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Why Is The Great Gatsby Unattainable

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The Great Gatsby is frequently split between East Egg, West Egg, and Valley Of Ashes. East Egg represents the old money, West Egg represents new money, and the Valley Of Ashes shows the social decline and failure of the American Dream. Though some characters of higher class display that the “American Dream” is attainable in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it ultimately proves itself impossible for the mainstream public and other key characters, due to the lengths of which that the wealthy had to go through, just to end up in considerably worse situations than standard citizens.

In contrast to the American Dream being unattainable, Fitzgerald shows that it is possible for anyone to access and achieve the American Dream, if they …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald proves that the American Dream is unattainable for the mainstream public by frequently reverting back to the Valley Of Ashes and how the people dress, what they work as, and how they act. Wilson was described as “[A]blond, spiritless man, anæmic, and faintly handsome” and these characteristics give a sense of deprivation. “Spiritless” and “anæmic” portray Wilson to seem ghastly and famished, meaning he is sick or possibly has not eaten, due to lack of money (Fitzgerald 25). Wilson also had a cheating wife and only worked as a mechanic. His lifestyle also did not portray any sort of happiness of the American Dream. “The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river,… passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (Fitzgerald 24). The Valley Of Ashes is described in a grotesque manner and an eye sore. The “foul River” and “dismal scene” tell that the place is dirty and that is a result of the wealth inequality between Long Island and Valley Of Ashes. It was said that Valley Of Ashes only held three stores and one of them “[W]as for rent and another was an all-night restaurant, approached by a trail of ashes” (Fitzgerald 24,25). There were not many businesses in the small town and the absent upkeep of the town’s trash, dirt, and wealth reflects the lack of businesses. Overall, Valley Of Ashes represents the moral decay of the American Dream and those who could not attain

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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.

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he captures the alluring niche of the American Dream. Fitzgerald delves into the Roaring Twenties, exploring the era’s instability and immersion in greed and pleasure. In his novel, he reflects personal events and experiences being lower class along with his desire to attain wealth for the means of happiness. Presented through his cast of characters and the realities they face, Fitzgerald criticizes the American Dream. Pairing symbolism and diction, he demonstrates the tragic tales following the glamorized American Dream as a result of the extent individuals resort to in order to achieve this ideal.

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Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the American Dream in the novel both compares and contrasts to that of Hughes’ portrayal in the poem through the usage of the literary devices of imagery, tone, and symbolism. Through the usage of imagery, The Great Gatsby paints a bleak picture of the failure of The American Dream on a disadvantaged group, while “I Too, Sing America” portrays it as something that can be improved upon. In the novel, a stretch of desolate land created as the result of industrial waste is described as “...a valley of ashes...where ashes grow like...grotesque gardens (Fitzgerald 23)”. This powerful imagery described the valley of ashes as a wasteland and a failure of the American Dream. The

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When one envisions the American Dream, one might picture the classic rags-to-riches story or simply the freedom to prosper and succeed. But in reality, not everyone gets an equitable chance to rise above the ashes, and because of this one can only wonder about the tangibility of this dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, readers explore this idea, examining people from the ultra-wealthy, such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, to the impoverished lower class, such as Mr. Wilson. In doing so, one realizes that not a single character ends up satisfied, all left to grasp the barest trace of happiness and comfort. While Tom appears to fit the simplistic archetype of the affluent out-of-touch person that cruelly antagonizes the other characters

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Scott Fitzgerald proves that the American Dream cannot be attained is by showing the difference in lifestyles between characters. George and Myrtle Wilson are two characters who live in The Valley of Ashes who are not nearly wealthy enough to keep company with the Buchanans or Jay Gatsby himself. Every time anyone living in either the West Egg or East Egg, the wealthiest neighborhoods, wants to venture to the city they must pass through The Valley of Ashes. In the center area between both of the eggs sits The Valley of Ashes a town where “ashes grow like wheat” full of smog and “grotesque gardens. (Fitzgerald, 23).

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Throughout the novel, multiple references are made towards the geographical segregation between the upper and lower classes. The lower class is restricted to only reside in the valley of ashes, “a certain desolate area of land… a fantastic farmland where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke”(p.26). This dark description of the Valley of Ashes directly juxtaposes the neighbouring upper-class areas of East and West Egg, which consist of large gardens and luxurious mansions. Melfi utilises this juxtaposition to accentuate the severity of class segregation within the 1920s. The Valley of Ashes further represents the immoral choices which results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with disregard for the lower-class.

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