All I have ever wanted is to be happy. When I was four years old, my biological father made the choice to leave my family forever. When I was seven years old, my older sister’s life was taken by illness. I have watched my mom struggle everyday to make my dreams come true. I have worked my hardest every single day to try and make my dreams come true. I have recently been faced with the great journey of my life beyond high school. Being involved in several clubs and organizations, working two jobs, and still maintaining straight A’s, I thought that my dream of going to a prestigious college would finally come true, that I would finally be in control of building myself a happier and more successful life. To my surprise, money can and will limit …show more content…
After just meeting, Tom insists that Nick comes to meet Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress, at his secret apartment. Tom is a completely different person without Daisy and seems to forget about his life back at home. In the same way, when reunited with Jay Gatsby, Daisy is willing to leave everything she has known for the past five years and run off with him. “‘Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly.” (Fitzgerald 105) She laughs off all troubles and he beats anyone who questions. Both Tom and Daisy beat around the bush when it comes to their marriage. They just want to be happy but cannot achieve that together. Tom and Daisy inherited what everyone else was dreaming of. They didn’t have to work hard to earn money or other things. “Specifically, Tom and Daisy have old money, and thus they don’t need the American Dream, since they were born with America already at their feet.” (Wulick) Because they always had everything they wanted, Tom and Daisy never really had to dream or never knew what to dream about. Despite inheriting “everything,” they always wanted to be rid of each …show more content…
Five years before his death, Gatsby met the love of his life. He made his life goal to become something for Daisy. “[H]is dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him,” (Fitzgerald 180) When he finally professed his unaltered love, five years later, he expected her to say the same. Daisy could not admit that she had never loved Tom and Gatsby was taken back. For the first time, he realized that all the money in the world could not rewrite the past. Gatsby’s dream of a luxurious life with Daisy by his side, was limited by his need for love. Money cannot buy happiness which is the dream of almost everyone. “The American Dream of the past inspired hope and optimism. When you could believe that anything was possible, it became easier to dream.” (Llopis) Now, we face challenges that stymie our ability to achieve these dreams. Expectations from society and other innovations change how we live and the things that we desire. Gatsby wanted love and that only from Daisy. It was often easier for him to dream about her and rather than put matters into his own hands to go talk to her, he put on extravagant parties to lure her into coming to him. Gatsby seemed to have everything, but without love, he died
All humans have dreams and goals for their future that they wish to someday turn into reality. Dreams are different for every person, and some dreams are greater and grander than others, but they are all similar in that humans live for dreams because humans innately crave a better tomorrow. While many people do achieve their ultimate goals within their lifetimes, some people have unattainable dreams that are destined for failure. Two quintessential American novels, The Great Gatsby and the Catcher in the Rye, recount the stories of two hopeful young men with lofty plans, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Both of these utopian young men possess impossible, unreachable dreams; Gatsby desires to rewind his life so that he may enjoy it with his beloved Daisy instead of losing her while at war, and Holden wishes for time to halt altogether so that he must not face the challenge of growing up and becoming an adult in a cruel society. Through the example of both of their tragic stories, it is evident that humans often rely too heavily on dreams, and when these vital dreams fail because of corrupt societies, they lose touch with reality and fall into despair and defeat.
Even after Gatsby does achieve his dream of prosperity, he is left unsatisfied always wanting something more. “He talked about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). Gatsby remains dissatisfied with what his life has become; instead of attempting to change it, he tries to relive the past through Daisy. In addition, earning his money untruthfully leaves Gatsby with a feeling of discontent since he cannot pride himself in hard work by means of earning it. The material possessions in Gatsby’s life bring him temporary happiness and satisfaction unaware that Daisy will fulfill the void of eternal longing for love. Humanity views material possessions as a symbol of wealth despite the many other ways an individual can be wealthy. This corrupted view reveals why Gatsby could not be content and accept his past as a part of him. In the passage of time, Gatsby continuously strives for his dream unaware that it has already passed, symbolic for the realization that one can’t relive the past. “‘You can’t relive the past.’ ‘Can’t relive the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). Despite the fact that he was poor in Louisville, Gatsby was rich in love and experienced genuine contentment. For the duration of his life, Gatsby
Damn. I wish I was in one of the bigger classes. At least in there there’s a lower probability of me being called on.
It’s been ingrained into the fabric of society that to be truly happy in life, one needs to be wealthy. The characters in The Great Gatsby show this is not always the case, and that wealth is not always as important as one would believe. Society has always placed a significant importance on being rich, being wealthy. It makes one believe that being wealthy is the only true way to live a happy and fulfilling life. With this in mind, many readers are going to look at the characters in The Great Gatsby, such as Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, and fantasize about one day living the lifestyle that they live. While many characters in The Great Gatsby would appear from the outside to be living the American Dream, it what lies underneath this image of
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man of meager wealth who chases after his dreams, only to find them crumble before him once he finally reaches them. Young James Gatz had always had dreams of being upper class, he didn't only want to have wealth, but he wanted to live the way the wealthy lived. At a young age he ran away from home; on the way he met Dan Cody, a rich sailor who taught him much of what he would later use to give the world an impression that he was wealthy. After becoming a soldier, Gatsby met an upper class girl named Daisy - the two fell in love. When he came back from the war Daisy had grown impatient of waiting for him and married a man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby now has two coinciding dreams to chase after - wealth and love. Symbols in the story, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the contrast between the East Egg and West Egg, and the death of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson work together to expose a larger theme in the story. Gatsby develops this idea that wealth can bring anything - status, love, and even the past; but what Gatsby doesn't realize is that wealth can only bring so much, and it’s this fatal mistake that leads to the death of his dreams.
