F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby

The American Dream in simple terms is the essence of Americanism; it is the belief that social mobility, prosperity, and financial success are attainable by hard work regardless of social class and nationality. The American Dream exemplifies what every immigrant imagines as they walk through Ellis Island or cross the border from Mexico. It is the ethos of America, the defining image of the average upper-middle class family man. This idea of prosperity begins as far back as the founders of the United States. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous Framers in American history, built himself from the ground up. Franklin’s The Autobiography is both his personal regimen for prosperity, but also the

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, depicts the characters Gatsby and Daisy as symbols of the American Dream. Those who long to be at the top of the social ladder are evidence of the greedy scramble of wealth. Although Gatsby falsifies the original story of his climb to the top, this rags to riches endeavor is the pillar on which the American dream stands which gives him a mysterious yet interesting persona. Gatsby embodies Jack Solomon’s premise, in “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”, through his empty pursuit of materialism. Solomon argues that the American dream is an ideology that measures individual success based on how much wealth and property one owns. This idea of the American Dream dictates that a person’s outward appearance gives the illusion that if one attained wealth and property, happiness would suffice. By applying Solomon’s thesis to an analysis of Gatsby, we see that this idea of the American dream is an empty pursuit of pleasure that ultimately leaves him in a whirlwind of depression.

As World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II were occurring, America was in a time of uncertainty and questioning. Therefore, in following with the feeling of the American people, American writers often followed this theme of confusion in their writing, creating the age of Modernism. During the time period of Modernism, writers often included the themes of uncertainty, disjointedness, and disillusionment in their works. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, these three themes of uncertainty, disjointedness, and disillusionment are portrayed through three main characters Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby, respectively.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays characterization corresponding with characters’ birthplaces, desires, and determination in order to devise their statuses. The narrator, Nick Carraway, is disparate from others due to the place he grew up which is exemplified when he moves to New York from the Midwest. Tom Buchanan satisfies his desire for love by having women in his life as well as his wife Daisy. Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan have been fond of each other since they met many years ago and their love for one another made Gatsby determined to create a new rich and extravagant lifestyle in order to completely win over Daisy. Nick Carraway’s personality is unique in New York compared to many of the dwellers, especially those at Gatsby’s massive parties.

From a young age, everyone is told to follow the example set by adults around them. Children are constantly berated for their behavior and told to act more mature. But issues in this world are not caused by children. The blame lies in the hands of the very adults that adolescents are taught to model after. Adults are able to get away with unacceptable behavior, claiming that being older means that they must know better. In the heart of the 1920s, an era of wild parties and reckless abandon, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the complex society of Long Island Sound’s elite, the fictional East Egg and its less fashionable counterpart, West Egg, in his novel The Great Gatsby. Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s already strained marriage is further shaken up by the reappearance of a flame from Daisy’s past, Jay Gatsby, who manages to make himself into an incredibly wealthy man. Readers watch through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s neighbor, as irrational actions force their lives to intertwine into a complicated mess. The selfish decisions and careless actions of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby prove that the behavior of adults is not always acceptable.

The attempt to decipher the complex societal ascension and cultural machine that is “social class” and “social standing” is a motif seen all throughout American literature with no absence from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Although at times overshadowed by the blatant themes of love, hope, and loss, Fitzgerald addresses the concept of social mobility, social standing, and social precedent continuously throughout his novel beginning as early as the first chapter. However, what separates The Great Gatsby from other novels addressing the perceptions of social class is the wide variety of social standing presented by Fitzgerald. Unlike pieces similar to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening or Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the

The American Dream is defined as the idea that all citizens of the United States of America are able to have an equal chance to gain success, and to prosper through hard work and determination. The American Dream is the driving force of evolution in humanity. It allows the aspiration of being able to do astonishing things, and proffers them prosperity in life. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald delves into the American Dream and it’s demise. Fitzgerald focuses on the character of Jay Gatsby to materialize the false image that the American Dream created in the 1920’s. Gatsby is the protagonist of the novel, and is famous for throwing massive parties regardless of the secret life that he lives. The narrator, Nick Carraway, dives into

