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Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream
Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream
Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream
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Josie Bernstein
Period 1, Mr. Boskovich
11 May 2015
The Achievement of Corruption: An Analysis of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby
The Great Gastby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the corruption of the American dream because even the rich seem constantly dissatisfied. First, Gatsby works hard to achieve the American dream and uses his wealth to deal with the issues of his love life and social life. Nick Carraway lacks drive for the American dream due to his lower-class lifestyle, though he finds comfort in it as he discovers the life of the upper class. Many of the characters are so spoiled that they are no longer appreciative of their ideal American lives after coming from poor backgrounds. Jay Gatsby is a poor man until he meets
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Carraway is obviously an intellectual; a Yale graduate and a scholar: “[he] bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew” (Fitzgerald 6), so he clearly holds the ability to strive for the American dream, but chooses not to. Until meeting Gatsby, he is constantly surrounded by wealth, but never encounters it; “so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires—all for eighty dollars a month” (Fitzgerald 8). Carraway simply seems to never find the rich life appealing. For example, he says, “Gatsby… represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn” (Fitzgerald 4), reassuring the reader that his simple life is the way he prefers to live. Nick Carraway, could strive to achieve the American dream, but chooses not to due to its …show more content…
These characters often look down upon people less wealthy than them, judging them as if they had never been in a similar position. For example, the characters discuss the butler’s past; “‘Well, he wasn’t always a butler; he used to be the silver polisher for some people in New York that had a silver service for two hundred people. He had to polish it from morning till night until finally it began to affect his nose’ ‘Things went from bad to worse until finally he had to give up his position.’…” (Fitzgerald 17). These wealthy people show no empathy for these people, despite sharing a similar past. The only character who seems to sympathize with these people seems to be Carraway who says, “I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others—poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner—young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life.” (Fitzgerald 62). Carraway feels their pain and loneliness, since he currently lives in their position. The true colors of these wealthy people, specifically Daisy and Jay Gatsby, come out when Gatsby exclaims to Daisy’s husband, “‘She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!’” (Fitzgerald 139). These people do so much
The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the degradation of the American dream through the loss of humility and rectitude.
Through these quotes, Fitzgerald believes the American dream is unattainable in the Great Gatsby because some people in the novel had advantages unlike others. A major instance of said inequality would be applied to the citizens who are living in the Valley of Ashes; representing the forgotten poor underclass with lost hopes and dreams who have failed to live up to the American dream or even got a chance to start. Therefore, the Valley of Ashes is a blatant symbol of just how “dead” Fitzgerald really believes the American dream to be and as well as how he wants the readers to interpret it. Fitzgerald wrote “...ashes take the forms of..men who move dimly and already crumbling through powdery air..immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden
The American Dream There is no set definition to be found anywhere of the true meaning of The American Dream. Any hope, dream, or goal pursued by anyone in the history of America is an American Dream. In modern times the accepted dream seems to be 2.5 children, a house with a white picket fence, and a perfect spouse. However, as it is shown throughout literature from the early days of America to contemporary times, the American Dream is not always so simple a concept. America was originally founded on the dream of freedom.
In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, men fight over a woman. To stay financially secure, they go into illegal business. Dreams are crushed and lives are lost.
In the book the newly rich are seen as people lacking in social graces and taste. For example in chapter 7, Gatsby is driving a flashy bright yellow car while Tom is driving is an elegant navy blue coupé. Nick and Gatsby both posses something that is not seen in any other characters, morals and actually having a heart. For example when Myrtle was killed it was Daisy who was driving the car, Gatsby was afraid Tom was going to hurt her so he stayed outside of her house until four in the morning .Ironically Gatsby’s tender and loving heart is what gets him killed in the moraless, conniving world that he lived in, after taking the blame for killing Myrtle.Gatsby’s fate was tragic, all he wanted was Daisy’s love but she was too caught up in herself to realize how much damage she had actually done.Gatsby’s death represented the death of In chapter 3 Nick says “I am one of the few honest people that i have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59). Throughout the book that claim is proven true, all of the characters had lied about something except Nick. Gatsby lied about how he actually became rich, Daisy lied to Tom assuring him that she had no interest in Gatsby , and Tom lied about having an affair. Those are just a few of the dozens examples throughout the entire novel. When Gatsby was murdered the only man that stood by him was Nick.
