The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The century old concept of the American Dream is the belief that no matter what race, gender, religion or background a person is from, she/he has the ability to become successful through the means of hard work and determination. Unlike today, Americans during the 1920s lived in the illusion that achieving the American Dream involved immoral actions and only the satisfaction of their greedy pleasures. This led to the compromise of moral values and noble actions and in turn allowed their vices to control their character. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, it is revealed how the corrupt American Dream resulted in consequences for both the good hearted and self-absorbed people of the East. Throughout his novel, Fitzgerald conveys his views on how the illusion of the American Dream influenced the actions, beliefs and dreams of the People during the Roaring Twenties.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, he demonstrates the actions of society and by doing, so he ridicules the high class and lower class, which ended up critiquing the American Dream. The American dream is an idea to give people hope that through hard work one will achieve wealth, fame, and prosperity. This dream symbolizes the desire to attain a luxurious house, car and even a perfect marriage if one is diligent enough. It is represented by the idea of a self-sufficient man or woman who is determined to achieve a goal to become more successful. However, the American Dream is an illusion that only leads to corruption in the pursuit of social mobility.

The american dream from 2 very different point of views. Fitzgerald made his point of view that with money your life is

The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve the American Dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby had a second opportunity in changing his life. Growing up, Gatsby was different from everyone else. He had a big dream and knew what would be the best for himself. He believed that wealth, material possessions, and power are the core principles of the American Dream. The pursuit of a better life led countless numbers of foreign immigrants to America desiring their chance at the vast opportunity. Fitzgerald uses setting, characterization and symbols to develop the theme that the “American Dream” is the search for happiness, individuality, and monetary

Picture this, there was a young man who worked his way up the social class just to please a girl he loved for five years. However, he died loving the girl who did not even go to his funeral. This tragic story was The Great Gatsby, which portrayed the decline of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, used different types of illustrations and imagery to put himself into every character in the book, including Jay Gatsby, the one who represented The American Dream. Among those who experienced huge divide in the American society during the Roaring Twenties, only a group of people who accepted change while keeping some of the traditional values survived the era and subsequently, the Great Depression. In a time of excessive spending and loose morals, Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man that was born rich and had a rich wife, was the clear winner in every aspect of his life. Tom Buchanan was the most successful character in The Great Gatsby because of his unchanging social status as a wealthy man, his luckiness of escaping the responsibility of his sins, and his ability to maintain a marriage with Daisy Buchanan.

The American Dream is based off goals of independence, desire, and freedom for something every American wants. Material items are a primary focus for The American Dream when it comes down to it, like wealth, causing a huge downfall for The American Dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the people and the society are corrupted, as you can tell throughout the whole book. Some of the characters in the book that are, or want to be part of, The American Dream have corrupted mindsets and goals, in particularly it is Gatsby, Daisy and Tom. In the book, Daisy Buchanan is classified as an arrogant woman who only cares about her wealth and materialistic things. Tom Buchanan, who happens to cheat on his wife, is classified as a narrow-minded sort of guy and he is very hypocritical. Gatsby, classified as an idealist type person, seems to only care about the past . He becomes obsessed with Daisy and he starts to over-exaggerate on how amazing she is. The American Dream is corrupted because it is tainted with the power of money and materialistic things, which Gatsby, Daisy and Tom portray in the book.

Will people do anything to achieve their American Dream? Some people will do anything to achieve their dream. They will lie, cheat, steal and will work hard. Some people think money can buy happiness and love. The extreme measure one might go to is immense to achieve their dream. The experiences which one might go through can lead to achieving their dream or having it fail. F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by trying to win back the dream girl, lavish lifestyle, and being wealthy.

What was the American Dream? Each character has their own idea of what the American dream is and each one tries to pursue it. The Great Gatsby is a novel with the too different types of people. Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby live in the West Egg where most of the people work for their riches. While the Buchanan’s live in East Egg where everyone has inherited their money and come from high class families. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, everyone is pursuing the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson are four key characters whose lives are forever changed by each other’s actions as they try to achieve their own versions of the American Dream.

