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American dream in the movie the pursuit of happiness
The american dream context
American dream in the movie the pursuit of happiness
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Luis Ledesma
PD 8
ISA #3 Writing
Write a 2-page response to the following prompt concerning some of the symbols in the novel.
“Discuss the valley of ashes in chapter 2.”
The American Dream is originally about the discovery of happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has become perverted into this desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald does not use the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is evident that he shows the impossibility of achieving happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates through symbols and motifs the impossibility of the American Dream. Among those symbols we can find the “Valley of ashes”. The valley of ashes is first introduced at the beginning of chapter 2. It is defined as the by-product of the industrial age, specifically the coal ash left from coal-burning factories.
The Valley of Ashes symbolizes absolute poverty and hopelessness. “This is a valley of ashes, a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” The lower classes who inhibit this
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Fitzgerald wanted to make the characters in The Great Gatsby very representative of the lifestyles and attitudes of that age group in that time. The drive for wealth went along with the search for the good life as demonstrated by conspicuous consumption of alcohol, lavish parties, and hesitation to become entangled in deep and lasting relationships. The American Dream, and the search for how to achieve it, involved the pursuit of
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.
Through these quotes, Fitzgerald believes the American dream is unattainable in the Great Gatsby because some people in the novel had advantages unlike others. A major instance of said inequality would be applied to the citizens who are living in the Valley of Ashes; representing the forgotten poor underclass with lost hopes and dreams who have failed to live up to the American dream or even got a chance to start. Therefore, the Valley of Ashes is a blatant symbol of just how “dead” Fitzgerald really believes the American dream to be, and how he wants the readers to interpret it. Fitzgerald wrote “.ashes take the form of..men who move dimly and are already crumbling through powdery air..immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades.”. Tell’em
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:
He reveals how separated the American culture is as a whole. F Scott Fitzgerald uses figurative language to shape the portrayal of the setting by contrasting light vs. dark, comparing the Valley of ashes to the East Egg. For instance, Fitzgerald quotes, “where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills”, utilizing a simile to exaggerate and emphasize that the ashes are taking the form of hills, which essentially is all trash. The ashes are a symbol of the hopeless and dead, the social corrosion that is yielded from the unrestricted pursuit of wealth, as the upper class nourish themselves with regard simply to self pleasure. Fitzgerald states, “where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys”, a form of imagery that gives the audience a visual aid to emphasize how prevalent the ashes are. These claims prove that the valley of ashes is a darken city bewitched with poverty and illness. With the pile of ashes growing larger, the classes of society further disjoin, removing their opportunity to escape and acquire their American Dream. By Fitzgerald using figurative language it makes the storyline come alive in the readers mind. He symbolizes certain emotions within the reader to embody and visualize the contrast between the Valley of Ashes and the East Egg as if we were there with them. Scott Fitzgerald also uses figurative language to
Many times we hear of society's affect on people; society influencing the way people think and act. Hardly mentioned is the reverse: peoples' actions and lifestyles affecting society as a whole and how it is characterized. Thus, society is a reflection of its inhabitants and in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is a wasteland described as the "valley of ashes." Since the characters of this novel make up this wasteland, aren't they the waste? Symbolically, this waste represents the lack of ethics of the 1920's society and civilization's decay. In The Great Gatsby, morals deficiencies such as a lack of God, selfishness, and idleness are reflective of a society as doomed as "the valley of ashes."
People, such as George Wilson, live among the dirty ashes, losing their vitality while the rich enjoy extravagant parties around them. The description of the valley of ashes demonstrates how the ashes grow “like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens… [taking] the forms of houses and chimneys and…of men” (23). Fitzgerald’s use of simile in the aforementioned description of the ashes in the valley establishes the reader’s understanding of the “worn-out” George Wilson and others who live there (136). The ashes affect the surrounding natural features, and then slowly drain the life out the residents. The gray imagery of the valley of ashes also represents the decay of the lives of the poor and the failure of the American Dream.
