“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work”(Powell). Throughout the movie, The Lucky One, directed by Scott Hicks, and the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main characters endure many obstacles to try to win the heart of the girl they love. Jay Gatsby is determined to reunite with the girl he fell in love with five years ago. Logan is resolute in finding the girl in the picture, who he calls his guardian angel. In both the movie, The Lucky One and The Great Gatsby, they reveal how staying determined will lead to accomplishments; Logan in The Lucky One, ends up getting the girl, however, Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, fails to keep the heart of Daisy.
Determination is “The act or an instance of making an important decision and not giving up” (“Determination”). In The Great Gatsby, the main character Jay Gatsby is a succesful business man who will go to extremes to win the heart of the woman of his dreams, Daisy, hoping she would leave her husband for him. Gatsby threw extravagant parties with an abundance of alcohol and a variety of people. People would drive hundreds of miles to attend one of Jay Gatsby’s parties. He would never participate in any of his parties, however, so no one knew him. One may ask: Why would he spend so much money on parties he did not even participate in? The answer is that he would stand on the balcony looking over his unknown party guests hoping Daisy would show up one evening. Gatsby was very determined to get the attention of Daisy, and he believed by throwing these parties he would do so. He was so anxious to see her; he had his neighbor Nick invite her over one afternoon. He had been very nervous and wanted eve...
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The Great Gatsby, a novel by Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its impossible goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is used in many novels. This dream is different for different people; but, in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is that through wealth and power, one can acquire happiness. To get this happiness Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream; and, in order to do this, he must have wealth and power.
A story isn’t a story without a deeper meaning. This proves true with the book The Great Gatsby, a book set in the roaring 20’s where the American Dream was the only thing on everyone’s mind. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald dives into the downside of the American Dream and the problems it causes. Through imagery, flashbacks, and irony, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes of the complexities of the American Dream.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
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Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925
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.
Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.