The Great Gatsby : The Detterioration Of The American Dream

How does Fitzgerald relate Gatsby’s dream to the American Dream? What seems to be his message about the American Dream as expressed in the last two paragraphs of the novel?

As the phenomenal politician Bernie Sanders once said, “For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.” In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by Scott Fitzgerald, the “American Dream” plays a crucial role in the plot. Gatsby devotes his life to accomplish his American Dream which consists of wealth and Daisy’s love. But is the American Dream actually what it seems to be? Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes the symbolic value of the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and the significance of the color yellow to constantly establish that opulence and the American Dream is deceiving as it leads to moral and societal corruption.

1. The green light, situated at the end of the Buchanan’s dock, represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates the light with Daisy and in Chapter one, he reaches toward it

The idea of American Dream as presented by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby novel involves rising from poverty or rags to richness and wealthy. The American Dream exemplifies that elements such as race, gender, and ethnicity are valueless as they do not influence the ability of an individual to rise to power and richness. This American Dream makes the assumption that concepts such as xenophobia are non-existent in America a concept that is not true and shows vagueness of the American Dream. In his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Great Gatsby to demonstrate the overall idea of living the American dream. Gatsby leaves his small village of farmers and manages to work his way up the ladder although some of the money he uses to climb the ladder is associated with crime “He was a son of God and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 6.7). This phrase shows that Gatsby wasn’t meant for a life similar to that of his father but rather destined for greatness. However, his dream his short-lived and he doesn’t make it to the top as Daisy who is a symbol of his wealthy rejects her and a series of events transpire that result in his death before he could live his American Dream alongside everyone else who was working up the ladder to live the American Dream.

In the past the American Dream was an inspiration to many, young and old. To live out the American Dream was what once was on the minds of many Americans. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was presented as a corrupted version of what used to be a pure and honest ideal way to live. The idea that the American Dream was about the wealth and the possessions one had been ingrained, somehow, into the minds of Americans during the 1920’s. As a result of the distortion of the American Dream, the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby along with many others, lived life fully believing in the American Dream, becoming completely immersed in it and in the end suffered great tragedies.

In the United States' Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers "…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." This sentiment can be considered the foundation of the American Dream, the dream that everyone has the ability to become what he or she desires to be. While many people work to attain their American dream, others believe that the dream is seemingly impossible to reach, like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby examines the "Jazz-Age" generation's search for the elusive American Dream of wealth and happiness and scrutinizes the consequences of that

A large colonial house with shutters and white picket fence in the suburbs, mom putting a warm apple pie on the windowsill to cool as dad gets home from a long day at work. This is the image that usually comes to mind when I think of the “American Dream”. The American dream is a theme seen throughout American literature. The “dreamer” usually desires to rise from rags to riches while gaining power, love and high status. Throughout different time periods there have been many different variations of the dream although the principles of freedom, the desire for something greater and self-sufficiencies have been a constant. Two of the ways the dream can be obtained are through one’s self-actualizations or money and materialistic means. The modern day focuses on material items and monetary values are symbols of being successful in achieving the American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s money provided him the company of people. Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who came from no money. He had a plan to achieve his dream of being successful, and succeeded. He becomes so blinded by extravagant possessions that he becomes blinded to the fact that money cannot buy happiness or true love. In the book Fitzgerald shows how ones focus on power, wealth and materialistic things can ultimately corrupt ones dream.

Symbolism is a big part in how people express certain feelings or represent important items. The American Dream is a huge achievement that everyone wants to reach. Whether people want to admit it or not, it is a symbol all it’s self. It can be anything really, a great job, a family, white picket fence, even music or attending concerts of your favorite band. The American Dream is something that makes you so happy and what you can achieve or want achieve in your lifetime. The main AMerican Dream is money, a family, and happiness. In The Great Gatsby the american dream is a green light.There are several different colors for the different symbols in the book which are portrayed throughout the book often, and in the right context. Each character is put with that color and in different scenes for different reasons. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway all portrayed the same color symbol; yellow which stands for death and or/ corruption.

The book “The Great Gatsby” has sold over twenty-five million copies since its release in 1925 (Lucey). Being a great read is only part of the book’s success story. There are several reasons why the “The Great Gatsby” has sold so many copies; it envelops everything a person could want in a book. Besides all of the great symbolism and character development, one of the greatest things that the book displays is its portrayal of the great American Dream. Throughout the mesmerizing plot, this American Dream can be found in all of the characters in several different ways. The American Dream is a soul idea to the people of America. The idea of the American Dream is to live life free and pursue a personal happiness. This pursuit of happiness

The American Dream is defined as: “The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” In theory, if someone were to genuinely follow through by working hard, being determined, and having initiative, such a dream could be obtainable. A majority, of the time, however, people lose sight of these ideals; which results in the purity of the American Dream being marred. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the decline in the authenticity of the American Dream is best shown by Fitzgerald’s characterization of Jay Gatsby, specifically in Gatsby’s pilgrimage into wealthy prosperity, how his unrestrained desires surpassed moral goals, and

On April 10, 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, a novel that would later become one of the best known pieces of classic literature in history. However, at the time of its publication, Gatsby was fairly unpopular ad the reviews were never consistent. As shocking as it may seem, I believe it is because Fitzgerald’s intelligence and creativity levels were way ahead of his time, which is evident when one pays close attention to the themes of the novel. Forgiveness, love, and memory of the past are just a few themes you will come across in this story. Aside from these, there is one other theme that is much more dominant and could possibly have been the cause of The Great Gatsby’s slight lack of initial

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, each character has his or her own way to attain their American Dream. The American Dream is the idea of living in a rich life; however, most character attain their rich lives by having affairs which reveals their greedy side. On the other hand, characters can attain the true meaning of the American Dream where one lives to his or her fullest potential where he is motivated to live in a richer life. Thus, the dream is illustrates the notion of Americans being prospered with richness and happiness. The American Dream illustrates the concept of social classes which stresses the notion that the dream itself can be achieved through different means.

The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a man named Gatsby, pursuing the American Dream in a positive and negative sense. The American dream can leave one satisfied and content, but yet empty and hopeless, if taken too far. The actions of Gatsby are exemplified through the way he reinvented himself, his pursuit of Daisy, and how his pursuing ultimately led to his death.

The phrase “the American Dream” is commonly known throughout the world. There are two different lifestyles associated with “the American Dream”. One lifestyle is a family of four in a nice suburban town with a nice house and car. Everyone in the family is happy and carefree, and have the nicest and newest possessions. The second lifestyle is being extremely successful in a job, and earning an abundant amount of money. Overall, going through life with lots of success, money, and celebrations. “the American Dream” portrayed and emphasized in The Great Gatsby is the second lifestyle.