Purpose: is to show the unattainability/deterioration of the American dream. The American Dream is originally about the discovery of happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has become corrupted by the desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald does not us the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is evident that he shows the impossibility of achieving happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates this through the green light that Gatsby strives but fails to obtain. Gatsby is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, just as the American dream is, by society becoming corrupted by greed and materialism.
Within the veins of every American flows the undeniable drive to succeed. This power creates rich from poor, turns struggles into money and ultimately opens the window for all peoples to better themselves. Although the American dream still converts dirt into gold today, views on this leap to greatness have changed moderately since the 1920’s.
In The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald the American dream becomes corrupted by the pursuit of money. The American Dream is basically a dream to accomplish your goals but too much money and power can corrupt this dream. Gatsby was motivated to acquire his dream. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… and distinguished nothing except a single green light”(20). This quote shows how Gatsby was striving for his goal and trying to accomplish it no matter what the obstacles were. Other characters that had to deal with their dream being corrupted were Myrtle and Daisy. Myrtle’s dream was to live a rich and famous life while Daisy’s dream
The American Dream is a person’s hope to achieve success with great determination. Its is a goal that one sets and believes one could achieve as long as one determines to work had. The most popular American Dream is having a wealthy, comfortable life with the love ones. From some point of views, American Dream is just a simple goal of someone for a better life, but they did not realize how effective it can act on a person. To achieve their American Dreams, many people disloyal to their morality rules. They keep trying to catch a material life no matter what happened. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals how deeply an American Dream can be rooted in every Americans and forgot how really their dream was at the first place. After a working hard life, none of the characters succeed their American Dreams. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, George Wilston, Tom Buckanan, Daisy Buckanan, and Jay Gatsby struggle to achieve their deformed American Dreams.
Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may themes, however the most salient one relates to the corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream is that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her own hard work. The dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur making it successful for himself. The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth.
The concept of one’s journey to reach the so called "American Dream" has served as the central theme for many novels. However, in the novel The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the American Dream as so opulent it is unrealistic and unreachable. The American Dream is originally about obtaining happiness, but by the 1920's, this dream has become twisted into a desire for fame and fortune by whatever means; mistaken that wealth will bring happiness. Fitzgerald illustrates that the more people reach toward the idealistic American dream, the more they lose sight of what makes them happy, which sends the message that the American dream is unattainable. The continuos yearning for extravagance and wealthy lifestyles has become detrimental to Gatsby and many other characters in the novel as they continue to remain incorrigible in an era of decayed social and moral values, pursuing an empty life of pleasure instead of seeking happiness.
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald cynicism about the American Dream in the 1920’s is represented by the character Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Daisy Buchanan. The people who were born with wealth are careless, awful people, and the people who attain it or seek to attain it end up destroyed. FItzgerald believes that the American Dream in the 1920’s is ruined by the unworthiness of money and pleasure, these changes affected his belief about the American Dreambecause when people in the book pursuit a better life, they end up getting hurt or hurting others. Fitzgerald’s attitude was represented because Gatsby was poor and he went into the criminal organization industry to come up in social ladder just so he live his dream of marrying Daisy and he ends up getting killed.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.
Since the early colonization of America, the American dream has been the ultimate symbol for success. In retrospect, the dreamer desires to become wealthy, while also attaining love and high class. Though the dream has had different meanings in time, it is still based on individual freedom, and a desire for greatness. During the 19th century, the typical goal was to settle in the West and raise a family. However, the dream progressively transformed into greediness and materialism during the early 20th century. The indication of success soon became focused on wealth and luxury. The Great Gatsby is a story focused on the deterioration of the American dream. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby is shown with a desire to achieve his dream by all means. Utilizing the Roaring Twenties as part of his satire, Fitzgerald criticizes the values of the American dream, and the effects of materialism on one’s dream.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, The major theme is the collapse of the American dream. The American Dream consisted of money, lots of money. The Quote, "Her voice is full of money," is said about Daisy by Gatsby. To me this means that she has been raised rich and will always remain rich, which is the American dream. Gatsby believes that Daisy's voice is full of money and that is very addicting to him. It is the reason he is so attached to her, she is Mr. Gatsby's American dream. Like all people, Gatsby tries to grasp this American dream and to do that he has to convince Daisy that she should be his, if he could accomplish this task, then he could achieve this dream, but what happens if he does accomplish this and is still not happy.