In all of these pieces of literature, the behavioral norms that are considered appropriate for men and women are tested. In The Yellow Wallpaper, a wife is pushed to insanity, in A Doll’s House, a housewife goes against expectation, in The Great Gatsby, male dominance is pushed to the extreme. Gender roles dictate men and women’s lives. The concept that you must live up to society’s expectations controls men and women’s thoughts and actions, and it must come to an end. All these authors captured a vital lesson to be learned: Men and woman should be treated equally.
Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.
F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the wasteful tendencies of American society. He uses the valley of ashes to refer to this ugly aspect of American society. The valley of ashes is a bleak area situated between the West Egg and New York City, 'where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air'(Fitzgerald 23). This unpleasant wasteland is located right along the roadway and train route between the eggs, home of the lofty aristocrats, and New York City, the exciting and fashionable metropolis where many of the nations wealthiest people live, work, and entertain themselves. 'There is no essential difference between the moneyed wastelands of New York City and Long Island and the valley of ashes,' (Gallo 49) Referring to an eye doctor's billboard in the valley of ashes, Nick, our narrator comments:
The concept of one’s journey to reach the so called "American Dream" has served as the central theme for many novels. However, in the novel The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the American Dream as so opulent it is unrealistic and unreachable. The American Dream is originally about obtaining happiness, but by the 1920's, this dream has become twisted into a desire for fame and fortune by whatever means; mistaken that wealth will bring happiness. Fitzgerald illustrates that the more people reach toward the idealistic American dream, the more they lose sight of what makes them happy, which sends the message that the American dream is unattainable. The continuos yearning for extravagance and wealthy lifestyles has become detrimental to Gatsby and many other characters in the novel as they continue to remain incorrigible in an era of decayed social and moral values, pursuing an empty life of pleasure instead of seeking happiness.
The valley is described as a “desolate” place where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens”. (21) Ashes that dominate the area take the shape of natural greenery. The term “grotesque gardens” uses alliteration, with juxtaposition; to highlight the odd pairing of ashes and greenery. Ashes are associated with death while ridges and “gardens” represent the potential to flourish and grow in the promise and ideal of equality as in “the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams.” (143) The trees that once stood here were able to speak to man’s dreams, which allude to America, the land able to speak to man’s dreams and capacity for wonder. All this is replaced by grey ash that suffocates the inhabitants, restricting them to their social class. This presents a bleak image of hopelessness that surrounds the valley.
The Valley of Ashes is isolated yet relatively near the advanced East and West Egg, which hints that the false, materialistic dream can seep out to influence even the poverty-stricken place. As a result, the mistaken idea that money is parallel to happiness, that wealth is all that one needs for a successful, contented life, becomes the ultimate goal for and prevalent among the people looking for any possible methods to get out of their place in society. Additionally, since the place is seemingly near the Eggs, it hints the lower-status people’s dependency on the wealthy. For example, George Wilson, an owner of the car shop in the valleys, heavily relies on the wealthy people from the Eggs such as Tom Buchanan in order to make a living. When Wilson asks Tom when the car is going to be sold, Tom coldly replies that he should “better sell it somewhere else after all” (25), causing Wilson to “quickly” (25) explain that “[He] don’t mean that” (25).
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.
When describing the buildings within the Valley of Ashes Fitzgerald mainly focusses on how the buildings are ‘unprosperous and bare’; the adjectives utilised depict images of abandonment and placidity, this is a metaphor for the peoples’ hope. It should be noted that there was a gross disparity between the upper and lower classes and this certainly exemplifies this, furthermore their hope is dwindling slowly through this ‘Valley of Ashes’; at this point it does seem as if this is the gateway to hell and as it is a liminal place this exemplifies this. Nevertheless, it can be argued that Wilson, Tom Buchanan’s contact within the Valley of Ashes, had achieved the American dream; ‘sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead’. One
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream as well as the portrayal of social classes. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating two distinct social classes ‘old money’ and ‘new money’, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the underlying elitism and moral corruption of society. The idea of the American dream is the idea that opportunity is available to any American, allowing their highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In the case of The Great Gatsby it centres on the attainment of wealth and status to reach certain positions in life, which Fitzgerald’s protagonist sets out to achieve even if it means moral corruption.