Great Gatsby - Seeking the Unattainable Dream
What is the American Dream? America has evolved from an infant, struggling, nation to become a world power through its unprecedented economic growth. Driven by the tenets of independence, self reliance, and freedom, Americans have had the opportunity to pursue economic success. To many, this is the American Dream; to have freedom and the opportunity to pursue financial freedom. To others, such as Gatsby, Walter, and Jake, the American dream is happiness. They are driven by their dreams, seeking what they believe will make them happy. Gatsby and Jake seek happiness through love while Walter seeks happiness through money. The belief that bliss, utopia, and tranquility are within their grasps drives these characters. Yet the mere fact that their dreams are unattainable makes them flawed. Without dreams, Gatsby, Walter, and Jake lose their sense of purpose in life. Thus the pursuit of the American dream is a paradox. Achieving it is impossible, but without it, life will lose its purpose. Gatsby, Walter, and Jake are representations of the American dream because the love and happiness they seek are impossible to obtain.
The birth of the desire for the happiness and love of the American dream in Gatsby occurred when he met a man named Dan Cody. After his disgust with college, Gatsby sought a new life. He found the promise of his fame and fortune in Dan Cody's yacht. "To young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world" (Fitzgerald 106). As soon as he borrowed the row boat that transported him to the yacht, Gatsby was no longer James Gatz, he had became Gatsby, inst...
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... education and money do not necessarily lead to happiness. "But excited monetary pursuit, Fitzgerald shows, goes hand in hand with personal anxiety: under the strain of competition, social life has become a medium of unease" (Fitter 8). The students of Mission should follow Walter's example and realize that their dream is oversimplified and flawed. They need to mature and realize that there are many pitfalls and problems that are created by money, and that they can find happiness through other things besides money such as family, religion, and love.
Gatsby, Walter, and Jake are a representation of the American dream because the love and happiness they seek is impossible to obtain. Despite the impossibility, human beings need a dream in order to have a purpose in life. Without dreams life will become aimless, drying up like a raisin in the sun.
"...One Nation, under God, indivisible, with justice for all." Most Americans have heard and said this pledge to allegiance hundreds of times. The question is, do we really believe in the power of its meaning? It's a shame that America, land of the free, is also the land of capitalism, scandal and discrimination. Though we have the freedom to bear arms, freedom of speech, and freedom of religious and political affiliation, some Americans claim that they do not have the freedom to be themselves. Images from the media of aesthetic beauty and financial success bombard the majority of Americans on an everyday basis. It is only natural for one to attempt to 'improve' himself or herself by living up to the standards imposed by society. Unfortunately, America's brand of 'self-improvement' often comes with a price. I agree with the definition in Webster's College Dictionary of the American Dream: 'an American ideal of social equality and especially material success. Though the American Dream is very much alive for many, it is not necessarily well for most.
A fine and daring ideal in the 18th century, and at the heart of what America hoped that it stood for. 'The Great Gatsby' examines how this dream existed in the early 20th century and whether or not it had been accomplished. The American Dream permeated all of society, and so every one of the characters in the book is in some senses a reflection of the the world envisaged by Jefferson and Washington, and even before them by those first people fleeing to a new life in the New World.
All humans have dreams and goals for their future that they wish to someday turn into reality. Dreams are different for every person, and some dreams are greater and grander than others, but they are all similar in that humans live for dreams because humans innately crave a better tomorrow. While many people do achieve their ultimate goals within their lifetimes, some people have unattainable dreams that are destined for failure. Two quintessential American novels, The Great Gatsby and the Catcher in the Rye, recount the stories of two hopeful young men with lofty plans, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Both of these utopian young men possess impossible, unreachable dreams; Gatsby desires to rewind his life so that he may enjoy it with his beloved Daisy instead of losing her while at war, and Holden wishes for time to halt altogether so that he must not face the challenge of growing up and becoming an adult in a cruel society. Through the example of both of their tragic stories, it is evident that humans often rely too heavily on dreams, and when these vital dreams fail because of corrupt societies, they lose touch with reality and fall into despair and defeat.
The American dream is an idea that every American has an equal chance of success. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us this is not the case. Fitzgerald wrote the character Jay Gatsby as a tragic American hero. Jay Gatsby went from a nobody to a millionaire and most people believe that he had achieved the American dream. However, he did not achieve the American dream because he lost a piece of himself in his pursuit of his supposedly incorruptible dream.
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
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.
George McClellan was an experienced soldier and was doing they best he could to the best of his ability. He had to deal with politicians that were not experienced in military strategy trying to tell him what to do. He was trained at one of the best military academies in the country, he had the knowledge and did what he was taught to do in certain situations.
