The Importance Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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 1920’s, American citizens were pursuing their dreams. Between desires of wealth and fame, many of these aspirations are outlandish. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us the consequences of chasing these unique American dreams. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald clearly communicates to the reader that people are failing to accomplish their dreams. The characters of Nick, Gatsby, Tom and Daisy all have ideas for a perfect life; however, none of them are able to obtain it. Fitzgerald shows the pursuit of the American dream as deceitful because it leads to poverty, depression, moral and social decay through highly unrealistic standards.

The author Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a novel that talks about and covers American issues in the 1920s. He shows in the novel the carelessness and selfishness of everybody at the same time by portraying all of them in the location of west and east egg. Fitzgerald talks about a couple different topics throughout the novel. One of those is," the Attainment of a dream may be less satisfying than the pursuit of it" and the second one is"the American Dream is corrupted by the desire for wealth". He uses those themes to show how americans lived at a different time.

Jay Gatsby demonstrates the progression of 1920’s society, from the stagnant class structure of the past to the upwardly mobile class fluidity of the Roaring Twenties. Gatsby, a newly-rich socialite of “Long Island, sprang from a platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God” (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby’s self-perceived identity as “a son of God” is the manifestation of the optimism for the emerging class mobility in the 1920’s. The idea that a poor man, such as Gatsby, could become wealthy and prominent in society was considered by many to be impossible before the 1920’s; this change was one of the many social norms that were shattered by society’s explosive adoption of the American Dream. The recent success and wealth of the Vanderbilt family was celebrated by 1920’s society as a prime example of the American Dream’s attainability. The article “The Instinct That Makes People Rich” described the Vanderbilt family’s rise to success and stated that “we can follow [the Vanderbilt’s] general methods [of achieving success]; we can seize these opportunities that are given to us, and give ourselves a very fair chance of obtaining riches” (Instinct). The Vanderbilt family’s sudden attainment of vast

Titular character Jay Gatsby proves that America’s lower class in the Roaring Twenties was able to attain only the appearance of wealth. James Gatz, Gatsby’s birth name, was born to poor and shiftless farmers in Nebraska, but “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his own platonic conception of himself” and amassed a large fortune for himself in an attempt to win over his long-time love interest (Fitzgerald 98). This would support the possibility of the American Dream and the ability to rise through class ranks, as Gatsby was able to

In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald critiques the idea that America is a meritocracy and that anyone can achieve the American Dream and become rich and successful if they just work hard enough. Moreover, Fitzgerald represents the American Dream with a pessimistic perspective such as it being a doomed journey to wealth, prosperity, and a high social status as opposed to the conventional: it being an act of settling down, having a family, and providing for them. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald uses the socioeconomic status of his characters, their actions, and the settings in which they live in to justify the illusory nature of the American Dream.

The American Dream: Is is fact or fiction? In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers set forth the idea of an American Dream by providing us with the recognizable phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s “Pursuit of Happiness” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s on Long Island, New York. The American Dream can be defined as “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, not by chance” (Fontinelle, Amy). At the birth of our country in 1776, our founding fathers introduced the American Dream as a personal desire to pursue happiness; however, the pursuit of happiness was not intended to promote self-indulgence, rather to act as a catalyst to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. As our country has changed, the idea of the American Dream, in some cases, has evolved into the pursuit of one’s own indulgences such as material gain regardless of the consequences.

The early 1920’s were a time when the economy began to soar, and the notion of the American dream began to take effect. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can come from any background and no matter who they are, if they work hard and stay true to themselves, they can achieve their dreams. The Great Gatsby, set in the early twenties, displays that socio-economic power is obtained through inheritance, forming an aristocracy of power and wealth. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates how geography and location dictate where the social-class level of an individual exists permanently in society. Furthermore, illusion and affectation portrayed in the novel to conceive the image of power and wealth in a way for

During the 1920’s, most Americans cared about their wealth and social standing. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the characters striving for happiness, love, and wealth, in which none of the characters can have all of the options in the life they have. He does this to explain his own struggle with his American dream by never having a lot of money, never being a very successful writer, and losing his golden girl. Fitzgerald portrays his pessimistic view on the struggle of fulfilling the American dream by portraying different types of people trying to achieve their own dreams with the obstacles of social status, and the influence of reputation getting in the way of their individual dreams.

It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” (George Carlin). George Carlin, criticizes the dream of prosperity, a promise to any individual for happiness and material success, if they try hard enough, Carlin realizes the reality of the unobtainable dream. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald offers an insight to the lavish life of the 1920’s, or as he coined, The Jazz Age. The novel follows the character of Nick Carraway as he learns the tragedy of an excessive lifestyle that is lived by Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald is able to see past all the luxury and grandeur to expose the unhappiness and misery that tells the reader that money does not bring true joy. The novel describes

shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel… Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily. ‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds” (Fitzgerald 92). Daisy had married Tom and he was wealthy but when she went to Gatsby’s mansion, she realized the extent of his wealth. Gatsby and Daisy’s main focus in their lives was money. Money was all they really cared about. “Jay Gatsby’s quest, the wealthy Daisy, represents the emptiness of an American society focused on money, a sordid but accurate view of the American Dream” (Adamson 25). The American society is basically empty with a large focus on money rather than the significant things in life.

In The Great Gatsby, the author, F Scott Fitzgerald depicts the post - war roaring 20’s, a time of overwhelming prosperity and a new found sense of hope for the future. While this novel is often perceived as a romance, it is also a criticism on the devastating nature of the elusive american dream. The story of Jay Gatsby is a representation of what had become the values of the individual at the time. With the progression of the early 1920’s the vision of the perfect life, or the american dream, had been skewed. It was replaced with greed, and an abundance of reckless spending in which the wealthier individuals placed their misguided ideas of happiness. In the Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald chooses to expose the hidden truth behind the illustrious concept of the American dream. Through his use of literary devices such as, symbolism, metaphor, and, irony the central idea of the truly unattainable American dream is supported throughout the novel.

The American Dream, which is “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” is a “promise” given to all citizens no matter of social class. However, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be fully achieved for Gatsby. Gatsby’s lifestyle may have represented the idea of what the American dream was at the that time, but Gatsby the man was never satisfied with his life. Gatsby’s idea of a perfect life was to be with Daisy. with Daisy Due to that, he was consumed with the that single idea, dream causing him to lose sight of what he already had, which

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.

The American Dream, is an idea that all Americans are familiar with, no matter what age they are. It is the dream that everyone has an equal opportunity, to use hard work and integrity to achieve success. The American Dream is an integral aspect of Jay Gatsby’s life in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel follows Jay Gatsby, as told by Nick Carraway, through the trials and tribulations that correspond with newfound wealth and the quest to find true happiness in a cynical and testing environment. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream has the power to corrupt individuals, through his depictions of wealth, materialism, and the consequences they inflict in the character’s lives.