The Great Gatsby

1166 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the great gatsby as the representation ofamerican dream

The fundamental theme of The Great Gatsby is the decay of the American Dream. Through his insightful analysis and criticism ¬of 1920s high society, Fitzgerald argues that the American Dream no longer signifies the noble pursuit of progress; instead, it has become grossly materialistic and corrupt. Fitzgerald’s novel is structured as an allegory (a story inside another story), the terrible death of Jay Gatsby is, by extension, the death of the American Dream.

For Fitzgerald, the true American Dream is characterized by a spirit of perseverance and hope; through these, one can succeed against all odds. This ideal is embodied by the young Gatsby (then James Gatz): he painstakingly plans the path by which he will become a great man in his "Hopalong Cassidy" journal ¬ and then follows it, to the letter. When Mr Gatz shows the ragged book to Nick, he declares, "'Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he's got about improving his mind? He was always great for that'." The journal exemplifies the continual struggle for self-improvement that once represented the American ideal. In comparing the young James Gatz to Benjamin Franklin, Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream does endure despite the decay of modern society ¬ there will always be those guided by an indomitable hope. Modern society, however, has no place for such dreamers: Gatsby’s avid longing to win Daisy's love ultimately remains unrealized, and in fact leads to his destruction. Gatsby is first seen late at night, "standing with his hands in his pockets"; Nick says, only half in jest, that he is "out to determine what share is his of our local heavens." Nick watches Gatsby's movements and comments:

"He stretch...

... middle of paper ...

... to the Midwest with this disturbing knowledge: the American people must struggle to keep from losing its humanity: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The dream is now utterly lost and can never be resurrected ¬ at least not in its original, its purest form.

Through the story of a doomed romance, Fitzgerald expresses the tragic decline of American values. Gatsby and the other characters of the novel act as mere vessels for the author's true story: the American Dream, once a pure and mighty ideal, has been degraded and buried by the dehumanizing lust for money. Nick Carraway is an outsider to his own story: he is an honest man, an observer who bears witness to the calamity. The Great Gatsby is not, in the final analysis, a eulogy for a man named Jay Gatsby, instead, it serves as a eulogy for the idea of America itself.

Show More
Related

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    377 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Gatsby's death Fitzgerald suggest that the American dream is a false attraction, "[Gatsby] paid a high price for living to long with a single dream" (169, Fitzgerald). Corruption of the dream is especially apparent when Nick discusses the origins of the American dream, "Dutch sailors eyes-a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of human dreams…his capacity to wonder" (189, Fitzgerald). Fitzgerald illustrates that the dream has vanished and Gatsby's "capacity to wonder" is all that is left of the original dream.

    Read More

  • Probing the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    The history of America is filled with rapid change and remarkable energy. "America has progressed from a small collection of European rebels to the economically dominant nation that it is today" (Literature Classics). Entwined in the provocative reputation of America is the celebrated ideal of the American Dream, a fantasy of independence combined with the opportunity to attain wealth through hard work.  At the heart of the American Dream lies the aspiration of eternal bliss, which is always 'just around the corner.' The American Dream does not allow complacency; the need for continual progress is always present, urging one to work a little harder.

    Read More

  • Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives the reader a glimpse into the life of the high class during the 1920’s through the eyes of a man named Nick Carraway. Through the narrator's dealings with high society, Fitzgerald demonstrates how modern values have transformed the American dream's ideas into a scheme for materialistic power and he reveals how the world of high society lacks any sense of morals or consequence. In order to support his message, Fitzgerald presents the original aspects of the American dream along with its modern face to show that the wanted dream is now lost forever to the American people. Jay Gatsby had a dream and did everything he could to achieve it however in the end he failed to. This reveals that the American dream is not always a reality that can be obtained. Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power through imagery, symbolism, and characterization.

    Read More

  • Flaws In The Great Gatsby

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    The character of Gatsby and Fitzgerald’s commentary on the logical fallacies of the American Dream are closely intertwined, which is why Fitzgerald goes to such great lengths to separate the two. By distinguishing Gatsby from the flaws he possesses allows the reader to care for Gatsby, and the impact of his death all the more powerful when it finally occurs. By making Gatsby a victim of the American Dream rather than just the embodiment of it, Fitzgerald is able to convince his audience of the iniquity of the American Dream by making them mourn the life of the poor son-of-a-bitch

    Read More

  • Unhealthy Pursuits in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s the Great Gatsby

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • dfrg

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby has remained a spot-on representation of a time in American history in which the people believed anything was possible. Gatsby is the definition of this idea. The underlying cause of everything in this novel is his--and in essence everyone’s idea. This idea is the ubiquitous notion of the American Dream. And Fitzgerald does not only write about the American Dream, but about its corruption as well. This following quote truly epitomizes what the American Dream had become in the eyes of Fitzgerald:

    Read More

  • the great gatsby

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel based on Gatsby’s dream and hope. In order to enrich the story, symbols are used to emphasize what the author is saying and they create a curiosity in the reader as they are frequently used throughout the story. These three symbols – green light, valley of ashes and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are not connected to each other but each of them represents important things in the story.

