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Great gatsby thematic essay
Great gatsby thematic essay
The great gatsby f scott fitzgerald language and theme analysis
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In the short story, “Winter Dreams” F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream cannot be obtained by everyone, because everyone’s idea of the American Dream is slightly a little different, if not by a lot. Each dream is subject to change and should never be perceived as permanent either. Dexter works hard for all his nice money and nice clothes, but he never really gets his American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald gives us an idea of what he believes what’s wrong with the American dream in this short story. He shows an almost perfect worker to demonstrate this idea that not everyone can obtain their dream. Not even if they’re the hardest worker in the bunch. He shows time and time again that Dexter is doing everything right and he still messes up when he doesn’t get what he ultimately wants. …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald displays Dexter as a hard worker who is fighting for what he perceives as valuable and desirable. Dexter’s father offers Dexter a paid college, but Dexter declines, so he can attend an older, more famous college (735). There wasn’t any more merit in either college, and in fact the older college is more expensive. When Dexter actually is asked out to dinner with Judy Jones, it’s given away that he desires Judy romantically even though shes a horrible person. Before he decides he wants her, she confesses that she broke up with a man for not being upfront about his poverty.She takes interest in Dexter when he confesses he’s wealthy for his age (741). This shows Dexter doesn’t like her personality but I believe Dexter only wants her for her glittering charm and social standing. Much like an expensive new car, it looks good on you if you’re the one who owns
For centuries, the American Dream has motivated citizens of the United States to go above and beyond in their efforts through life, yet not everyone is hoping to reach the same outcome. The stereotypical prosperous dream was for the average individual to have a successful job with a supportive and wealthy family. However, for some, their idealized version of the American Dream is different. Although the American Dream came in variations, a commonality within all of them was the pursuit of happiness. In the epilogue of The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams argues his idea that the American Dream cannot be defined by one type of accomplishment or triumph. He claims that the American Dream cannot be defined by one type of achievement or particular success, reiterating the fact that the dream is not about tangible goods creating a sense of artificial happiness, but every individual seeking to fulfill their utmost potential. Adams saw that the American Dream was eroding into a need for material possessions, causing him to combat the shift and attempt to preserve the original idea. This theory is echoed in Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle. Despite being hindered by
With Dexter’s loss of Judy the ideal women, he lost the aspect of the ideal lifestyle. Dexter always aimed for the best and when he couldn’t have it he didn’t want to settle for less. Throughout the story he is chasing after a women named Judy Jones. She represents the American dream, and the best there is. Dexter couldn’t seem to grasp the thought of Judy. He fell in love with another girl named Irene but still couldn’t resist the urge to chase after Judy. In the end he couldn’t get either, he was stuck between the perfect women and reality. He losses Judy and the ideal of the American dream, he no longer wants it. “Long ago there was something in me, but now that thin...
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
...ng this unattainable reality. The happiest time of his life was the beginning when he spent his days on the golf course in the summer months as a caddy. Once started to have his winter dreams, he never looked back on the past until it was too late. When the story unravels at the end, Dexter unveils his true emotions about how his life never found purpose or fulfillment. He often believed that purpose and fulfillment would be found in material possessions and the people he was with. Throughout the short story, “Winter Dreams”, Dexter anticipated that financial stability and attaining the unattainable would lead to contentment, but it would eventually lead to the destruction of his life.
Dexter fantasizes his life and falls victim to his adolescent dreams that he is never able to fulfill. In his quest to achieve Judy, Dexter never sees more than the outside beauty of Judy, which haunts him for the rest of his life. Judy simply goes towards the direction of wealth. She confesses that she was breaking off relation with another man just because he was not able to support her financially. Dexter is in love with the idea of having Judy as a wife because of her beauty and her social class, which blinds him from the reality of who Judy is. For Dexter, the American Dream is not just about wealth; it is also about acquiring social status to have the ability to marry a woman who is rich. We see the dark side of the American Dream, where even though the main character achieves success, glory, and wealth, he still cannot find true happiness. This is the irony about the American Dream. One would expect that once he or she achieves wealth and success, they would live happily, but for the main characters in the two works, it brings more pain and suffering. Through the use of irony in Winter Dreams, Fitzgerald exposes the shallowness that comes from the pursuit of American Dream. The pursuit of the American Dream makes Dexter blind and prevents him from achieving true happiness. Similarly, Jay Gatsby also deals with identical problems where he is not able to find happiness because of his desire to gain social status and the woman of his dreams proving another area, where Winter Dreams acts as a microcosm of The Great
Dexter goes to state school for a more esteemed eastern, where his financial resources are stretched. He wants to have luxury, but his desires are denied because of money. After Dexter graduated, articulate and confident, borrows $1,000 off the strength of his degree and buys a partnership in a laundry. By age twenty-seven, he owns the largest chain of laundries in the upper Midwest. He sells the business and moves to New York.
