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the american dream in literature
reality and illusions
the american dream in literature
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He is Jimmy, the “Mr. Nobody from nowhere” (Fitzgerald 130). He is James, the boy with not a single cent to his name but a dream as big as the stars. He is the Great Gatsby, the rich and mysterious thrower of extravagant parties. Gatsby achieves his most well-known title as “The Great” when he is at the peak of his life and as rich as he can be, yet does he deserve it? Many “great people” have gone through history and literature without ever receiving such a title, yet a bootlegger from the West achieves such an honor. Gatsby’s wealth, friends, past, personality, gestures, and even name are all fake and made up by himself. However, what actually makes him great is how fake he really is. In history, the people who mostly receive the title of “great” are magicians, illusionists, and street side performers. In a way, Gatsby is greater than even the Great Houdini because he creates an illusion that fools not only everyone around him but himself as well. Gatsby develops an illusion that has a peculiar nature and origin that leads to his rise and fall. It is in the nature of such an elaborate illusion that an illusionist can gain the title of great. Gatz embraces the idea of “The American Dream” from the beginning of his childhood. Living in the West, a young Gatz is influenced by romanticized western stories such as Hopalong Cassidy and the ideas of life on the old frontier. The old western frontier instills in people that the average man is a hero and that hard-work leads to success. Gatz takes this to heart and begins developing his illusion around this perception of people (Lehan “…Father’s Business…” 44). He begins to truly believe that he can move forward in society, so he makes a calendar with lists of things he wants to do: “No... ... middle of paper ... ...s. “Gatsby’s Pristine Dream: The Diminishment of the Self-Made Man in the Tribal Twenties.” Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 210, (1994): n. pag. Web. 20 May 2009. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Hermanson, Cassie. “The Great Gatsby: Major Characters, Time, Ambiguity and Tragedy.” Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 4 November 2008. http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby/>. Lehan, Richard. “His Father’s Business.” Twayne’s Masterwork Studies The Great Gatsby Limits of Wonder. Boston: 1990, 42-57. Lehan, Richard. “Inventing Gatsby.” Twayne’s Masterwork Studies The Great Gatsby Limits of Wonder. Boston: 1990, 58-66. Parkinson, Kathleen. “Gatsby and Nick Carraway.” The Great Gatsby. New York: Penguin Books, 1987, 94-119.
"The Great Gatsby." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 64-86. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,1996. Print.
Trask, David F. "A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." University Review 33.3 (Mar. 1967): 197-202. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Trask, David F. "A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." University Review 33.3 (Mar. 1967): 197-202. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Lehan, Richard. The Great Gatsby: The Limits of Wonder. Ed. Robert Lecker. Boston: Twayne, 1990.
Gross, Dalton, and Maryjean Gross, eds. Understanding "The Great Gatsby": A Student Casebook to Issues,
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
...ald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
The Great Gatsby is pushing its way into more and more classrooms, because it is interesting as a literary work and, moreover, because it remains relevant to issues in modern society.
Batchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Witkoski, Michael. "The Great Gatsby." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
Rohrkemper, John. "College Literature." Allusive Past: Historical Perspective in "The Great Gatsby" 12.2 (1985): 153-162. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014.
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.
Hermanson, Casie E. "An overview of The Great Gatsby." Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.