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Examples Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The American Dream is defined by google as, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald it portrays the American Dream inside its text with some of the characters like Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Nick Carraway (the narrator himself). The American Dream can be attainable in some ways but there will always be setbacks like if a boy has the dream to grow up to be a professional baseball player, he can make it but his setback could be injuries that slow him down from making it to the major leagues. In the book The Great Gatsby the American Dream was not reached because towards the end of the book many set backs and the death of Gatsby, ended Gatsby’s chances at the American Dream. To begin with, Gatsby’s American Dream was, after the war to come home and marry Daisy. Five years ago, when he was in the army he was too poor to marry Daisy... he felt like he was already married to Daisy because they were that close to each other. For Gatsby's American Dream always had setbacks like he was sent to Oxford right after he got out of the army. In the book on pages 150-151 it states, “After the Armistice he tried frantically to get home, but some complication or misunderstanding sent him to Oxford instead. He was worried now---there was a quality of nervous despair in Daisy’s letters. She didn’t see why he couldn’t come,”

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