What Does The American Dream Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Funerals are usually seen as either the celebration of life or the remembrance of a loved one for the family involved. However, funerals are more about judgement than anything else. They are a way to evaluate the one who passed. The expense, ceremony, and number of guests all reflect the impact and perceived value of the person. That is why the funeral scene in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is particularly revealing to the narrator, Nick Carraway. It shows how others think of Jay Gatsby and how few people actually care about him. One notable absence is Gatsby’s lover, Daisy Buchanan. Throughout Gatsby’s life, Daisy is one of his main motivators. It is his love for her that drives him to become rich and

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively portrays 1920’s America and its twisted, unsavory values. The novel has been called “the American masterwork,” by Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post, because of the novel’s characterization of the Jazz Age and all of it’s unsatisfactory glory. One critic has written, “The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American dream.” Fitzgerald’s work validates this statement. The Great Gatsby wonderfully depicts the death of the American Dream through the loss of humility and rectitude. The American Dream is the ideal that anyone, regardless of race, class, or gender should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The death of this dream is demonstrated in the novel through rich symbolism as Fitzgerald uses extended metaphors and personification to portray the corruption of the Jazz Age. The American Dream is demonstrated through the color yellow, which symbolizes not only wealth but death. The American Dream is also demonstrated through characters Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, and Jay Gatsby, as well as their tragic endings while trying to achieve the dream. Tom and Daisy Buchanan achieve money without having to work and the carelessness that results from it.

The USA in the 1920s is remembered as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, an age of new life, of hedonism and opportunity following the horrors the Great War. The decade is synonymous with wealth, materialism and unprecedented freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides an insight into the exciting and prosperous lives of the American people as they embark on the limitless potential of the American Dream and therefore it conveys a picture of 1920s American society. With

The 1920’s or preferably recognized as the “Jazz Age” became a decade that converted a nation. In the 1920’s there was, development of literature, modernization of the American city/lifestyle, and the popularization of Jazz. Throughout the “Great Gatsby” the audience begins to get familiar with new characters such as Jay Gatsby that represent ideas like the “American Dream.” Although Jay Gatsby did not fully appear until chapter three of the massive party scene where it was incredible on how he avoid festivities of the wild party and where Nick questions the appearance of him “Your face is familiar…Were you in the third division at war… I live over there.”

The definition of the American Dream is something that is defined by a person, and in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s case the American Dream is defined as unreal. Fitzgerald’s lived in the roaring twenties and the time of the party and fun, and the time that caused the stock market crash and depression. The pessimistic thought process of Fitzgerald rubs off on his novel, The Great Gatsby, a story entangled with love triangles, drama, and death. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald’s poor life leads to his belief that the American Dream is not achievable, as seen through the literary devices of Characterization of Jay Gatsby, Nick carraway, and Myrtle Wilson.

To begin with, in the beginning of the novel the reader discovers just how rich Gatsby his, and how luxurious his life is. However, the audience later finds out that this his image of wealth all aspires to win back his true love Daisy. The beginning is important for it’s the reader’s first insight into Gatsby’s dream, and for awhile many believe that it would come true as well as Gatsby did. For instance, Nick illustrates Gatsby’s emotions, when Daisy is turning his house “I think he [Gatsby] revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her [Daisy] well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 91). Thus, this demonstrates Gatsby dream of making Daisy happy with his materialistic items, and luxurious lifestyle. It also relates to his hopes of making Daisy happier than her husband ever would, and making her see that as well. In addition, while at Gatsby’s house, Gatsby shows Daisy his shirts from england, Daisy confesses, “They’re such beautiful shirts (...) she sobbed (...) I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before” (92). In reference, the real reason why Daisy is so sad and emotional is because she is such a materialistic person, that she becomes overwhelmed by Gatsby’s wealth, and also wishes she could live with Gatsby, and his lifestyle. Because of this, Gatsby begins to believe his hard work has payed off. To put all points forward, Gatsby uses his wealth to pull Daisy back into his life, and hopes that by showing her his

This shows the amount of wealth Gatsby had, he threw parties weekly and most of his guests haven’t even seen Gatsby. He didn’t throw the parties to show of his wealth, he threw the parties in hope of attracting Daisy. Gatsby needed Daisy to complete his life, his dream to be with Daisy fused with his American Dream. However, it was tragic that he had to die at such a young age, epically when he’s so close to achieving the American Dream.

For centuries in this country people have believed that through hard work, talent and ambition anyone can acquire great wealth and success regardless of their social class and background, a concept later named “The American Dream” in 1931. However, people have been questioning whether this idea of rags to riches really is attainable to all who work for it, or if it is merely a fantasy and a myth. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to illustrate the death of the American Dream.

He wants closure about what happened between them. Daisy confronts Gatsby about an affair she had with Tom, and he doesn’t even care at this point because what they had was ‘real’. She claims to love them both but she decides she wants to go back with Gatsby and not her husband. On her way back, she accidently kills a woman on the side of the road speeds off with Gatsby’s car. Gatsby gets blamed for the death and the husband of the woman shoots him. No one attends Gatsby’s funeral but Nick. This goes to show Gatsby really had no body in his life, and his own true love whom he did everything for, didn’t love him equally. Throughout the whole book, Fitzgerald points out that Gatsby was living his American dream, but because his dream was Daisy, he was living his dream out of fantasy not reality.

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald talks about changes in society during the 1920s. In the book, the 1920s are shown to be very

     The booming parties in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflect life in America during the 1920s. Gatsby displays his prominent fortune by throwing grand parties. From next door, Nick Carraway witnesses the scene of Gatsby’s fabulous summer parties:

When no one comes to pay their respects to Gatsby, we find out that none of Gatsby’s friends care about him. Even when Nick calls some people that Gatsby did business with, they make up excuses why they can’t come. You would think that at least some of the people who could comes to Gatsby’s parties would’ve came pay their respects but, Gatsby’s father and Nick were the only ones to show up.The fact that “Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” (Fitzgerald 174) really showed that even with all his wealth, he wasn’t enough for her, and she just took advantage of his love for

In West Egg, Gatsby’s elaborate lifestyle consisted of the finer things in life, food, drinks, clothes, fast cars, boats, large houses, fine hotels, the best of the best, all the way to his own personal pianist. His parties consisted of special effects, lighting, fireworks, champagne, and live performers. There were always special guest in attendance, such as movie stars, models, millionaires with playboy nurses, gangsters and governors exchanging phone numbers, an and heiresses comparing inheritances on Gatsby’s private beach. These parties were all just a ploy to attract Daisy a flapper girl which is the love of his life, and would stop at nothing to get her back.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a peek into the society of the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald establishes two classes of