The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby go hand in hand in exposing the harsh realities about the American Dream. A common definition of the American Dream is the ability to have equal opportunities for success through hard work and determination. Both Holden and Gatsby are yearning for a life they cannot attain. These two characters go through different yet similar hardships while attempting to achieve their dream that in turn show that the true American Dream is not attainable. Holden is searching for a life where things will always stay the same. He desires returning back to the time of when he was a child. Where people were authentic and honest with themselves. He wants to return to his childhood innocence. The period of his life …show more content…
Which consisted of becoming filthy rich since that was what always caught Daisy’s eye. While Gatsby spent much of his life becoming rich for the girl he fell in love with, Holden didn’t really do anything in order to attain a more stable or unchanging life. He seemed to already have a view of the world that told him that what he wanted was unreasonable and unachievable. Though this didn’t make him want it any less. Holden shows his desire for this when he speaks about the museum that he’d often visit as a child, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would …show more content…
He’s aware that he’s been going through it for quite a while now. He know’s he’s made and is continuing to make mistakes in his life, but he has no desire to work hard and change how his life is panning out. His depression has left him with no hope. Gatsby on the other hand doesn’t seem to understand that he’s throwing his life away for a girl he met years ago. He illegally made tons of money in order to win Daisy over. He spent years altering his lifestyle with hope of someday stealing her from her husband. His hope and his blinding love shield him from the truth of what he’s really doing. He’s changed for the worst because of his obsession of obtaining money and flaunting it for all to see. Especially the woman he loved, in which he watched from afar at his mansion right across from hers. Money was corrupting him. The only thought running through his mind was to make money and win Daisy back. He lost himself in finding and attaining her. When Daisy first came over to Gatsby’s mansion to take a tour, Nick recalled that “He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.” (Page 88) She altered his thoughts with
Gatsby’s explanation of this dream focused on money and social status. He has always yearned for this, even when he was a child. Fitzgerald frequently emphasises Gatsby’s desire, throughout the entirety of this novel. Though, Fitzgerald accentuates this desire when Nick discovers the truth of Gatsby’s past. During this elucidation, Nick explains that “his [Gatsby’s] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 98) This shows the reader Gatsby’s lifelong determination for wealth and power. Even in his adult life, he strives for more than what he has. In John Steinbeck’s essay, he explains that “we [Americans] go mad with dissatisfaction in the face of success” (Steinbeck, 1) This is exactly how Gatsby feels, he is not content with his success, the amount of money he has, or the height of his social status and is constantly wishing for more than he has. Though, once he meets Daisy he no longer strives for wealth, but rather for her. As shown in this novel, even though Gatsby has achieved all he had wanted when he was growing up, he will not be content until he is able to call Daisy his
“ Its attitude is one of disillusionment and detachment; Fitzgerald is still able to evoke the glitter of the 1920s but he is no longer dazzled by it; he sees its underlying emptiness and impoverishment” (Trendell 23)The story is narrated from the point of view of Nick, one of Gatsby’s friends. The problematic and hopeless romantic, Gatsby, sets out to fulfill his dream in acquiring Daisy, his lifelong love, through his many tactics and ideas. Gatsby is introduced extending his arms mysteriously toward a green light in the direction of the water. Later, Gatsby is shown to be the host of many parties for the rich and Nick is invited to one of these parties where Gatsby and Nick meet. When Gatsby later confesses his love for Daisy he explains she was a loved one who was separated from him and hopes to get her again explained when he says, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 56). There are several obstacles that Gatsby must overcome and the biggest one that is Daisy’s current fiancé but that still does not get in the way of him trying to recover Daisy’s old feelings. His attempts are made through money and wealth because he tries to buy her love back instead of letting it happen naturally.
Gatsby’s quest to acquire Daisy was enlarged by his colossal obsession with the idea of being reunited with her, until the time actually came in which something so simple as a tea date was all he asked for in order to meet her. The purpose of acquiring such wealth and an extravagant home seems so pointless when Gatsby decides to meet with Daisy in Nick’s underwhelming cabin. The extravagancy of his vision deeply contrasts the modesty of the acquisition of his goal in this case. This shows a different side of Gatsby and his visions on what he thought would happen when he reached his goal and what actually occurred. Gatsby starts to panic when his visions do not occur when Nick and Gatsby are sat in Nick’s home, waiting for Daisy, Gatsby argues “Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late...I can’t wait all day” Fitzgerald 85). Gatsby is clearly very antsy and nervous about seeing Daisy again. He was very deeply in love with her and after 5 long years of waiting to see her again and they are finally reunited. All of his plans will be put into action and all of this planning will make him terribly self conscious
Because of his wealth, everything in Gatsby’s life hints at having power through status and money, but he is not happy because all he wants to do is be with hard to reach Daisy; she is the reason why he acquires the materialistic things he does in the first place.
Upon first meeting Gatsby we find him staring at the green light at the end of the dock owned by Daisy. The exact wording of this moment is “But A I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling” (Fitzgerald, 19-20). This instance alone shows nothing, save a longing, but when combined with the next few chapters it shows Gatsby obsession with all things related to Daisy. Another instance of Gatsby's longing for Daisy is showed in that his parties are meant to be for her. This conversation between Nick and Gatsby from late in the book shows Gatsby's concern when Daisy is actually at his party ““She didn’t like it,” he said immediately. “Of course she did.” “She didn’t like it,” he insisted. “She didn’t have a good time.” He was silent, and I guessed at his unutterable depression” (108-109). The major flaw in Gatsby's plan is that Daisy is old money, and old money and new money...