The American Dream is understood to be that anyone can be successful in America if they work hard enough. In The Great Gatsby, there are characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson who hope to ascend the proverbial ladder. However, this was not so much for the original ideals of the American Dream as much as it was an unscrupulous desire for money, status or married lovers. Fitzgerald paints a pessimistic picture of the American Dream to be perverted and unlikely to be attainable by the lower class.

The American Dream was an idea that there is opportunity for everyone according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. This means that when you come to America you had every opportunity open to you. There are many obstacles that you must pass to achieve this large of a goal although many could not forge ahead through these barriers. The self reliant individual does not have complete control over his or her own success because of the people involved in their life.

In his sarcastic novel The Great Gatsby, frequently shows how racism and classism influence the viability of achieving the American dreams through obscure methods. The novel details Gatsby’s achievements and his dream, including Daisy, and makes a comparison with other people of different races and classes indirectly, but visibly. The fact that, though Gatsby was much wealthier than those in East Egg, he has never achieved the American dream, never owned Daisy truly and never acquired respect, but rumours, due he isn’t born in high class and makes money through bootleg. Gatsby’s mansion reminds people of the feasibility of making the American dream come true. However, his unexpected death that is not caught by police, but killed by Wilson, a white man in mid class, proves that American dream is like phantom, not available for everyone as well. Fitzgerald takes us into the suffering of Gatsby to show us that the American dream is like a shell company, which makes everyone look forward to their future with great expectations, but only certain people can truly reach it because people are not standing on the same starting line.

The definition of the American dream is defined by the individual, and in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s case, the American dream is defined as unreal. Fitzgerald lived in the roaring twenties, the time of parties and fun, but also the time of the stock market crash and depression. The pessimistic thought process of Fitzgerald rubs off on his novel, The Great Gatsby, a story entangled with love triangles, drama, and death. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald’s poor life leads to his belief that the American dream is not achievable, as seen through the of characterization of Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Myrtle Wilson.

The American dream that is portrayed in The Great Gatsby starts in the early 1900’s. It starts by talking about World War II which was a very stressful time for America. The American dream is portrayed as something that someone must work hard for and earn. But in this book, the American dream is made out to be filled with money and being selfish to get what you want. And when money isn’t enough to keep his dream alive, everything goes opposite of how it was planned. In chapter 4 Gatsby wants to win back Daisy, Gatsby himself a lot of money and basically gets everything he wants. So, winning back Daisy would be the ultimate goal for his way to rise to the top of the status pole. A couple of chapters later, he is able to get Daisy back, which means he is definitely able to get where he wants to be in life, or the American dream. At one point in the story, he clearly ties Daisy to being a part of his larger dreams that he has in his mind. In the book, he talks about Daisy moving her face towards his and when the kissed he had felt so complete.

The Great Gatsby is about the pursuit of the American Dream. Throughout the novel, the reader sees Gatsby in situations that are impossible to overcome. F. Scott Fitzgerald believed the American Dream was unattainable and demonstrated this through his story development. By creating an existing character in the 1920s, who is in love with a married woman and acquired his money illegally, Fitzgerald was able to develop a man pursuing an unattainable dream.

The "American Dream" is a term coined after America became a free nation ready for growth and prosperity. It was and continues to be used frequently in reference to the opportunity to move up in social status, create a family, and live a comfortable life. In the roaring twenties this household term put on a new meaning, one filled with greed, overindulgence, and materialism. In his most exemplary work the, The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald portrays the corrupt nature of the American Dream through the fall of his characters. The author portrays the frailty of the American Dream with protagonist of the story, Jay Gatsby, the love of his life Daisy, and her husband Tom. Gatsby's undying desire to succeed quickly to impress Daisy turns into greed just as the American dream suddenly becomes unattainable due to corruption.