Theme Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The term “The American Dream” was coined in 1931 by American writer James Truslow Adams and described America as a place of opportunity based on one’s ability and hard work. Although the term originated in 1931, the fundamental ideas of the American Dream debuted in 1920’s society and contrasted greatly with previous notions of a stagnant class structure. This was due to the booming post-WWI economy, which provided an increase in accessibility to leisure items and activities, allowing luxuries typically reserved for the upper class to be enjoyed by the masses. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, reflects these social and economic changes. The novel follows the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby, who achieved prosperity in spite of being born the son of a poor, North Dakota farmer. Though many believed in an emergence of class mobility in the 1920’s, the novel The Great Gatsby demonstrates the ultimate inaccessibility of the American Dream - a holistic realization of social and economic equality.

She is not only attracted to Tom’s appearance but also and more importantly to his wealth. For Myrtle, Tom is the ideal personification and advertisement of the American Dream. Myrtle is considered to be a denizen of the lower class because she cannot dress in the trappings of wealth. Therefore, she participates in a marital affair with Tom to claw herself to an upper-class status. Ernest Lockridge says, “Myrtle’s desire to escape her social class is made possible by her connection with Tom, Myrtle will not stay in her place, the valley of ashes rises against the East Egg” [Lockridge, 170]. She acknowledges that she is not part of the upper class, yet hopes through association with Tom she can be labeled as such. Moreover, her pursuit of the American Dream places all her hope in material items and she fails to emphasize the importance of the values behind the concept. It is her demand for a luxurious life and pursuing the American Dream that led to Myrtle’s demise, exemplifying how the pursuit of the American Dream as depicted by Fitzgerald causes destruction.

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively portrays 1920’s America and its twisted, unsavory values. The novel has been called “the American masterwork,” by Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post, because of the novel’s characterization of the Jazz Age and all of it’s unsatisfactory glory. One critic has written, “The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American dream.” Fitzgerald’s work validates this statement. The Great Gatsby wonderfully depicts the death of the American Dream through the loss of humility and rectitude. The American Dream is the ideal that anyone, regardless of race, class, or gender should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The death of this dream is demonstrated in the novel through rich symbolism as Fitzgerald uses extended metaphors and personification to portray the corruption of the Jazz Age. The American Dream is demonstrated through the color yellow, which symbolizes not only wealth but death. The American Dream is also demonstrated through characters Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, and Jay Gatsby, as well as their tragic endings while trying to achieve the dream. Tom and Daisy Buchanan achieve money without having to work and the carelessness that results from it.

The American Dream, something we all dream to prosper, however differs from each one of us. Whether it be to obtain riches or love, or simply live happy, we all aspire to cross that finish line at the end of day. The universal theme of the American Dream is presented throughout The Great Gatsby, and is shown throughout many of the characters in which many are emptied, because of their lust for money. For instance, in the novel The Great Gatsby the main character Gatsby shows downfall for the American Dream, because of his ambition, and corruption. The character expresses his downfall through his traits of ambition, and resilience in obtaining his materialistic riches, and most important living happy ever after with his “nice” girl Daisy, the one who got away.

The American Dream: Is is fact or fiction? In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers set forth the idea of an American Dream by providing us with the recognizable phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s “Pursuit of Happiness” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s on Long Island, New York. The American Dream can be defined as “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, not by chance” (Fontinelle, Amy). At the birth of our country in 1776, our founding fathers introduced the American Dream as a personal desire to pursue happiness; however, the pursuit of happiness was not intended to promote self-indulgence, rather to act as a catalyst to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. As our country has changed, the idea of the American Dream, in some cases, has evolved into the pursuit of one’s own indulgences such as material gain regardless of the consequences.

We often hear people trying to define the American dream, but how can it be defined if the definition isn’t consistent? In today’s society the definition of the American dream varies from person to person. Some may say it’s based on getting an extravagant degree from a high ranked college, the amount of money in a bank account, or even something as simple as having a family. It may seem erratic but that’s the beauty of it, everyone’s definition is different, and that’s why it’s obtainable for everyone.

