ipl-logo

Why Is The American Dream Unattainable

1140 Words5 Pages

54 percent of American adults believe there is an American dream, but 28 percent think it is unattainable. The 20s were a time of prosperity with the economy rising, with many get-rich-quick schemes that made people strive for their American dream. Gatsby was able to use the prosperity of the time to get rich and climb the socioeconomic ladder, which led him to have his American Dream within reach. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald there is a constant similarity between Gatsby’s American Dream and that of most people in the 20s because the novel shows that people will do anything to get to their American dream no matter how corrupt it is, most American dreams equate with social status, and the attempts to reach the American dream …show more content…

As unfortunate as it is, that tends to happen for most American Dream, and it is depicted all throughout the novel. A perfect example of this is Gatsby’s dream which was left unattainable due to his death. “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (Fitzgerald, 2004, p. 136). There was nothing that could deter him from reaching his dream, until his unfortunate demise at the end of the novel. At the beginning of the novel he is first seen reaching out to the light and it is sort of ironic how the book ends in the same spot, but with Nick standing there looking out at the dream that once was attainable that is no longer even imaginable. Most dreams are unattainable, so living a life only geared towards that goal is an unsustainable way of life. “‘The theme of Gatsby,’ Bewley flatly states, ‘is the withering of the American dream’”(Decker, 2009). American dreams, as lovely as they sound, should just stay as dreams. It’s not a sustainable lifestyle to try and reach that goal and most wither before being able to accomplish the dream. Even Myrtle’s dream was not achieved before her death. She wanted to live a lavish life and her husband was trying to do that for her by moving out west but she was killed before they even got to move. In theory, the American dream is great but in reality, it just leads to

Show More
Related

Significance Of The Green Lantern In The Great Gatsby

1422 Words | 6 Pages

The American Dream is something which almost every American is familiar with, but it also is unattainable for the vast majority of Americans, something which F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates with his acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby covers the story of Nick, an all around average man who is thrust into the lives of both the ultra wealthy and the aspiring-to-be wealthy when he moves to New York. He meets his nextdoor neighbor, Gatsby, who owns an extravagant mansion which Nick finds out to be purchased with money of questionable background, and owned by an ever increasingly strange and dubious man. Over the course of the novel, different characters all chase their own goals - some want love, some want power, almost everyone

Read More

Gatsby American Dream Quotes

533 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream Portrayed in the Great Gatsby In the Great Gatsby, a historical fictional novel created by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character and subject of the book Jay Gatsby has gone from rags to riches. However, his peers, who have equally as much money as Gatsby himself reject him, because his wealth is acquired, not handed down. Through his decision to set the Great Gatsby in the roaring 20’s, where wealth hit an all time high, the author highlights the theme that the American Dream is an achievable accomplishment, despite how high one must rise to get there, despite the underlying mess that is often present.

Read More

Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Myrtle Wilson

1019 Words | 5 Pages

The American Dream is a concept that is embedded into the fabric of American society. The American Dream promises prosperity, social mobility and encourages the pursuit of happiness for all Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, calls the idea of the American Dream into question through Gatsby Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson. The Great Gatsby demonstrates that the American Dream is unachievable, as both Gatsby Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson attempt to achieve it, but due to being impoverished, failing to find true love, and their sudden untimely deaths, it is unreachable, despite their social status.

Read More

Examples Of False Reality In Great Gatsby

356 Words | 2 Pages

The famous poet mia Angelo once said "The American dream is only a dream". Firstly, Gatsby is a man of wonder and his fascination with his concept of the American dream. Throughout the story Gatsby show how his dream turns out to be artificial. In the great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates that the American dream is only a source of false reality reflecting on appearance.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Dbq Essay

1672 Words | 7 Pages

The American Dream comes and goes throughout everyone’s lives in America. But for some, it shows a spark of hope of a dream that will allow them to succeed in life. Whether it is something that people want to have in their lives or having a goal in their mind, it is what allows people to continue pushing through life and doing everything to get what they want. The American Dream creates a vision of what people want in their future but, if this “vision” fails, many people would either give up or find a new dream. There are many reasons why people give up on their dreams, but some, they believe that it is out of their control to accomplish their dreams such as the main characters in The Great Gatsby.

