Gatsby's Pursuit of the American Dream 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. The American Dream had always been based on the idea that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her hard work. The dream also brought about the idea of a self-reliant man, a hard worker, making a successful living for him or herself. The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American Dream in the 1920s, a time period when the many people with newfound wealth and the need to flaunt it had corrupted the dream. The pursuit of the American Dream is the one motivation for accomplishing one's goals, however when combined with wealth the dream becomes nothing more than selfishness. Jay Gatsby, the main character of the story, is one character that longs for the past. Surprisingly, he spends most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in this pursuit. In the past, Gatsby had a love affair with the attractive young Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to gain wealth to reach her standards. Once he acquires wealth, he moves near to Daisy, "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay (p83)," and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance. When this dream doesn't fall into place like he planned, he asks around if anyone knows her. Soon, he meets Nick Carraway, a cousin of Daisy, who agrees to set up a meeting, "He wants to know…if you'll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over (p83)." Gatsby's personal dream symbolizes the larger American Dream where all have the opportunity to get what they want.
Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald criticizes the American dream very elaborately and shows the idea of the American dream to be connected with the goal of achieving wealth. Fitzgerald does not praise wealth in the Great Gatsby but condemns it by drawing attention to the dreadful fall made by Gatsby. Fitzgerald finds the desire of wealth to be a corrupting impact on people. Throughout the novel, the characters with money contradict the idea of the American dream. They are portrayed to be very snobbish and unhappy people. The American dream in the novel is shown to be unachievable. For some time, the American dream has been focused upon material things that will gain people success.
Fitzgerald reveals the American dream in The Great Gatsby by using Nick's observations of Gatsby's wealth. When Gatsby is meeting up with Daisy, Nick says, "...Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that w...
The Great Gatsby is a story of the American Dream. The Great Gatsby is a view into the society of the 1920's masterfully created by Fitzgerald. In this society, the one and only Gatsby falls right into the middle. Gatsby is an exemplary example of one trying to live out the American Dream.
Millions of immigrants flood into American with suitcases filled with nothing but hopes of achieving the American Dream. To walk down the streets paved with gold with golden cities in America: the land of opportunity became a universal dream. Unfortunately, when they arrived to America they were extreemly unhappy and disappointed because the streets are not paved with gold they are not paved at all and they have to pave them. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby emphasizes that this American Dream does not exist. The over rated American dream is just a big illusion it’s an unobtainable ideology that places hope upon its prey: purposeless, poor, damned from the start people like Gatsby and Myrtle and ultimately destroys them.
Do you like being bombarded with the stress of having to take so many tests? In 1845 the US brought standardized testing in the subjects spelling, geography, and math into public schools (Standardized Testing 1). Standardized tests were made to swiftly assess students abilities (Standardized Testing 1). The No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 mandated testing in all 50 states. In the article, “Standardized Tests,” it states that “US students slipped from 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 31st place in 2009, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading” (Use of Standardized Tests 5). Blame of the decline in rates are on poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and increasingly on the pervasive use
Although there have been legitimate arguments supporting the benefits of standardized testing, such as their ability to successfully measure students’ proficiency, in recent years there have been concerns and disadvantages regarding how their misuse poses a serious threat to the American education system. Despite the belief that standardized tests should be used to measure students’ proficiency, there are more reasons outweighing this statement regarding why they shouldn’t be used for this purpose. Not only is this a particular issue with standardized testing, but the tests are becoming more high stakes and are being used unfairly to determine things such as graduation, or placement in a school, resulting in a significant amount of stress and anxiety in students. Testing corporations are also profiting from the design of these standardized tests, while standardized testing is also forcing teachers to all teach the same thing, leading to a lack of creativity in the students. Aside from these arguments, standardized tests have been found to be becoming flawed and have poor design.
Lyndsey Layton has been covering nation education since 2011, she has written on many different topics in education, and has been employed by the Washington Post since 1998. In her article about standardized testing she states, “...students should be judged by multiple measures, including student work, written teacher observations and grades. And they overwhelmingly think teacher quality is the best way to improve education, followed by high academic standards and effective principals.” (Layton pg.1). This quote shows that standardized tests only judge certain measures of a student's intelligence. Students should be graded in multiple areas not just how well they can answer multiple choice problems. Standardized tests only grade students on one way of thinking and discourage creative, out of the box thinking. Kira Zalan is an editor for the U.S. News Weekly, she first appeared in September of 2011, and has been writing since. Zalan states, “...there are multiple paths to the same outcome and that engagement is an extremely important aspect of the equation.”(Zalan pg.1). Standardized tests only allow for one path of thinking. There can be multiple different ways to find an answer, but if students do not answer the “correct” way they will be graded as wrong. Because these tests are graded by machines and not people, the participants answers
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.
