Characteristics Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream in the 1920’s revolved around the accumulation of wealth. Jay Gatsby believes he can buy happiness, which to him, consists of having Daisy to himself. He believes he can do this by achieving a level of respect in East Egg; known for new money. His goal was to make fortune to please Daisy.

The author Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a novel that talks about and covers American issues in the 1920s. He shows in the novel the carelessness and selfishness of everybody at the same time by portraying all of them in the location of west and east egg. Fitzgerald talks about a couple different topics throughout the novel. One of those is," the Attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of it" and the second one is"the American Dream is corrupted by the desire for wealth". He uses those themes to show how americans lived at a different time.

The American Dream, is an idea that all Americans are familiar with, no matter what age they are. It is the dream that everyone has an equal opportunity, to use hard work and integrity to achieve success. The American Dream is an integral aspect of Jay Gatsby’s life in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel follows Jay Gatsby, as told by Nick Carraway, through the trials and tribulations that correspond with newfound wealth and the quest to find true happiness in a cynical and testing environment. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream has the power to corrupt individuals, through his depictions of wealth, materialism, and the consequences they inflict in the character’s lives.

Gatsby and the American Dream Have you ever wondered who could ever live the American dream? In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is the main character and in love with something he does not have, but lives a dream to others. He has all the money he needs to throw parties and have fancy things. Gatsby is considered to be living the American Dream. In the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby represents and lives the American dream. In the book The Great Gatsby, it shows how Gatsby lives the American Dream.

The American dream is often described as the desire for social mobility and the opportunity for wealth and success for all. According to Laura Goldblatt, author of Can’t Repeat the Past: Great Gatsby and the American Dream, “The term ‘American Dream’ provides a shorthand for aspirations that include the desire for social mobility, the ideals of freedom, and a non-hierarchical society,” (1) Of course, while there is an overall definition of the American dream, its interpretation varies from person to person. For some, it is the white picket fence and upper-middle class ideology. For others, it’s the dream of being able to support their families with their hardwork and dedication. However, for Jay Gatsby, it is only to gain wealth and success that will lead him to earn the love of Daisy Buchanan. To him, Daisy was his American dream and he would do anything, buy anything and give anything to have her, as shown throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s interpretation of the American dream is best encapsulated through his relentless pursuit to obtain Daisy’s love and attention. Although he used a showy appearance of wealth and prosperity to fulfill his desire for Daisy’s attention, the readers realize that money could not buy her affection in the long term, that Gatsby only committed to a life of extravagance for the sole purpose of wooing Daisy Buchanan, and he died sad and alone with his version of the American Dream never being fully realized.

It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” (George Carlin). George Carlin, criticizes the dream of prosperity, a promise to any individual for happiness and material success, if they try hard enough, Carlin realizes the reality of the unobtainable dream. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald offers an insight to the lavish life of the 1920’s, or as he coined, The Jazz Age. The novel follows the character of Nick Carraway as he learns the tragedy of an excessive lifestyle that is lived by Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald is able to see past all the luxury and grandeur to expose the unhappiness and misery that tells the reader that money does not bring true joy. The novel describes

The 1920’s was a decade of striving for prosperity and the American dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s historical fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby builds his way up to wealth and does everything he can to attain his goal, but is ultimately unable to attain it. Through his decision to set up The Great Gatsby as a frame story, Fitzgerald conveys the theme that the American dream is not necessary attainable, no matter how much one sacrifices or works towards it.

The idea of American Dream as presented by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby novel involves rising from poverty or rags to richness and wealthy. The American Dream exemplifies that elements such as race, gender, and ethnicity are valueless as they do not influence the ability of an individual to rise to power and richness. This American Dream makes the assumption that concepts such as xenophobia are non-existent in America a concept that is not true and shows vagueness of the American Dream. In his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Great Gatsby to demonstrate the overall idea of living the American dream. Gatsby leaves his small village of farmers and manages to work his way up the ladder although some of the money he uses to climb the ladder is associated with crime “He was a son of God and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 6.7). This phrase shows that Gatsby wasn’t meant for a life similar to that of his father but rather destined for greatness. However, his dream his short-lived and he doesn’t make it to the top as Daisy who is a symbol of his wealthy rejects her and a series of events transpire that result in his death before he could live his American Dream alongside everyone else who was working up the ladder to live the American Dream.

In the 1920s there were many changes going on in America. Music styles changed, clothing styles changed, and people’s moods changed. Before the ‘Roaring 20s’ people had a very modest outlook on life: the music was very calm and outfits had a lot of coverage. During and after the 1920s people began to listen to new kinds of uplifting music, and clothing became more revealing. The American Dream was for everyone to feel like they had freedom and equality. The American citizens relaxed when World War II ended and were trying to find their happiness.

One of the most influential writers of the early 20th century was a man named F. Scott Fitzgerald. The biggest topic that he wrote about was the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses many different aspects of writing to get his opinion across, such as the outcome of stories like The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams”. He also uses the setting and to explain his beliefs. Based of his work, Fitzgerald believes the American dream is not only unrealistic, but also unattainable.

The American dream: the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, both Jay Gatsby and Myrtle try to reach their American dreams; however, their final state reflects a significant statement on such a dream. Tom and Daisy do not need to reach this dream since they have always been in possession of their American dream. This creates a stark contrast between the ideals of Gatsby and Daisy. In the final passage of the novel, the nature of the dream is further defined. Fitzgerald uses his novel to show a pessimistic and futile view of the American dream, yet he believes that striving for the dream is a large part of the American experience.

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

What was the American Dream? Each character has their own idea of what the American dream is and each one tries to pursue it. The Great Gatsby is a novel with the too different types of people. Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby live in the West Egg where most of the people work for their riches. While the Buchanan’s live in East Egg where everyone has inherited their money and come from high class families. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, everyone is pursuing the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson are four key characters whose lives are forever changed by each other’s actions as they try to achieve their own versions of the American Dream.

Picture this, there was a young man who worked his way up the social class just to please a girl he loved for five years. However, he died loving the girl who did not even go to his funeral. This tragic story was The Great Gatsby, which portrayed the decline of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, used different types of illustrations and imagery to put himself into every character in the book, including Jay Gatsby, the one who represented The American Dream. Among those who experienced huge divide in the American society during the Roaring Twenties, only a group of people who accepted change while keeping some of the traditional values survived the era and subsequently, the Great Depression. In a time of excessive spending and loose morals, Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man that was born rich and had a rich wife, was the clear winner in every aspect of his life. Tom Buchanan was the most successful character in The Great Gatsby because of his unchanging social status as a wealthy man, his luckiness of escaping the responsibility of his sins, and his ability to maintain a marriage with Daisy Buchanan.

The Roaring Twenties! For some, the twenties were a time of extravagant parties and luxurious living. For others, they were trying to live the American Dream. People from all different walks of life come to America in search of the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that you are not restrained by your social class, that if you work hard you can become anything and that you are able to search in pursuit of happiness. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the American Dream as dead through showing that social class is commonly relevant, showing that there is equal opportunity for all, and showing that the pursuit of happiness or the American Dream does not always stand with life and liberty.