In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. If you have a dream in America, you can achieve it with old fashioned hard work. Whether it’s going from rags to riches or finding love, the American Dream can offer it. But the ever-popular American dream is easily corrupted. This is greatly shown in the novel The Great Gatsby as it explores both the beauty and the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald includes many aspects in the story which show how the pursuit for the American Dream affected

book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this American story many people are skeptical

The Great Gatsby has been called "the great American novel." This novel reflects the theme of the American Dream. To me, the American Dream would be classified as having a stable good paying job, having your own family, as well as a good social life with no conflicts. Thomas Jefferson believed that people are entitled to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don't do anything illegal or violate the rights of others. Thomas Jefferson took the phrase "pursuit of happiness" from John Locke and incorporated it into his famous statement of a peoples' inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence. The American Dreams maps out everything a person would want in their life which is why so many immigrants come to America. They believe life will be easier and happier in America due to the myth that most people know of as the American Dream.

The novel great gatsby by f.scott fitzgerald tells the story of a young man, Gatsby and a young woman,Daisy who were in love with each other, and gatsby had the american dream of marrying the young woman but the young woman did not have the same dream.

The American Dream can mean a lot of different things depending on who is asked. Some will answer that it is the freedom of religion or the ability to move between class. Others define it as the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. For Jay Gatsby and many others, the American Dream is about gaining wealth and material possessions in the attempt to find happiness. Through his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characterization to illuminate what happened to the American Dream in the 1920’s, which is a time period when the dreams became corrupted for many

The definition of The American Dream is the idea that every US citizen, regardless of race religion or sex, should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Although The Great Gatsby possesses a large number of different themes, I feel that they all incorporate one another to produce Fitzgerald's overall perception of America. I think even through the minor characters Fitzgerald establishes, such as the owl-glasses man, Fitzgerald brings together his central theme that symbolizes his feelings for America and encapsulates his adolescence. Clearly, he establishes his visualization of the stereotypical American Dream in his story of money, girls, and fame. During the time of the prohibition, a lot changed from the point of view of how and why people wanted to work in America and with the unsteady lifestyle that Fitzgerald lived, he uses a large amount of symbolism to express his perception. I think that the overriding theme of the great gatsby is shown through irony that overall states that there is no combination of hope and hard work that guarantees anything in America.

The American Dream can exist through almost anything, including the disbandment of love. The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the concept of the American Dream through modern Love. In the novel Fitzgerald creates a main portion of characters, Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, and Tom to act as the symbols of this American Dream. Throughout the story Fitzgerald gives his readers a taste of what the chase of an American Dream is mainly seen as, which in the end did not become successful. Fitzgerald reveals the dream that most Americans strive for and that was through prosperity, love, and destruction.

Why would someone have a dream? For most people, that dream is the light at the end of their dark tunnel. The narrator, Nick Carraway, tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a crook, a mystery, and a man consumed by his love for a girl. Carraway is not completely involved with the book’s dram, but he does become one of Gatsby’s closest friends. In the novel The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald defines the American Dream as the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of love, which happens to be what drives a majority of his characters. This dream, like many others, is filled with risk and reward, and is worth pursuing, because any personal goal is the motivation a person needs to get through life.

Characters are commonly used to represent key ideas through, and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald is no exception. From the beginning of the novel, we are positioned to place our trust in Nick Carraway, who is the narrator of the novel. It follows the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby, the tragic hero, who has become infatuated with a young lady by the name of Daisy Buchanan, whom he briefly met just under 5 years prior, and has dedicated his life to rekindle their love. As this is set in the 1920’s, the American Dream is unsurprisingly featured, as this was a common belief that was held by many, its superficiality and corruption unbeknownst to them. There are numerous characters who firmly placed their trust in the American Dream, including George Wilson and Jay Gatsby, who both had starkly different experiences, despite them both believing in the same promise. The social stratification and monetary corruption were also a reflection on the context, as this was set just following the Great Depression, a period of time when people were rather obsessed with money, as it was likened to success. This is represented particularly through Tom and Daisy Buchanan, who both belonged to the highest social class as a result of their wealth.