F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the American Dream

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The Great Gatsby and the American Dream

Webster's dictionary describes the American dream as the widespread aspiration of Americans to live better than their parents did. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is a literary masterpiece that takes a fascinating look at the nature of the American dream that made its fiery inception during the American War of Independence 1776-83 when it became the central theme of the American Declaration of Independence. In short, it stated, "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Dream 1). Through the voice of the narrator, Fitzgerald laments the social and spiritual decline of the American nation.

Society is generally defined as a formal association of people with similar interests, dreams and ambitions. In essence, it was this unified social association of likeminded people that created the American dream. The pre-Civil War America was thus seen by many as a pastoral haven where the oppressed of the world could find freedom and wealth. The saga of such young men as Benjamin Franklin helped foster the romantic assumption of the American dream "that all the magic of the world can be had for money" (Hoffman). In essence, this was the elusive "dream" (189) that Jay Gatsby was looking for. Gatsby had a "gift for hope, a romantic readiness" (6) that promised him life, wealth and happiness. However, where wealth accumulates, there also arises the "foul dust" (6) that floats in the wake of the dreamer. Wherever wealth is amassed, there are those who seek to control it and thus "establish domin...

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... we beat on, boats against the current" (189) clinging always to the ability to envision the dreams that bring sense, order and purpose to life.

Works Cited

Author Unknown. The Great Gatsby Introduction. N.D. 18 July 2002. http://www.newi.ac.uk/rdover/between/gatsby.htm

Decker, Jeffrey Louis. "Gatsby's Pristine Dream: The Diminishment of the Self-Made Man in the Tribal Twenties." Novel: A Forum on Fiction. 28.1 (1994): 52.

Hoffman, Frederick J. The Great Gatsby: a study. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1996. Excerpts From "Descriptions of Girls"

King, Luther. The American Dream. N.D. 19 July 2002. <http://www.stanford.edu/group/king/inventoy/abbrev.htm#MLKEC>

Rahner, K., The Mystery Of The Human Person in The Content Of Faith. 1992. July 19, 2002. http://www.acu.edu.au/mre/626/edre626_mod01.html

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