The American Dream is the concept that anyone, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in his or her life through perseverance and hard work. It is commonly perceived as someone who was born and starts out as poor but ambitious, and works hard enough to achieve wealth, prosperity, happiness, and stability. Clearly, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to personify the destruction of the American Dream. Gatsby started out as a poor farming boy, meticulously planning his progression to become a great man.
"The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity." Wikipedia: So basically the American Dream is to have money, and a family. Gatsby got his money, but what he really wanted was Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby spent his whole life striving for one thing.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man of meager wealth who chases after his dreams, only to find them crumble before him once he finally reaches them. Young James Gatz had always had dreams of being upper class, he didn't only want to have wealth, but he wanted to live the way the wealthy lived. At a young age he ran away from home; on the way he met Dan Cody, a rich sailor who taught him much of what he would later use to give the world an impression that he was wealthy. After becoming a soldier, Gatsby met an upper class girl named Daisy - the two fell in love. When he came back from the war Daisy had grown impatient of waiting for him and married a man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby now has two coinciding dreams to chase after - wealth and love. Symbols in the story, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the contrast between the East Egg and West Egg, and the death of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson work together to expose a larger theme in the story. Gatsby develops this idea that wealth can bring anything - status, love, and even the past; but what Gatsby doesn't realize is that wealth can only bring so much, and it’s this fatal mistake that leads to the death of his dreams.
The American dream has been a tangible idea, greatly sought after by many over the course of American History. The dream has eluded many, to strive for achieving in America’s open markets, and become a self-made man from the sweat of one’s brow. The idea of become self-sufficient, and have limitless dreams that take one as far as they are willing to imagine is captured very differently from The Great Gatsby to A Raisin in the Sun. Both novels seem to have the American dream as their subject, but both end up having very different outcomes to how one achieves it, and if the dream is truly in existence, namely with the characters of Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger. The books mainly brushes upon the idea of what the American dream truly is, how one achieves the dream, and what the real fulfillment the dream encompasses.
Gatsby’s poor childhood greatly influenced his admirable dream to want a better life for himself. Growing up, Gatsby was very poor. “His parents were shiftless unsuccessful farm people-his imagination never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (pg. 98) Growing up, he hated his parents for the fact that they were poor as well as their lifestyle. When he was a teenager, he left his home to pursue a more prosperous life. After Gatsby left, he saw a yacht that belonged to a wealthy man, Dan Cody. This represented the rich lifestyle that he longed for. His ambitions to be a part of the upper class grew. Gatsby worked on the yacht for Dan Cody until Cody died. After this period of time, he began to act “rich” and took on this new persona. Gatsby had to completely change who he was. He even changed his name. The name he was born with was James Gatz, When Daisy and Gatsby met, they fell in love. She was from a very wealthy family. Gatsby knew that obtaining her would prove that he had embraced the upper class lifestyle. They couldn’t marry because he was not from a well-known family. Gatsby though...
A dream is a deep ambition and desire for something; everybody tries to reach their dreams no matter how far away they may seem. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories strive for nothing less than “The Great American Dream”. This is the need to be the best of the best, top of the social ladder, and to be happier and more successful than anyone has been before. Fitzgerald writes about this American Dream that every character has but can never achieve; the dream is kept unattainable due to obstacles, the disadvantages of being low on the social ladder, and also the restrictions of having a high social status.
After reading The Great Gatsby, an important theme that develops throughout the novel is the American Dream in the 1920s. The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of your class, gender, or nationality can achieve success through hard work. The significance of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby is to show that it causes corruption and destruction. It creates corruption and destructs the lives of Daisy, Jay Gatsby and Myrtle.
The American Dream is the notion that the American economic, social, and political system makes it possible for every individual to be successful, the hope for equality and self-fulfillment. America seemed to promise endless opportunities socially and financially for anyone who is willing to work hard. F. Scott Fitzgerald condemns the idea of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Through the empty lives of three characters, Fitzgerald shows that chasing unattainable dreams will only lead to misery. Everyone in the lower class works toward being a part of the upper class. Myrtle Wilson dreamed of being a woman of status and marrying a gentleman who was capable of taking care of her. Unlike other characters in the book, instead of achieving her own dream, Myrtle had to find a man to achieve her dream for her. Jay Gatsby on the other hand changed his whole life around, did everything in his will to become part of the upper class so he can win over the true love of his life. He must have believed that life rewards those who work hard and if he sticks to his plan he could accomplish whatever he set his mind to. Despite Daisy Buchanan’s love for Gatsby, she chose to marry Tom Buchanan because he could socially and financially protect him. Daisy chose wealth over true love and happiness because she wanted to be a woman of status regardless of whether she was truly happy or not.