For over 100 years people have immigrated to America in hopes of achieving the American Dream. Ideas behind the American Dream date back to the Declaration of Independence which states, ‘all men are created equal’ and that they are ‘endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights’ such as ‘Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’. Of course, the definition of the American Dream and what it means in today’s society has changed over the years, and can also be defined different ways by different people, but a standard definition would historically include a person being successful and making a decent life for themselves and their family through hard work and dedication. The idea of the American Dream is incredible, and has received the attention of many. People all over the world have dreamt of moving to the United States and starting a new, free life for themselves, but is the American Dream even attainable? In today’s society the American Dream appears to base its idea of success off of material items like money and expensive possessions, so how can someone fully achieve the American Dream when there is always something new to buy? When does the American Dream become the American Nightmare? In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1926), Jay Gatsby is the perfect example of someone desperately aspiring to achieve the American Dream, but in the midst of his endeavors, takes his eye off the prize and loses himself in the materialistic world that surrounds him. Another character that struggles in his quest to attain the American Dream is Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949). Willy dedicated his entire life to becoming a successful salesman, but focuses too much on popularity and achieving material c...
Dexter becomes a wealthy man at a very young age by striving to by the best laundry in town, because of his hard work he solidifies the idea of the American Dream. Dexter’s genealogy suggests that he was not “American”, which remedies the idea. “Dexter knew that to be careless in dress and manner required more confidence than to be careful. But carelessness was for his children. His mother's name had been Kr...
Through the chosen quote, Fitzgerald reveals the vital ideas of the American Dream to show how it has been dominated due to the adoption of materialism and industrialization, and so; he emphasizes on the materialistic aspect of the American dream which leads to disenchantment and misery. In addition, the implementation of different colors allows for color symbolism to show the destruction of the American Dream
The corruption and failure of the American Dream is the primary, paramount theme in generally all of Fitzgerald’s works. He draws on its harsh realities in his writing. Furthermore, there are three main topics justifiably note-worthy for in-depth discussion found in his thematic attack of the American Dream. The first among these include the illusion of said dream versus the actual reality of it. The next involves the actual shift from the classical American Dream to the dream that has become a nightmare. And lastly, the final topic revolves around Fitzgerald’s personal commentary attached to all his stories, as he not-so-subtly draws from his real life. He only had one point to prove- that being that the only thing that successfully drives away love and happiness is, in fact, money and the materialistic consumerism it entails.
The American Dream is an unobtainable goal to achieve happiness through power, fame and fortune. The American Dream is common to everyone; however, people view it in different ways. It is dependent on where one lives and their social status. Unfortunately, the Dream is often based on people's desire for material goods. Fitzgerald states,"A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about" explains the emptiness of an existence with realization of a corrupted ideal.
...career ahead of you, Dexter showed us that if you work hard enough you can end up at the top, but you have to be willing to do the work, and everyone has an equal opportunity to be successful it is just the people who are willing to make sacrifices and want to be successful in life. I think that this story has a really good message in it especially because we live in such a small town and reading this makes it more inspiring because it shows us that we can do something with our lives. Even if the odds are against us in being someone important or being super rich we know now that it is possible to achieve this. Dexter shows the American Dream perfectly he demonstrates how you can start from the bottom of the food chain and make your way to the top, but it is going to have to take some work and sacrifices. You never know what is going to happen unless you take risks.
The American Dream provides a uniformed idea of a goal that is seldomly achieved. It includes having a successful job, a healthy family, and happiness achieved through hard work and determination. Those born and raised well with strict parents often attain the American Dream, but those raised with abusive parents that live separately often find the American Dream extremely difficult to achieve. However, this idealistic stereotype can be false. Surprisingly, in the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote the American Dream poses as a difficulty to maintain and achieve by the Clutter family, Perry Smith, Dick Hickock, and Floyd Wells.
Since America was founded, the idea of the American Dream has dominated American Literature. The overall idea of the American Dream is that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the realization of the true desire of the American Dream including status, wealth, and ability and the realization it is realistically unattainable.
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.