F. Scott Fitzgerald 's novel, The Great Gatsby, tells a story about wealth, love, and the complications that come with them. The 1920s was a time of prosperity and the boom of new technologies. The goal of every man was to get wealthy and find a beautiful woman to settle down with or have an exciting life. Gatsby for instance isn 't the normal type of person to do that. The differences in lifestyles between Tom and Gatsby make the novel unique and interesting.
While the American Dream suggests that everyone can achieve the status and wealth they desire through hard work, Gatsby's newly earned wealth and lifestyle are looked down upon, due to which he desires to be married with Daisy, which can lead to him attaining his dream. The American Dream during the nineteen twenties is portrayed by the author as a dream merely restricted to the attainment of wealth and social class which had consumed many people including Jay Gatsby.
When exposed to the society during World War I, he becomes obsessed with members of the wealthy upper class, such as Daisy, whose voice is "full of money" (127). Finally, Gatsby feels that wealth is the only su... ... middle of paper ... .... A. Gatsby believed wealth would win acceptance, Willy believed being well liked would get financial success 1. "no real right to touch her hand" lacked real resources, "he let her believe that he was a person from much the same strata as herself" (Fitzgerald 156) 2. Well "liked ... you will never want" (Miller 33) B. Gatsby set concrete long-term goals, Willy looked for the quick fix 1. Gatsby developed self-improvement activities "elocution [and] poise," physical exercises, and the study of technology (Fitzgerald 181) 2.
The Color of Money in The Great Gatsby A major aspect of The Great Gatsby was the effect that money has on each one of the characters. Money influenced Daisy’s love, it influenced Tom life, influences Nick’s wants, Jordan’s standards, and money also pushed Gatsby to get what he lost. The effect money has on Daisy is noticed from the beginning. She is married to a wealthy man in which she says she loves. The love for her husband is not the same love that she has had with other men.
The American dream has an inspiring connotation, often associated with the pursuit of happiness, to compel the average citizen to prosper. In Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s infatuation for Daisy drives him towards wealth in order to respark his love. Due to Daisy’s rich background, the traditional idea of love becomes skewed because of the materialistic mindsets of people in the 1920s. In the novel the wealthy are further stratified into two social classes creating a barrier between the elite and the “dreamers”. Throughout the novel, the idea of the American dream as a fresh start fails.
Then, he later describes her voice as full of money. When Gatsby returned from the war, he discovered that Daisy and Tom were married. However, he kept an eye on her while he pursued his career as a bootlegger with Meyer Wolfsheim. A main part of why he became a bootlegger was to become rich quickly, so that he could obtain enough items and wealth to impress Daisy when he would eventually meet her again. Likewise, Gatsby picked a house across from Daisy’s, where he could look across the dark lake at night and see the green light at the end of her dock.
Myrtle was destroyed by the American Dream because she desired to live a luxurious life. This desire is what led her to have an affair with Tom and, in having that affair, damage her marriage with George. Myrtle’s interest in Tom begins because he represents the life of the rich and glamorous, and she aspires
American capitalism dictates relationships, “Even in the early stages of their relationship, part of his attraction to Daisy arises from his considering factors akin to the laws of supply and demand that influence a commodity’s price” (Little). Daisy’s reason for marrying Tom Buchanan was only so she could gain the riches that Tom possessed. While Tom’s purpose was to care for Daisy in order to keep her by his side to maintain his social appearance. This social exchange forms a perception that women were nothing but extravagant economic tools for men. As both men and women desired the economic benefits of the other, the social aspects of marriage became more about greatening each other’s social status instead of one 's pursuit of love and happiness.
Every personality has a different view on the American dream and what it is to them. Myrtle from Gatsby’s dream is to become rich and marry Tom Buchannan who she is having an affair with. Myrtle seeks more out of life then her husband who is part of the working class can give her, she wishes to be seen and respected. The way myrtle dresses is above her social class along with the way she acts and talks. Myrtle changes her entire attire and apartment to seem like she belongs with the higher class crowd and even goes as far as to have an affair with a very wealthy man so she can feel included in the upper class lifestyle.
In fact, their ideals and hopes of rising to success cause their American dream to take a turn into a nightmare. Although it may seem as if F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is portraying a romantic relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, a woman he meets and falls in love with in Louisville while training to be an officer, the novel portrays the wealth and materialistic culture in the 1920’s. The more luxury and the more things a person can show off, the more accomplished and successful the person felt. In the roaring twenties, having a family, cars, and luxury was what people would pursue in life but for others, that was not enough. Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, is not necessarily looking to live the dream but to become successful in business.