Sameet K. Mann
Ms. Rowe
IB English
7 September 2016
Literary Analysis: The American Dream
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.
The use of the green light as a motif helps to symbolize Gatsby’s version of the American Dream and shows that Gatsby does not have a yearning for the usual 1920s American Dream of wealth and money. His version of the American Dream is Daisy, but to her the American Dream is money and wealth. In order to achieve Daisy he made a goal of becoming the 1920’s embodiment of the American Dream, even though materialistic things could not bring him happiness. Since Daisy is at the green light it symbolizes all he had been through to be
For generations many have immigrated to this great nation know, as the United states of America, all seeking for their share of the American dream. The American dream is the philosophy that anyone can become successful through hard work and perseverance. The 1920’s embodies this concept like no other decade in American history. It is also during this time frame that one sees the perversion of this dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests in his novel, The Great Gatsby that there is a right and wrong way to obtain the American dream. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is symbolic for the materialistic nature of the American dream and its corruption in the 20th century.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the author uses the green light motif and figurative language to represent Gatsby's pursuit of trying to achieve his American Dream of wealth and love. Gatsby wanted to get rid of his past, so he could pursue the dream life he wanted, which was being wealthy and having Daisy love him as he has loved her. The green light presented throughout the book represents Gatsby’s perseverance in reaching his American Dream. Gatsby’s dream of becoming wealthy did occur however being together with Daisy did not happen, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it”.
Have you ever heard the phrase “The American Dream?” Do you know what “The American Dream” is? Do you think you are living the dream life? In The Great Gatsby we look into what the thought of “The American Dream” was back in the 1920’s to create an impressionable theme. By combining the motifs of materialism, lies and illusion throughout the storyline F Scott Fitzgerald portrays a very important theme.
The Great Gatsby: The green light can be seen as representing Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, most importantly Daisy, which emphasizes the ideas of the American Dream. He reaches toward it as a guiding light to his hopes and dreams.
In book, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts how the American was corrupted through wealth. Fitzgerald provides many examples. The most common example shown was Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s idea that to achieve his American Dream must be to acquire wealth. In order to show this, Fitzgerald uses various literary elements. Two of those being imagery and foreshadowing, these played a critical role in describing the theme, and specific moods to show what was to come and as well as describe the story as a whole. These play a vital role in representing Gatsby’s life and journey to acquiring Daisy, his version of the American Dream.
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story about a wealthy man named Gatsby. