The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

People believe in the American dream because it gives them something to look forward to. Unfortunately, it is a dream that is rarely achieved. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book about a man named Jay Gatsby and his vain quest to live out his aspirations. Gatsby is not alone on his wild goose chase. Other characters like Myrtle and George also blindly follow their dreams in false hopes that they will become reality. It is not wise to invest so much hope in living the good life because no matter how much time or thought people put into planning their futures, something will always be unplanned for. In his novel, Fitzgerald uses birds and eggs to symbolize the false sense of security that a belief in a perfect future creates, death to represent the bleakness in the outcomes of such a belief system, and a green light to show the unhealthy lengths to which these dreams can go.

The Prince, a philosophical work of literature introduces maxims that have become a part of American Literature from the past to present day. In one of America’s well known classic, The Great Gatsby, a story of the spontaneous Jazz Age filled with power struggles, a materialistic society, and the infamous affairs of the twenties create maxims for a character in the novel. Machiavelli’s maxims have had an impact in many writings and continue throughout this novel. Daisy, the most intriguing and charming character brings the defense, rebellion, and promising traits it takes to become a successful prince.

“Be careful what you wish for.” It’s too bad the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby didn’t heed this warning. Set in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby tells the story of how the narrator, Nick Carraway, moves to Long Island and befriends the mysterious millionaire next door, eventually joining him on an adventure to help reunite him with his long-lost love. With the extravagant parties and riches beyond compare, the book soon takes a turn for the worst. However, the tragic ending could have been avoided if only the characters hadn’t been blinded by what they wanted. Although each character was driven by their desires, the character most blinded by his dreams was Jay Gatsby, the namesake of the novel. All Gatsby ever wanted was for Daisy Buchanan to love him. Everything Gatsby did was to win Daisy’s love, but his efforts were ultimately in vain. As the book progresses, the reader begins to learn and to understand Jay Gatsby’s motivations, eventually seeing that his dreams of being with Daisy were the driving force behind his quest for wealth.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the West Egg consist of two main characters, Jay Gatsby and Nick Caraway, both who want to obtain the American Dream. The American Dream consists of an aspirer of a lower social class hoping to acquire the utmost wealth to become similar to those of East Egg. Furthermore, East Egg subsists of “old money,” a population of a high social class of people who don’t strive to achieve wealth like the West Eggers. The contrast of the two sides is evident as the characters of West Egg are portrayed as wed to the vitality of the American Dream.

The corruption of the American Dream is a central theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The novel takes place in New York, with fictional provinces. East Egg is inhabited by the the families who have passed down their wealth for generations, such as the Buchanans. West Egg is also inhabited by the extremely rich, but by those who have built their own fortune, such as Jay Gatsby. Those in East Egg view themselves as morally superior to those in West Egg and separate themselves from them, creating a sort of social feudal system, similar to Europe’s. Between the Eggs and New York is the Valley of Ashes, an area where the poor, including Myrtle Wilson, live. In their chase of the American Dream, the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that has a large focus on the ideas of the American Dream and social class in the 1920s. In the novel, the people of West Egg and East Egg are people of the upper who have earned money either through inheritance or working hard and have had many opportunities to make their American Dream a reality. The people of the Valley of Ashes are people of lower class who have little to no money and have to work all their lives to make ends meet. Even though both social classes strive for the same thing, The American Dream, neither of them will ever truly achieve it. Fitzgerald uses a vast contrast in the settings of East Egg, West Egg, and

The corruption of the American Dream is a central theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The novel takes place in New York, with fictional provinces. East Egg is inhabited by the the families who have passed down their wealth for generations, such as the Buchanans. West Egg is also inhabited by the extremely rich, but by those who have built their own fortune, such as Jay Gatsby. Those in East Egg view themselves as morally superior to those in West Egg and separate themselves from them, creating a sort of social feudal system, similar to Europe’s. Between the Eggs and New York is the Valley of Ashes, an area where the poor, including Myrtle Wilson, live. In their chase of the American Dream, the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s

In the wake of the Great War, women’s possibilities opened up considerably. In spite of these advances, women still depended on men for finances, activity, and social standing. Women in the 20s struggled to create their own social roles separate from the men surrounding and defining them, revealing the one-sided control in a morally corrupt society. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, juxtaposes the women’s subjective experiences to prove that given the limited scope of their patriarchal realities, the ideal of female freedom is unachievable.