    Read More

  • Great Gatsby

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another theme that is used is the American dream. Gatsby himself is a believer in the American dream of self-made success. During the book, we learn that he had created himself out of nothing, that his whole life is merely fiction. Gatsby remained fully committed to his dream of being socially accepted to the end. Therefore he never comprehends that his strive for success and social acceptance led him to his deathbed. That is why Gatsby is a prime example of the American dream.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    The thought of having an immense sum of money or wealth bring certain people to believe that money can buy almost anything, even happiness, however in reality, it will only lead to lost and false hope. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald writes a story about a man named Gatsby who is a victim of this so called 'false hope' and 'lost.' Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald clearly demonstrates and elaborates on the relationship between having money, wealth, and one's ethics or integrity by acknowledging the idea that the amount of money or wealth one has attained does affect the relationship between one's wealth and one's ethics whether or not in a pleasant manner. Although money and wealth may not be able to buy a person happiness, it surely can buy a person's mind and action given that a wealthy person has a great deal of power. Fitzgerald analyzes the notion that even though many people dream of being both rich and ethical, it is not possible, and therefore, being poor and ethical is much better than trying to be rich and ethical.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    The central theme is a comparison of the corrupting influence of wealth to the purity of a dream. Tom and Daisy Buchanan both lead purposeless lives that are filled with love. through corruption and wealth, while Gatsby lives his life striving towards his dreams. They all either have no purpose in life to begin with or lose all purpose and values due. the actions of another.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reflects the American society in the 1920’s and the different social groups that coexisted. The Great Gatsby portrays the failure of the American Dream, where corruption, illegal trading, superficial relationships, and social classes take the main roles. The author demonstrates how the American dream has become a pursuit of wealth and materialism through the exploration of the upper class. In addition, the author uses characterization to reflect the upper class in the 1920’s as two separate groups: the “old” money, and the “new money”. These are shown through the main characters in the novel, such as Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    Early events from Fitzgerald’s life appear in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald resembles Jay Gatsby, a caring man who obsesses over wealth and luxury and falls in love with a beautiful young woman while stationed at a military camp in the South. Nick Carraway, also similar to Fitzgerald, is described as a young man from Minnesota, educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick’s case, Yale), who moves to New York after the war. After the publication of his books, Fitzgerald fell into a life-style of parties, while writing to earn more money to please Zelda by. Gatsby obtains a lot of wealth at a young age, and dedicates his life to earning possessions and throwing parties that he believes will allow Daisy to love him. Fitzgerald, similar to Nick in The Great Gatsby found this new lifestyle thrilling and dramatic, and, like Gatsby, always admired the very rich. In many ways, The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald’s explanation of his feelings about the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald was motivated by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he always wanted, even though she led him toward everything he loathed just like Gatsby.

    Read More

  • the great gatsby

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you believe in the American Dream. Have you ever actually sat down to thinks about

    Read More

  • Greatness In The Great Gatsby

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a boy, James Gatz was self-disciplined in his daily life, to help ensure he did everything in his power to achieve great things in his future. Upon meeting Gatsby’s father, Nick Carraway learned that James had ran away from home, inducing a short-lived sadness in Mr. Gatz. Mr. Gatz understood why James had decided to flee his home, consequent to seeing his son’s favorable outcome. Just to solidify what kind of child James Gatz was to Nick, Mr. Gatz showed Nick Carraway a composition, written by James in the back of his copy of a book called Hopalong Cassidy. In the novel Mr. Gatz says “Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you.” (Fitzgerald 184). The entry that Mr. Gatz was referring to had a strict schedule allotted to each day and a general resolves section that stated the following “No wasting time at Shafters, No more smoking or chewing, Bath every other day, Read one improving book or magazine per week, Save 5 ( Crossed out ) 3 per week, Be better to parents.” (Fitzgerald 185). In spite of Gatsby’s great achievements in his life-time, he was not given anything, as a boy he knew he must be disciplined and work hard to seize his dreams. Gatsby’s parents did not have the ambition that over-whelmed Gatsby, and they did not push him to accomplish his dreams, success was solely accomplished by Gatsby’s will to do whatever it

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American Dream, a long standing ideal embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring 20s, people in America put up facades to mask who they truly were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream is simply an illusion, that is idealist and unreal. In the novel, Gatsby, a wealthy socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In the process of pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, destroys one’s own character and morals. Through Fitzgerald use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives.

    Read More

More about The Great Gatsby

Open Document