Distortion In The Great Gatsby

In the The Great Gatsby and by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the idea of the American Dream is portrayed evidently within both timeless classics. An overarching dream between both novels is the desire of both the characters to be wealthy and to attain a respectable social standing. Both characters experience conflict in the pursuance of their dream. The American Dream is the idea that if you work hard enough and long enough, anything is possible. Although both characters chase the American Dream of upward social mobility Fitzgerald’s Gatsby does not achieve the American Dream in contrast to Hansberry’s Walter, who does achieve the American Dream due to the differences in the two character's acceptance by society or loved ones.

For Jay Gatsby and many others, the American Dream is about gaining wealth and material possessions in an attempt to find happiness. Through his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream is only the concept of perfection, something that can never be acquired, but always can be reached for.

When Gatsby first met Daisy, he was merely a poor boy with dreams much bigger than his wallet. Daisy was everything he could have possibly dreamed of: rich, beautiful and powerful. As his love for her grew, so did his ambition to give her whatever he could. When Gatsby acquired a lot of money by a chance encounter with a sailor, his first thought was of his heart. He had left it with Daisy. But, as seen in the book, love that is given yet not returned is poisonous. Although Daisy loved Gatsby, she was too obsessed with the American Dream to ever truly give him her heart. No matter how much Gatsby tried, part of Daisy would always belong to Tom and to

     In perspective, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald also has many examples of the American Dream. The main character, Gatsby, shows by far the most want for something better in his life. Gatsby often shows this yearning. For example, when he said “You should live in California,” he was inferring that a better life awaits in California.(Fitzgerald,18) Growing up, Gatsby had all that he needed, but from an early age he showed signs of wanting more in life. As he expressed this hi s father would remind him that he was very fortunate by saying “Just remember that all of the

It’s a common misconception that money is equal to happiness, and Daisy is a sad, bored woman, afraid of the future. She is selfish and self centered, caring so much for the wealth that she believes will make her happy that in Chapter 7 her voice is said to be “full of money” (pg #). All the worse, when she kills Myrtle, she feels no remorse whatsoever, as she is incapable of caring for anyone but herself. Gatsby cannot see any of her bad qualities. He simply sees a beautiful young woman that he thinks he deserves. In chapter 8, Nick says that “It excited [Gatsby], too, that many men had already loved Daisy - it increased her value in his eyes.”(pg#). Gatsby is blinded by his desire for Daisy, fueled by the wants of other men, that he sees nothing bad about her. Daisy loved Tom and Gatsby equally and for the same reason: Their wealth. With Gatsby dead Daisy returns to Tom not even shaken by his death, and just as nick says they would do, they retreat from the chaos they cause into their money when they move away.

There are many different problems and situations that affected many Americans during the time period of The Great Gatsby. The different problems affect many characters lives and relationships throughout the novel in a variety of situations. Such problems with characters personal lives would be the withering of a American dream. Also, such situations during this time period is how characters aren’t achieving their highest potential and achieving their dreams. Another problem during this time period would be the very unequal wealth distribution in America, but also among all the characters families and themselves individually in The Great Gatsby. There is new money, old money, and the poor which is represented by the valley of ashes throughout this time period. Also, among the rich and poor there is always those who want more and more and are always greedy at every point in the story. Even though characters want all the money they can get there hands on they also try there hardest to achieve enough love and romance in there lives that their heart desires. Lastly, there is a great deal of betrayal throughout the entire length of the novel The Great Gatsby. It is represented by many characters, their relationships, and their personal lives. Different characters’ personal relationships and personal lives give well-distinguished representations of the problems such as a withering American dream, unequal wealth distribution in America, and betrayal in The Great Gatsby.

Since the Great Gatsby had created by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American representative writers which establishes the position in the history of modern American literature in the 1920s, and became the spokesman of the "Jazz Age" and "lost generation". The United States in the twentieth Century twenty's, the jazz era, a heyday age when economics is pretty developed. Most Americans has begun to truly feel the war has brought them to the material benefits, they with unprecedented enthusiasm closed national door to pursuit excessively wealth and pleasure in the peacefulness. Themselves thought they were one of the most brilliant eras and indulge Chapter 2 background of the article. From the perspective of the novel art, I find

Daisy grew up spoiled due to the vast wealth she obtained from being ‘old money’, which caused her to become selfish and self-centred. Daisy had become selfish to the point that she has an expensive and materialistic desire or want. When Gatsby shows Daisy his mansion, she gazed in awe as “she admired […] the gardens, the sparkling odor of jonquils […] and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate.”(Fitzgerald,97) Daisy, all along, does not have feelings for Gatsby, but more for his money and expensive possessions, as she revealed her true self during Tom and Gatsby’s argument. Daisy is selfish even if money was not involved, as she does not feel grateful for Gatsby taking the blame for her killing Myrtle Wilson. For instance, when Nick tells Gatsby about Mrytle dying, Gatsby replies “’Yes,’ he said after the moment, ‘but of course I’ll say I was.’” (Fitzgerald, 154) When Daisy cried in Gatsby’s mansion, she was crying about her actions in killing Myrtle, meanwhile she does not care about Gatsby’s act of chivalry. Furthermore, Daisy takes advantage of Gatsby by taking Tom along to Gatsby’s party, when Daisy was personally invited to essentially go alone. When Gatsby saw Tom appearing to his party, Gastby with a light temper has a conversation with Tom. He says “I know your wife’, continued Gatsby, almost aggressively.”

