the story that he is to tell of Jay Gatsby and is the reliable one who tells us that he must “reserve all judgments”. Nick’s values are rather parallel to Gatsby’s values of loyalty and honesty. Throughout the story, Nick’s admiration of Gatsby grows as they become friends although he “disapproved him from beginning to end.” As we are told the story from Nick’s point of view, the reader is forced to accept his thoughts and observations of the whole society, but most of all Gatsby. Nick realises that Gatsby has invested his whole self into trying to achieve his dream and Nick is in admiration of his determination.

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1262 Words | 6 Pages

Nicks Reliable Illusions In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Nick Carraway serves as the narrator, and the eyes through which we see the novel unfold. The insight we have into the intricacies of relationships and overall happenings comes solely from Nick, and from the beginning of the novel, the readers learn that Nick is “inclined to reserve all judgments”(1). However, it is clear that he has certain affinities and relationships with other characters that alter the way the story is told; after all, Nick is not only an observer in this story, he is a participant as well. His relationship with Gatsby, in particular leads to unreliable and biased narration, in which he favors Gatsby over the likes of someone like Tom.

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491 Words | 2 Pages

Nick sees the appeal that everyone else sees in this moment and feels a sense of comfort in Gatsby’s presence. Fitzgerald in this instance makes sure to use certain diction surrounded by being “understood” and “believed in” to make the reader feel the way Nick felt in seeing Gatsby. The device hyperbole is seen being used in Nick’s description when he mentions how Gatsby’s smile gives “eternal reassurance.” The author is attempting to make Gatsby into a character that is praised to the point that it foreshadows the eventual breakdown of who Gatsby really is and how he actually

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950 Words | 4 Pages

The reader sees Nick show true concern and compassion for his comrades, especially Gatsby. He is undoubtedly a thoughtful character, though even he gives in to greeds temptation. He expresses his rather superficial belief that “fundamental decencies [are] parceled out unequally at birth”, suggesting that whether or not you are born wealthy directly coincides with whether or not one will have a noble character (Fitzgerald 2). What sets Nick apart, however, is that his sympathy is stronger than his vulnerability to greed. Watching Gatsby chase a dream so wholeheartedly, and then watching the devastating collapse of that dream with Gatsby’s lonely death is what “brings about his sharpened perception of that aristocratic world” and snaps him out of it

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728 Words | 3 Pages

Gastby is yearning for daisy's love and affection to accomplish his American dream for once and all. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….and one fine morning.” (193) Nick is explaining what made Gatsby very different from all the other characters in the novel, the way he had belief and hope he had in accomplishing the American Dream. The way Gatsby went above and beyond in accomplishing his Dream and becoming who he was.

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1661 Words | 7 Pages

It is said that Gatsby's ability to present himself as successful is due in part to his keen awareness of what other people want. Nick believes that Gatsby has "an unbelievable gift for hope," which he checks quite sensitively, like a seismograph. Gatsby is aware of what other people desire and never intends to let them down. Throughout the book, he organizes extravagant parties and presents everyone with gifts to keep himself in peoples' minds. Gatsby is a lonely man who yearns for love and acceptance from people around him.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s American dream through Nick’s eyes . For example, “ 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 enhanced objects had diminished by one.”

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806 Words | 4 Pages

Within the selected passage from The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick, seems to be talking about Gatsby with a longing, almost nostalgic tone. He portrays this tone through his use of long sentences full of adjectives, his imagery focused on nature, and his frequent talk of modes of transportation. He speaks with precise detail, making sure every word helps create his overall message. This message simply seems to be that his misses Gatsby and everything that Gatsby stood for and taught him.

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1279 Words | 6 Pages

Page 3 of 5 Johnson 1 Alex Johnson Teacher- Ms. Maggert English III 4/7/2023 The Great Gatsby Analysis of Wealth, Success, and Happiness The book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story written in the period of 1922 that represents a search of the American dream. This story captures the exploration, life, thoughts, and daily living mostly of privileged entitled people attempting to arrive at a satisfied destination of wealth and social status.

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of the American Dream. Written in 1925, the book tells the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, whose main driving force in life is the pursuit of a woman called Daisy Buchanan. The narrator is Gatsby’s observant next-door neighbor, Nick Carraway, who offers a fresh, outsider’s perspective on the events; the action takes place in New York during the so-called Roaring Twenties. By 1922, when The Great Gatsby takes place, the American Dream had little to do with Providence divine and a great deal to do with feelings organized around style and personal changed – and above all, with the unexamined self .

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