The issue of standardized testing has been a highly debated issue in the United States for many years and shows no sign of being resolved any time soon. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was an effort to standardize and improve our education system, but 13 years later it is still in shambles. While many people agree there is a need for some sort of measure for quality education, there is much disagreement about the effectiveness of standardized tests. Some even say federal programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have gone too far in using test scores to evaluate teachers (Gordon 2013). Unfavorable results from these tests seem to generate more punitive consequences for the teachers and schools than help for the students. The words “high-stakes” are used often in numerous sources to describe the current testing system and refer to decisions that will make a significant impact on both students and teachers. These decisions include repeating a grade or not receiving a diploma for the student and possible loss of a job for the teacher. Standardized testing is an ineffective and expensive way to measure student achievement.
Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of all time and many of his ideas hold true today. As a Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle set the precedent for modern western thinking. Yet his theories and ideas on politics need to be examined in the context of the history and the ideas of the time in which they were developed. Aristotle’s views on politics were influenced by Plato and the state of Greece at the time of Aristotle’s life.
Many people agree that standardized tests are a reasonable evaluation of a student’s capability. Standardized tests originated in the mid-1800s, in the American education system. W. James Popham defines standardized testing by “any test that’s administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner” (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). After the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) came about in the early 2000s, the use of standardized testing became popular. NCLB required yearly testing for specific grades and subjects. If schools did not demonstrate adequate improvement, they were either closed or run by the state. This was done so the state and the tax payers of the schools knew that students were learning and knowing the material. Tax payers especially wanted to make sure their money was going to good use (“Is the Use of…,” 2013). High scores on standardized tests can result in funding for the school, along with bonuses to the facility and staff of the school.
In the United States, standardized testing is used to measure how knowledgeable or unknowledgeable a person is in a particular subject. Standardized tests are exams designed to measure a student’s scholastic performance. These tests are a controversial issue, because some people feel the test do not show the students’ intelligence. I am one of these people. What the test may cover may not be what the students have learned in class. However, some critics feel “that standardized tests allow administrators, teachers, and parents the opportunity to view solid evidence of the students’ performance, which in turn could lead to curriculum changes” (Banta, p.1). Standardized tests also create unnecessary stress for students. These tests require students to study or cram for many hours and puts them in a demanding social setting where they are forced to answer difficult questions.
Education is one of the most important if not the most important aspect of a child’s life. Therefore lawmakers, parents, and teachers try their best in order to provide the best education for children so that they are effective for their generation. With that being said lately the quality of education in the United States of America has been falling. Many laws have been put into place in order to better facilitate the curriculum being taught to the students. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) are a few to name. Due to the passage of these laws the nation has become increasingly dependent upon standardized testing in order to evaluate students progress. Although lawmakers are trying their best to educate the students and measure their progress, standardized testing is not an accurate way to measure a child’s progress.
Although standardized testing is commonly used in most schools and educational intuitions nowadays, it does not measure a student’s intelligence. As such, standardized testing should be revoked because, not only is it an unreliable way of measuring a student’s performance, it also pressures educators and creates a grade conscious mindset. Schools should focus more on the development of students, rather than ranking them based on the grades they receive on a test. Not only are standardized tests an undependable way of grading, but also, it does not promote life skills the student will need when growing
An example that comes to mind and something most have experience with are household cleaners. One can use less commercial chemicals than natural ones such as vinegar/water or baking soda to clean surfaces, but in the long run we know that the chemical cleaners are not as healthy for us to use. They make the job easier a lot of times and so we are stuck with a decision that is sometimes as easy as efficiency vs. overall health. Or to put it another way, short term vs. long term. There is something else, however, to take into account in the farming industry. How regulated are organic sprays? The spray 's that we may show more confidence in. A question I hadn 't thought of initially. "...the actual volume usage of pesticides on organic farms is not recorded by the government." (Wilcox, 2011) So, that in of itself is something I want to know when I am buying my food, but that shouldn 't scare me as much as empower me to make better decisions. Interestingly, farmers that choose to use GMO seeds and pesticides know what to expect. My grandfather would have been considered a