Tom and Daisy are very wealthy and live a nonchalant lifestyle. They are not in love with each other and are unhappy; however, they do not leave each other because they need to “play their part in society”. Daisy and Tom often behave in inhumane ways; Apathetic after taking Myrtle’s life, Daisy lets Gatsby take the blame, and Tom and Daisy indirectly cause Gatsby’s death. Appalled after witnessing this horrific series of events, Nick returns to the Midwest. Nick states, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy
The Great Gatsby is an emotional tale of hope of love and “romantic readiness”(1.2) that is both admirable and meritorious .Yet, the question of Daisy ever being able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations is one that reverberates throughout the course of the novel. Be that as it may, Daisy is never truly able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations because the image of Daisy in Gatsby’s mind is entirely different from who she actually is. Even during his younger years, Gatsby had always had a vision of himself “as a son of God”(6.98) and that “he must be about his fathers business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty”(6.98). Gatsby’s desire for aristocracy, wealth, and luxury is exactly what drives him to pursue Daisy who embodies everything that that Gatsby desires and worked towards achieving. Therefore, Gatsby sees Daisy as the final piece to his puzzle in order realize his vision. Gatsby’s hyperbolized expectation of Daisy throws light on the notion if our dreams as individuals are actually limited by reality. Since our dreams as human beings are never truly realized, because they may be lacking a specific element. Daisy proves to be that element that lingers in Gatsby’s dreams but eludes his reality.
In the book , The Great Gatsby, the character Jay Gatsby is developed. The story is set in the 1920’s in the New York area. Gatsby grew up as a poor boy, but aspired to be more. He met a wealthy girl named Daisy. She pushed him to go after his dream more intensely. He worked for a man named Wilshiem as a bootlegger and became very wealthy. Unfortunately, while Gatsby was away, Daisy married Tom. Daisy’s approval of his new, wealthy life was Gatsby’s ultimate dream. Fitzgerald’s presentation of the hero Jay Gatsby illustrates that Gatsby’s dreams should be admired because through his perseverance he achieves the lifestyle he wants.
Though it seems like Daisy has everything worked out for her, she actually has a dilemma on her hands. Daisy only has the option of love or security, and the author shows the elusive nature of fully completing the American dream of having both of these things. Though some readers may not see it, Fitzgerald presents the disparity of her life through situational irony. Daisy, a wealthy woman married to Tom, lives a very luxurious and carefree life. As an upper class woman, it seems to the reader like she has everything she could want and has her dreams fulfilled. Her dream of love and security is first killed when “she only marrie[s Tom] because [Gatsby] was poor and she was tired of waiting” (130). Fitzgerald shows that even though she wants Gatsby, she cannot have both love and money, so she must to pick one while rendering her dreams incomplete. Another time Fitzgerald portrays the continued incompleteness of Daisy’s dream is when Gatsby returns after five years with much more wealth than before. This appears to give Daisy the choice of love and security, but all of this becomes . After being given the choice of Tom or her true love Gatsby, Fitzgerald establishes the situational irony when Daisy cannot actually choose Gatsby because he is “a common swindler” (133) and she would not be secure with him. The author portrays the deception of being able to fulfill one’s dreams by Daisy never achieving hers, which conveys his point that the American dream is unreachable. An additional instance when Fitzgerald shows the incompleteness of Daisy’s life occurs when her life receives the description of something “that wealth imprisons and preserves” (150). Though her wealth preserves her, she is also imprisoned by the fact that she cannot have both love and security. Fitzgerald knows that many readers believe that the American dream
Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich couple, seem to have everything they could possibly want. Though their lives are full of anything you could imagine, they are unhappy and seek to change, Tom drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(pg. 10) and reads "deep books with long words in them"(pg. 17) just so he has something to talk about. Even though Tom is married to Daisy he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and has apartment with her in New York.. Daisy is an empty character, someone with hardly any convictions or desires. Even before her relationships with Tom or, Gatsby are seen, Daisy does nothing but sit around all day and wonder what to do with herself and her friend Jordan. She knows that Tom is having an affair, yet she doesn't leave him even when she hears about Gatsby loving her. Daisy lets Gatsby know that she too is in love with him but cant bring herself to tell Tom goodbye except when Gatsby forces her too. Even then, once Tom begs her to stay, even then Daisy forever leaves Gatsby for her old life of comfort. Daisy and Tom are perfect examples of wealth and prosperity, and the American Dream. Yet their lives are empty, and without purpose.
The world is filled with cheapskates, phonies, and two-faced people. Many use others for their own benefits. In The Great Gatsby, through the motif of superficiality, Fitzgerald critiques the theme that displaying materialism and superficiality can ruin true love and a chance at true love. Objects cannot define a relationship; it should be the feelings developed that defines the relationship of two people. The characteristic of materialism is a barrier for true love between two people. Nick Carraway has just moved to a West Egg, and his mysterious neighbor is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s long living dream is to rekindle his love and relationship with Daisy Buchanan, who is currently married to Tom Buchanan. He attempts to pursue his relationship with Daisy through his unexplained wealth. However, their love couldn’t be true because of their focus on “things” rather than each other.
The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of having everything they worked and struggled for redefined if the reality fails them. Just like strivers who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spend his whole life in persue of his American dream, which Daisy was a major component of it. Gatsby’s “American dream” seems actualized when Daisy comments him “resemble the advertisement of the man(Ch7).” But Daisy eventually betrays Gatsby and went back to the arms of Tom. This is the final nail in the coffin, with Gatsby’s dr...
Even today, if you stand at night on Kings Point on the tip of Great Neck
tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble
the 1920s as we can see with Gatsby's five cars, one of which he gives