Gatsby has been at work for Daisy ever since he met her, but in the end Daisy always chose her husband and not her lover. He would always try to win her over with expensive things. This quote describes perfectly what Gatsby was doing, “ his goal is galvanized for him early on when was a poor young army lieutenant he is prevented from pursuing a relationship with Daisy.” Gatsby still trying his best efforts sent a love letter to Daisy on her wedding night. Daisy opened the letter, she loved it but knew she had to marry Tom. When Gatsby is killed, Daisy forgets all about him and moves on with her life. This quote describes Daisy and Gatsby 's relationship. “ Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her.” When Daisy finally is won over by Jay Gatsby he dies and Daisy immediately runs back to Tom just as she always has done in the past.

“The Great Gatsby” is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald set in the 1920’s and is a recollection of a man named Nick Carraway's memories of the summer he met Jay Gatsby the person he could not judge. Jay Gatsby changed the most throughout the novel because He started the novel as a rich and extravagant man with a mysterious background, but it was revealed that he didn't start his life this way, James Gatz was a seventeen-year-old fisherman on Lake Superior who had big dreams that he thought he never could make a reality. But he adopted a persona that modelled the ideal person through the eyes of a seventeen-year-old, and met his good companion and friend Mr. Dan Cody. But towards the end of the book the window that is Jay Gatsby is shattered

The American Dream expresses the idea that every citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work, determination, and initiative. Gatsby conveys courage, determination, and perseverance in his attempt to achieve his dreams to be with Daisy, to attain wealth, and uphold a high status in the community. “Her voice is full of money” (page 120), this quote ties to the desire of wealth and a high social status. People are proud of their success and like to showcase it off as much as possible. The message about the American Dream expresses that there will always be an infinite green light to strive for in life. After accomplishing one dream there is always a new one following shortly.

This lovely rich girl is known Daisy Buchanan, a women married to Tom Buchanan and also the love of Jay Gatsby’s life. The two met five years prior to her marriage, but were separated when Jay was forced to go off to war. The root of his desire for wealth occurs back to when Daisy’s parents did not approve of Gatsby for their daughter due to the fact that he came from a poor family. Jay is once again blinded, this time by the beauty and grace of Daisy and fails to see that Daisy is not who she appears to once be. He craves her for the realization of his golden family in his perfect dream, but really Daisy is far from that.

Although "The Great Gatsby" is filled with multiple themes such as love, money, order, reality, illusion and immorality, no one would probably deny that the predominate one focuses on the American Dream and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its illusionary goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is the central of this novel. This can be explained by how Gatsby came to get his fortune. By studying the process of how Gatsby tried to achieve his own so-called American Dream, we could have a better understanding of what American dream is all about, in those down-to-earth Americans' point of view. The characterization of Gatsby is a representative figure among Americans as he devoted his whole life to achieve his dream.

Gatsby replies that Daisy loves him and had never loved Tom to which Tom hastily objects. They begin arguing about who Daisy truly loves and whether she has ever loved Tom. In return he accused Gatsby of bootlegging and other criminal activities. At this point Daisy starts siding with Tom and Gatsby realises that he has been defeated. Gatsby had tried to lay out and create the perfect future but Tom had controlled the past by bringing back intimate memories. This is a very significant part of the book as this is when Gatsby’s dream, which parallels with the American dream shatters. Everything that he had worked for, the dream he had bound himself to was destroyed in that moment and that was what broke Gatsby and made him not so ‘great’ any more. “…Only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.”

Gatsby's strategies of winning back Daisy's heart are to show off his wealth and social status such as connecting himself with "Oxford"; living in a luxurious "mansion"(Pg 5), throwing lavish parties, dressed in nice expensive clothing; he even has "men in England who buy him clothes and sends him a selection"(Pg 92). Gatsby believes that with his money and material success he could buy anything in life including true love and happiness. Because of his obsession to obtain Daisy's love, he betrays his honesty and morality. With no other purposes in life, Gatsby ends up engaging in illegal activities. Therefore, it is very ironical that sometimes in life, good idealistic goal, somehow, is achieved by immoral and illegal means. This is the reason for the failure of the American Dream, and the tragedy of Gatsby.