Read More

How Is The American Dream Unobtainable

353 Words | 2 Pages

America has always lured people with an unfulfilling promise of more; people come to America with nothing to try and gain something that’s unobtainable; Unfortunately, what they find is far from what they wanted to gain. F. Scott Fitzgerald expressed just how much of a lie the American dream was in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald lived as a captive of the dream 's unlawful grip that promised so much but gave so little. He was born middle class and tried his hardest to become more than what his father was, but as ambitious as he was he never gained the wealth and elite status that he desired. The Great Gatsby was his way of stating the way that things were at the time, and he writes about how the American dream is unobtainable through symbolism.

Read More

Great Gatsby Dbq

1328 Words | 6 Pages

The American Dream is similar to the ideals of The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, because today we do not have steady employment, it is unrealistic to those with different circumstances, the dream can be reachable through hard work, and the dream varies for people. People still struggle to find opportunities of employment and

Read More

Great Gatsby Dbq

1451 Words | 6 Pages

Multiple Americans believe the American Dream is not attainable. We know the typical American Dream - nice house, money, the white picket fence, along with everything in between - though dozens of Americans have stopped believing in that version. Americans have this fantasy version of the American Dream but in all reality, they are unable to achieve this dream. Some individuals have realized this and have afterward changed their dream to something more attainable. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald as well as the American Dream is not similar because of the viewpoints of the American dream the book has.

Read More

Examples Of Faith In The Great Gatsby

983 Words | 4 Pages

His failure to recognize the limitations of the dream ultimately leads to his downfall. For instance in “The Promise and Failure of the American Dream in Scott Fitzgerald’s Fiction” (pg 126) it is written that “The essence of romantic wonder appears to reside in the illusion of perennial youth and grace and happiness surrounding the leisure class of which Fitzgerald customarily wrote” This statement connects to the idea of Jay Gatsby's failure to achieve the American Dream due to the illusion he creates and his misplaced faith in the dream itself. Gatsby's failure to achieve the American Dream can be attributed to the illusion he creates and his

Read More

Corruption In The Great Gatsby

735 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Themes Of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

609 Words | 3 Pages

In some point in the characters life they talk about dreams they could never be accomplish. Before Curley’s wife died she told Lennie that her dream of becoming an actress was shattered and she was “forced” to marry Curley. Lennie and George couldn’t accomplish their dream to have their own farm since Lennie was killed and George had lost hope in his dream farm. Candy also had his dream shattered of having some crops in George’s and Lennie’s dream farms. For all of the characters, the American dream was at last a crashed dream that would never be reachable.

Read More

Effects Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

783 Words | 4 Pages

"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.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Outline Essay

871 Words | 4 Pages

I. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is depicted as a mirage due to its ultimate lack of fulfillment, outsider’s inability to obtain it, and the corruption it causes. A. Those who have achieved their idea of the American Dream are ultimately unfulfilled emotionally even though they possess tremendous wealth. B. The American Dream is a mirage, and thus unattainable as it limits success of an individual by their class and ethnic origin. C. Not only is the American Dream exclusive and unfulfilling, but it also causes corruption as those who strive for the American Dream corrupt themselves in doing so and the old rich hide behind their wealth in order to conceal their immoralities.

Read More

Materialism In The Great Gatsby Analysis

1558 Words | 7 Pages

The American dream states that any individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, and/or religion simply by working hard. The 1920’s were a time of corruption and demise of moral values in society. The first World War had passed, and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as advanced technology and innovative inventions. The novel The Great Gatsby exploits the theme of the American Dream as it takes place in a corrupt period in history. Although the American Dream seemed more attainable than ever in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby demonstrates how materialism and the demise of moral values in society leads to the corruption and impossibility of the American Dream.

Read More

The Negative Side Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

772 Words | 4 Pages

"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 that if a person doesn’t compromise they may suffer. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is one the many themes present. The American Dream that most people in this book hope to have involves wealth, status, a fun social life, and someone to lust after. It is the life they all strive to have until they obtain it and see its meaningless composure.

Read More

More about Why Is The American Dream Unattainable

Related Topics

Open Document