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.
Even though he had some thought that the meeting would provoke harmful tensions between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, he went along with it anyways, further demonstrating his own innate lack of reservation. Ultimately, Nick is an unreliable narrator who overlooks Gatsby’s lies because of his biased judgment of him. Nick portrays Gatsby as a generous and charismatic figure while in reality, he is a duplicative and obsessed man entangled in illegal business who is determined on an unattainable goal. It is highly ironic that Nick judges others for their lack of morality and honesty; his own character is plagued by lies as he abets Gatsby in many of his schemes.
Gatsby is a dreamer, he dreams that one day he and Daisy will be able to be together once again. To achieve this dream Gatsby has made himself a rich man. He knows that in order to win Daisy back he must be wealthy and of high social stature. Gatsby becomes rich, has a beautiful mansion, nice things, things like shirts “They’re such beautiful shirts. . . it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful clothes” (pg.98).Gatsby believes his dream will come true because of all the money and nice things he has. The way that Gatsby becomes rich is in a way the demise of his dream. Gatsby becomes wealthy by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. Daisy eventually learns about this and it is one of the reasons she will never again be with Gatsby. The other reason is Daisy a...
To begin with, Gatsby and Holden’s world surrounds them with phony people which includes themselves as well. Such as Gatsby’s deceitful life of a middle class man and
The central focus of the story is the enigma of Gatsby, his past life, and his perusal of Daisy. Desperate to rekindle their former love, Gatsby works tirelessly to achieve the pinnacle of the American dream, settles in a large, posh house, throws lavish parties, and seems on excellent terms with the world at large. That, however, is not what makes him truly happy. All he did, he did in pursuit of Daisy, and initially it appears to work. She insists that she still loves him ardently. However, when pressed, she chooses Tom once more, and Gatsby is shattered. Nick says that, “If that was true, he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream,” (161). In the end, Gatsby’s dream turns on him, betraying him to the caprice of the world. He had sincerely believed in the American Dream, and believed it would help him secure Daisy’s love. When both failed him, he was left with a lavish but empty house, and to Gatsby, his wealth and prosperity were nothing without someone to share them with. The final nail in the coffin is Gatsby’s funeral, where it becomes clear what his immense wealth gained him in terms of the human affection he was truly after. Nick Carraway jumps through all sorts of hoops and harasses many people in order to get them to go to Gatsby’s funeral, to no avail. When it came time for the burial,
“Everybody tries to be exactly the same. I think being an outsider is a good thing.” - Ethan Embry. Some people in life will act different from everybody else, some people will break the conventions of society. In the books To Kill A Mockingbird and The Catcher In The Rye there lies a coexisting theme where people do not act like everyone else. The Characters in To Kill A Mockingbird and The Catcher In The Rye do many things against societal norms, thus making them outsiders.
Everyone sees the wealthy front Gatsby puts up, but no one truly knows who or what he is. In the instant that Nick meets Gatsby, he recognizes that something is different about him, he is meticulous and his actions are carefully calculated. Nick soon learns that he was invited to Gatsby’s party because he has a connection to Daisy. For five years, Gatsby has been hosting parties hoping that one day, Daisy would wonder in and they would be reacquainted. Because of Gatsby's request, Nick invites Daisy over to his house so Gatsby can see her. After some time, Gatsby and Daisy act as if they have never been apart, even after five years. Nick states, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (ch 5). Nick recognizes that Gatsby's hopes are sky high and there is no way Daisy can live up to them. Nick also acknowledges that Gatsby “ had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.” There was no way of stopping or crushing his dreams, everything that he had done in the past five years was for the sole purpose of finding and pleasing Daisy. The spark between Daisy and Gatsby soon turns into a flame and Gatsby finds himself where he has always dreamed of
While Nick and Daisy were at Gatsby’s house, Daisy cried “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before”(Fitzgerald 92). At Mr. Gatsby’s house, Gatsby was showing Nick and Daisy around his house and showing them his clothes. Then Daisy started crying because that’s all she wanted was a lot of money and a big house and Gatsby has that, but her husband Tom doesn’t. Daisy started to notice that she should have waited for Gatsby because now he has everything she wants and Tom doesn’t have a lot of money like Mr. Gatsby. “She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby nothing” exclaimed Nick (Fitzgerald 149).
Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental necessities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity.
“Guided only by Nick’s limited view of her, readers often judge Daisy solely on the basis of her superficial qualities” (Fryer 43). What the reader sees through the eyes of Nick only appears as a woman whose impatience and desire for wealth and luxury cost her the love of her life, Gatsby. Nick’s narrow perception does not allow one to see that “. [Daisy’s] silly manner conceals a woman of feeling or that her final ‘irresponsibility’ towards Gatsby stems from an acute sense of responsibility towards herself” and that Nick “.clearly does not understand what motivates her” (Fryer 43).