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an author known for his best-selling book, The Great Gatsby. The story is about a man, Jay Gatsby, who was in love with Daisy Buchanan. Daisy was married to Tom, but Tom was cheating on her with Myrtle Wilson. There were two islands the story took place in: East Egg and West Egg. East Egg was the “old money,” or money passed down from ancestors, while West Egg represented the “new money,” or self- made money. Fitzgerald used multiple types of symbolism in his book, and his symbolism helped the reader understand the plot. The novel is read throughout schools to teach symbolism. The book can be described as “[…] satisfying as entertainment, thought provoking as a study, and increasingly rewarding the more closely it is examined.” (Koster). A frequently used type of symbolism in The Great Gatsby was color. The colors symbolized in the book were white, green, yellow, blue, gold, and gray.

Nick Carraway is who narrates this story He is a very opened minded, nice, quite guy from Minnesota. Nick travels to New York and rents a house in the West Egg side of Long Island. West Egg is where all the people who have just made their fortune live. Although Nick lived in the West Egg side he had many connections with the people on the East Egg side. Nick had a wealthy and attractive neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lives in a mansion and has extravagant parties every Saturday. Gatsby’s real name is James Gatz and he was born at a farm in North Dakota. He went to St. Olaf’s University but dropped out two weeks later do to the humiliation of being a janitor. One day he was fishing at Lake Superior and he saw a yacht owned by Dan Cody. He

When people think of the American Dream, they may think of glam and fame and a beach house on the coast. The American Dream is more or less a fantasy in which the dreamer achieves fortune and riches with their work (or lack thereof). People want to get rich quick, and they want to have everything they have ever wanted handed to them on a silver platter. The twenties in America, commonly known as the “Roaring Twenties,” were a prosperous time, and many people realized their own version of the American Dream during this period.

"The Great Gatsby" by Francis Scott Fitzgerald is about an aspiring young businessman named Nick Carraway who moved New York to experience the American Dream. Nick settled in a house located in the West Egg District of Long Island where he met the wealthy yet peculiar Jay Gatsby. Throughout the book, Nick and Gatsby become great friends as Gatsby teaches Nick about life as Nick helps Gatsby with the love of his life. Within the story, Nick and Gatsby experience the heartaches and the immoral struggles of life. The book exposes the American Dream to the reader through the eyes of Nick and Gatsby and how not every dream can result in a happy ending.

Humans continually search for success. This success surfaces in forms such as fortune, fame, glory, et cetera. The American Dream encapsulates the ideals of the “New World,” bringing together not only the idea of limitless success, but also its newfound availability and encouragement for embracing the promise land. The Great Gatsby explores the American Dream and “the actual nature of this dream... the manner in which people try to achieve it, as well as the moral implications their actions bring” (Smiljanić, 2). Through The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the truth of the American Dream by showing that it incorporates the drive for prosperity as well as the actual prosperity itself, but ultimately, the class distinctions amongst Americans, and the never ending search for fulfillment, prevent the dream from being achieved.

Both writers present the idea that the American Dream is all an illusion and that it is physically impossible to achieve yet many strive to reach it in their lifetime. Many define the American Dream as the notation that the American social, economic and political system is the key to a life of personal happiness and material comfort.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an acclaimed American author, popularly recognized for his novel The Great Gatsby. In addition to his literary work, Fitzgerald is noted for his unstable personal life. Originally coming from a low-income background, he could not marry the woman that he first loved. Even when he met another woman, he had to acquire wealth to marry her; this drove him to publish his first novel. He married her shortly after. However, a couple years after, he turned to alcohol and his wife had a mental breakdown. Fitzgerald had to constantly work to pay for his wife’s medications. Not having close friends to whom he could express his life struggles, Fitzgerald conveyed his difficulties through his writing. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald used the character Jay Gatsby to mirror his own life.

provides a general basis of where the themes or the stance of the author is influenced from, perhaps by the society in which the author was a part of, or an experience that he underwent