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The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The "American Dream" is a frequently used term to reference to the opportunity to move up in social status, create a family, and live a comfortable life. Somewhere in the 1920s the “American Dream” got a new meaning, and that meaning for a lot of people was greed. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald shows the corrupt nature of the American Dream through some of its main characters. F Scott Fitzgerald shows the frailty of the American Dream with Jay Gatsby the protagonist of the story. Gatsby had a huge desire to succeed in everything, the root of this desire was to impress the love of his life, Daisy .
The demise of Jay Gatsby portrays shows a faulty American dream. Fitzgerald's characterization of Jay Gatsby as the hopeful and ambitious man parallels the original values of the American dream. Like the American Dream, reputation precedes Gatsby. The author conceals Gatsby's personal narrative until chapter three which leads to the reputation of wealth and success. It is not until later in the novel where the reader is able to see Gatsby's true flaws. By using this technique Fitzgerald is able to convey the role of reputations in modern society and how greatly they can differ from reality. Although the reader was first led to believe that Gatsby lives the ultimate life of luxury and wealth, his lavish life leads him to steep slope to the bottom. With his literary gift Fitzgerald reminds the reader of a lesson still prevalent today- an innocent desire of success can be overcome by greed. As seen during the roaring twenties materialism undoubtedly has the ability to overcome the original ideals of hope , ambition, and opportunity that drive the American Dream. This character demise serves a greater purpose than a dramatic personal story of boy who loses his direction but rather an understanding of the lives of many American families who had it all in the roaring 20's only to lose the "American Dream" in the Great Depression. This unattainable nature of the American dream lives on in modern times, families still confuse wealth and power for happiness and peace of mind. The novels great success is due to Fitzgerald's remarkable ability to write a novel about a theme that is so reoccurring in society. Gatsby

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