In the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is exemplified through many symbols and idols. Fitzgerald uses cars to represent wealth, success, status, and glamour. As Friedrich Nietzsche states, “There are more idols in the world than there are realities.” Nietzsche’s quote shows how idols and symbols are used to create impressions. Images are powerful and set a stage for others to judge one’s character, enabling human beings to avoid seeing what realities are. Idols are potent enough to mask the truth. In the novel, despite Gatsby 's own insecurities, he is viewed as an idol in society. Idols impact and influence Gatsby’s life and those living around him. Gatsby’s car represents an idol, illustrating his wealth, capturing attention, creating impressions, and covering misconceptions throughout life in the West Egg.

The social group West Egg represents the corruption of the American Dream, during the 1920’s. Fitzgerld describes West Egg as a home for the newly rich. This is a place where people who have recently become fortunate live. It is a place that represents new money. New money portrays the image of the corruption of the American Dream by showing how the people strived for acquiring only material goods. It made attaining material goods their goal in life. In addition, people in the 1920’s connected the American Dream to making quick money. In The Great Gatsby many of the residents that lived in West Egg became fortunate through illegal methods, such as bootlegging alcohol or gambling. Fitzgerld shows this through the character Gatsby. Gatsby’s goal was to become wealthy so that he could win Daisy’s love. By selling stolen alcohol Gatsby was able to mange to rise up to the top of the upper class and live in West Egg. The want for money and power to achieve love shows the decay of the American Dream. The parties that were held at West Egg also represent the corruption of the American Dream. The parties that Gatsby threw were huge and glamorous. Everyone from West and East Egg would attend these parties. They had no care for who Gatsby was. Rather, they only cared that he was someone who was extremely

The Great Gatsby, a classic 1920’s novel written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, explores themes throughout the “Roaring Twenties” including those of idealism, social upheaval, and the striving of both men and women whom were eager to fulfill The American Dream. Fitzgerald uses a wide variety of characters to set up the novel in a way where it can be interpreted through various literary lenses. Tom, Daisy, and Jordan seemed to be made as classic 1920’s rich, affluent individuals whom represented those who were seen as more likely to achieve The American Dream. Upper class characters in The Great Gatsby are prone to take advantage of their wealth and luxury, making Fitzgerald a critic of their wealthy lifestyles.

As Karl Marx once said, “religion is the opiate of the masses”. Marx viewed religion as a drug which gives people the comfort and happiness they need. Just like money, he believed that religion is a destructive force which puts people under a spell to maintain control over them. During the Jazz Age, America had an economic growth which swept americans to become part of a “consumer society”. Throughout this period of time, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote many modernist novels, including The Great Gatsby, in which he critiques the downfall of the 1920’s society through religion and consumerism.

World War I and “ The Lost Generation”: These two historical ideas are significant to the novel because “ the Lost Generation” is the generation that became adults during the time of war, which includes F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the novel. Authors born in this time tended to write themes that represented their experiences in the war. For example, the death of the American Dream was mostly referenced in The Great Gatsby, by the narrator Nick Carraway.

After World War I, America offered the potential for boundless financial and social opportunities for those willing to work hard—an American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Establishing fame, becoming wealthy, having lavish luxuries, and a happy family would come to symbolize this dream. For some, however, striving for and realizing that dream ruined them, as many acquired wealth only to pursue pleasure. Even though the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby appear to relish the freedom of the 1920s, their lives demonstrate the emptiness that results when wealth and pleasure become ends in themselves. Specifically, the empty lives of three characters from this novel— George Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan—show that chasing hollow dreams results only in misery.

The american dream that is unattainable, as Fitzgerald's shows it by the comparison between the west egg and the east egg.The west egg is where the new rich live those who made all of their money via illegal ways playing the system after the World War I ended. These people do not only want to get rich but want to seem like they were always rich. They are shown in the novel as showoffs like gatsby’s pink suit and roll royce and having a big mansion throwing lavish parties and awkward like gatsby seems to be. Gatsby always says,”Having a good time old sport.” Gatsby always uses the word “old Sport” to fit in and look like he is from the east and he always had money. This clearly shows the excessive need for materialistic items they want. On on the other side the east egg is the