Why Is The American Dream Important In The Great Gatsby

The party goers are said to have “enthusiastic meetings” in which they “never knew each other’s names,” implying they never really cared about the people they were discussing with but only felt the need to be talking to

The American Dream, something we all dream to prosper, however differs from each one of us. Whether it be to obtain riches or love, or simply live happy, we all aspire to cross that finish line at the end of day. The universal theme of the American Dream is presented throughout The Great Gatsby, and is shown throughout many of the characters in which many are emptied, because of their lust for money. For instance, in the novel The Great Gatsby the main character Gatsby shows downfall for the American Dream, because of his ambition, and corruption. The character expresses his downfall through his traits of ambition, and resilience in obtaining his materialistic riches, and most important living happy ever after with his “nice” girl Daisy, the one who got away.

Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is set in America of the 1920’s, a predominantly materialistic society revolving around wealth and status above all else. Fitzgerald depicts this obsession with money and luxury through complicated relationships full of trouble, infidelity and sorrow. The relationships Fitzgerald portrays all symbolize the materialism and hedonism of the age; each relationship is doomed to a certain extent based on the social class of each character.

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.

In the book, “The Great Gatsby”, the American dream is to have money and have fun. Everyone is only concerned about pleasing themselves and what someone else can do to help them move up; whether it is the constant parties, shopping, or having affairs. The important thing is to be better than the next person and to rub shoulders with the elite of the area. It appears that anyone of importance, or who thinks they are important, shows up to Gatsby’s parties. They measure their importance by the people they are around and the parties they attend.

Is The American Dream Worth Achieving? The American Dream founded this country, filling citizens with ideas of hope and prosperity; the idea of a better tomorrow. Inaugurated on the notion that “all men are created equal” (Declaration of Independence), there should be nothing a person cannot achieve through hard work. However, with the observation that there are many social barriers in between the lower class and the American Dream, it becomes nearly impossible. Once the wealth and white picket fence is attained, there is nothing left to strive for.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives a deep view of how the economy is different in all the neighborhoods that are in the story. Fitzgerald goes through the story with different settings and shows the differences of all the neighborhoods in the story in the 1920’s. He shows the reader throughout the book that the everyone in the book comes from different wealth. For example “A lot of the newly rich people around here are bootleggers” (Fitzgerald 107), Tom is saying that the people in west egg are people who just acquired their wealth compared to him who inherited his money. Nevertheless, New York is the place where the rich, the poor, and the middle class interacts together. However the valley of ashes is a rundown valley that is between the wealthy neighborhoods and New York City where the most of

What exactly is the American Dream? What defines success? For most, the American Dream is achieving success through hard work. However, the definition of success changes with every person, which alters human behavior based on what that definition may be. “America the proud, America the free”, chants every diehard patriot, yet so many people are shamed and chained for not obtaining that seemingly so close American Dream that everyone is supposedly entitled to.

Jay Gatsby is the perfect example of a character to represent the American Dream. In the novel,” The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The author truly shows the drama and the hardships, as well as the social aspect of living the American Dream. There are many different opinions on what success is, and what it looks like. Some people think that the American Dream is having a good life and happiness with yourself, others think that starting with nothing and rising up through the social classes through hard work and doing whatever it takes is what the American Dream truly is about. Jay Gatsby represents both sides of the American Dream that people have, he has the wealth and the lavish life, but he does not yet have the happiness that he desires.

In The Great Gatsby, Nick states that we will always run faster, try to reach more things, and always be thrown back. This relates to the American Dream, as we always try to achieve more in it, so it is never complete. Gatsby shows that we are always thrown back, and always try to reach more. As do Daisy and Tom as they were rich, young, beautiful, lived in a nice place, and had a kid, but it still was not enough. They had everything that is typically wanted, but they were not happy.

The American Dream impacts society on wealth, fashion, and big houses. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explains to us of what he thinks of the American Dream. Fitzgerald glorifies the American Dream because he implies that not everyone can have The American Dream because they have to be willing to sacrifice the most important things. Fitzgerald glorifies The American Dream through showing you how luxurious and time commitment they put into to get what they want and how they get to the top.

Wealth represents the type of car a person drives in society, as regular citizens have the same common affordable, car wealthy people like Gatsby have fast and new sports car that makes them unique in a society full of people placed in social categories.

Money is not the only thing that determines how successful someone may be in their lifetime. During the roaring twenties becoming rich was a new fascination. Being wealthy showed that the “American Dream” was attained. The American Dream is the ideal that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Money and power is used to acquire respect, and without it many social connections would be affected.

Have you ever dedicated yourself to something just to find out that it is not want you thought it was? In the novel The Great Gatsby written by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, surrounds the main characters Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. In the novel The Great Gatsby, a young man moves to New York to become something his family has never been before. When he moves there he reunites with his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan. He finds out that he is stuck in the middle of a love triangle between his cousin Daisy, Tom, and his mysterious neighbor Gatsby.

In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. If you have a dream in America, you can achieve it with old fashioned hard work. Whether it’s going from rags to riches or finding love, the American Dream can offer it. But the ever-popular American dream is easily corrupted. This is greatly shown in the novel The Great Gatsby as it explores both the beauty and the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald includes many aspects in the story which show how the pursuit for the American Dream affected