Hope and the American Dream Portrayed in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

However, the novel takes this simple idea and turns it into something corrupting and unattainable. When discussing the ideal of the ambivalent American Dream, it is only fair to start with the man who gives his name to the novel, Jay Gatsby himself- who, for all intents and purposes is the epitome of someone chasing the dream. We see this perhaps

Fitzgerald seems to be implying the fact that for these people the American dream is simply a lie. In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively portrays the notion of the American dream in his novel The Great Gatsby. The American Dream is the familiar belief that anyone can attain success through consistent hard work and dedication. However Fitzgerald shows us that this is not the case. While the charming and mysterious Jay Gatsby possesses the respectable attributes of a dedicated hero, his dream unfortunately ends in tragedy.

What grasped me most about the novel was Gaines' way of showing his readers that you have the ability to not only face mistakes in your past with bravery, but to turn and show the same backbone when looking as to what your future may hold. For instance, Jefferson has to relive the simple mistake of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Though wrongly accused he was, Jefferson was also able to face his execution like a man, showing unbelievable strength toward his postexistence. Grant, on the other hand, had always thought about his future. His future with Vivian, his future in a new place.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of “The Great Gatsby”, develops his characters in such a way that that they seem to contradict each other’s personality traits. Such a set up essentially allows the readers of the novel to notice and understand these characters in an almost equal magnitude. The best depiction in this set up is brought put in the two major characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. The two characters’ traits are hugely contradictory of each other. On one hand, Nick Carraway is a character who exhibits great development throughout the story while Jay Gatsby is a man who is stuck and caught up in his own life’s corruptions.

The historically acknowledged and critically acclaimed novel Gulliver’s Travels written by Jonathan Swift and Marcus Cunliffe satirically covers issues that plagued their society. The irony that stems from this work is that these issues have yet to disappear from today’s society, and whether it is a result of human nature or English colonialism is still up for debate. This novel portrays the common result of English classism, which occurs all to often, mocking the poor. In the Gulliver’s Travels Swift writes “When I left Mr. Bates, I went down to my Father; where, by the Assistance of him and my Uncle John . .

This book would ideally interest people who like battle strategies, details, and history in general. Unlike other books, The Real Benedict Arnold does not just discuss Benedict being a traitor, but discusses his life in general. It gives the reader an understanding of Benedict the person and not just Benedict the American traitor. Murphy makes the reader see Benedict as just another person who made a bad choice in life and he just so happened to become famous fro... ... middle of paper ... ...verall Murphy did an amazing job of telling the story of Benedict Arnold. He provided good evidence to support his argument and corrected the lies put on Benedict’s name.

He exaggerates the evils and tends to look past some of the positive endeavors that took place. Adams’s book offers primarily correct information, however, it is overly negative in order to create an audience that questions and contradicts the popular belief of utter glory and success. Adams argues that Americans have an intriguing way on which they view certain aspects of history; people tend to often only remember the good and to evade the bad. “To make World War Two into the best war ever, we must leave out the area bombings... ... middle of paper ... ... faulty” (Adams 78). The United States of America enters the war with a burst of well-trained troops to help the Allies.

He can however, promote the positive attributes that he did have. He hopes that the audience can leave history wh... ... middle of paper ... ...e because of his strength and prevalence despite hardships, especially within World War II: “ He was…a famous Member of the House of Commons,… we do ourselves and our country honor in saluting the memory of one who Disraeli would have called and ‘English worthy’”. Despite the negativity associated with his stances about this war and choices that he made during this time, his intentions were of “perfect sincerity”. The main purpose of this speech was to distract people away from their negative ideas about Chamberlain and persuade them to honor him regardless and consider the good things that he has done. As a whole, he was an Englishman like those who he lead.

When reading about Mary Anne in Rat Kiley’s story, O’Brien tells the reader, “Whenever he... ... middle of paper ... ...amined, because they “seem” true due to their normality. The story about Mary Anne is difficult to believe, because of the bizarre elements. However, those are most likely the truest parts of the story, making it fit the criteria of a true war story. Tim O’Brien’s ultimate purpose is to detract the fine line between fiction and reality. In order to fully grasp what a true war story consists of, the definition of true must be deciphered.

However it’s what he did to attain his status earns him his “greatness”, his self-invention, his talent to make his dreams come true. So there is some good that comes from all the disarray and further cynical attitude set forth by its narrator Nick. Like Odysseus in the Odyssey, he had an undying perseverance to get home or in this case win Daisy back, but like any of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes he did enough to induce his downfall. He chased the American Dream, in constant pursuit with no sign of stopping, even if it killed him. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott.