The Great Gatsby Modernism

The American Dream is that the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.

The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story of misguided love between a man and a woman. Fitzgerald takes his reader through the turbulence and trials of Jay Gatsby’s life and of his pining for the girl he met five years prior. The main theme of the novel, however, is not solely about the love shared between Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. The main purpose is to show the decline and decay of the American Dream in the 1920’s. The American Dream is the goal or idea which suggests that all people can succeed through hard work, and that all have the potential to live happy, successful lives. While on the surface, Gatsby

The era in which George Wilson lived, the Roaring Twenties, was a world marked by high consumerism and standardized mass production. People had higher wages, and fewer work hours. The effect of World War 1 on technology created an economic boom, and the Prohibition backfired. Everyone had a good time, and it seemed like everyone was filthy rich. In such a world, it was easy for people to get caught up in the American Dream, an ideal that everyone had an equal opportunity to achieve whatever they wanted to if they put their minds to it. George Wilson, an often overlooked but actually crucial character in The Great Gatsby, could be said to symbolize the American Dream because he displayed hard work, hope, and persistence, whole heartedly believing that these characteristics would lead him to success in his business and a better life for him and his wife.

The American Dream is like a beautiful yet poisonous mushroom. Its colorful appearance lures humans and animals to consume it, but the outcome results in death if left untreated. The American Dream lures people into thinking that their dream and their social class can be changed with hard work and determination. However, the results are deadly in The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald with all that tried. Through the use of imagery, Fitzgerald characterizes Jay Gatsby as ambitious, naive, and selfish, demonstrating how time and a corrupt, rigid and selfish society contributes to the non-existence of the American Dream.

The American dream is a tacit promise given to all citizens in this country, which states that regardless of social class, any individual can aspire to new heights based upon the ideology of meritocracy. The American dream is a “recurring theme in American literature”(Pearson) and in American society. However, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be achieved, and according to recent events in America, Fitzgerald is evidently correct. The personification of Daisy as the American Dream, the issue of meritocracy, Myrtle’s death, the image of the green light, as well as the manner in which Gatsby is denied entry into the

The term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, follows Jay Gatsby, a man who revolves his life around one wish: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years ago. Gatsby's mission leads him from poverty to prosperity, into the arms of his cherished woman, and eventually to death. This story shows what happened to the American dream, which is considered being wealthy, happy and famous in the 1920s-1930s, this was a time period in which when the dreams of being wealthy became tainted anyways by people going psychotic. The American dream not only caused corruption but it also caused a lot of destruction. Myrtle, Daisy, Gatsby and other Americans were all ruined and corrupted because of the American Dream.

"He was a blond, spiritless man ... when he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes ... 'Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down.' 'Oh sure,' agreed Wilson hurriedly" (Fitzgerald, 28). This shows that Wilson is a tired man who has an unsuccessful business and his dream is to make it more profitable with some help from Tom and to love and cherish Myrtle. It is visible that he really loves Myrtle because most men in the 20's like Tom would never take an order from a woman. "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!" (Fitzgerald, 152). Wilson has lost his mind after his wife dies because his American dream has died with her and thinks Doctor T.J Eckleburg's eyes are god's eyes. This is caused by Tom and Daisy because Tom is having an affair with Myrtle, which made Wilson go a little crazy locking Myrtle in a room and filling him with jealousy. What really pushed Wilson over the edge is Daisy killing Myrtle making him blinded by rage and wanting revenge, ultimately ending his own life. George Wilson's downfall is caused by Tom and Daisy who are living the

Gatsby’s and Myrtle's dreams both contribute to the idea of the American Dream. However, when these dreams are taken too far and become an illusion, that leads to disappointment. The Great Gatsby is based on the idea of the “American Dream." However, when dreams are taken too far, they become harmful illusions.

Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses literary devices such as symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, and imagery to portray the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream is the way people want to live. Usually this is a very extravagant, over-the-top dream. A stereotypical American Dream is to have a lot of money, a big house, a nice car, and someone to share it all with. Fitzgerald shows these dreams in the way people like Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby live.

The Great Gatsby is set in post WWI America and at the time, the American dream was for any hardworking person to be able to achieve success and happiness regardless of their background or social class. This was a time of great change and revolution with the roaring twenties and rising middle class.

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the main characters of the story do their best to accomplish the American Dream. The American Dream first came to be in the early days of American settlement. Mostly poor people were striving to find opportunities and a better life here in America. With poor immigrants coming to the country to find more comfortable and safe life they had no idea what was in store for them for the future. The search of the American dream can be compared to searching for the unknown. When trying to expand and create a better life for yourself you must make choices and decisions that could effect you for the rest of your life, however you have no idea what the outcomes will be. In The Great Gatsby the desire for a luxurious life is what lures Myrtle into having an affair with Tom. This decision disrupts her marriage with George, which later leads to her death and loss of true happiness. Myrtle has the hope and desire for a perfect, wealthy and famous type life but the search into the truths

The novel “The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan. The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess. This novel is shown as a cautionary tale regarding the American dream. The Idea of the of the American Dream appeared in the middle of The Great Depression, a time of economic recession following the stock crash of 1929.

American Realism and Modernism are reflected in the authors and works we read through the characters’ actions and the overall tones of each work. Both Chopin and Fitzgerald are celebrated authors, known for their groundbreaking works during their lifetime.

Every parent wants what is best for their kid. They say, “shoot for the stars kid, there’s nothing you can’t do”. What if shooting for the stars and being ambitious ultimately led to your failure? A common goal is to be successful and most often, being successful means becoming wealthy. Wealth is perceived as the only way to be happy, on the contrary too much wealth can be the reason for demoralization. Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby was born an extremely poor farmer and years for the luxurious life of a wealthy man in New York. In order to obtain such wealth he willfully participates in illegal behavior. Additionally, he acquaints with his neighbor, Nick who is the narrator, and Nick’s cousin, Daisy and her husband, Tom. Tom and Daisy are old money, meaning they inherit their source of wealth. From the outside perspective Daisy and Tom have the ideal life, but the novel reveals as it progresses that their true personalities reflect destruction of everything that revolves around them. The Great Gatsby is a Modernist Novel written in 1925, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Modernism is a philosophical movement during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Aspects of it are clearly integrated throughout the novel emulating the substantial domination of Modernism in that time period. Cycles are a modernist theme very much present in novels conveying the ceaseless suffering of countless characters. In The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald, the motif of circularity is utilized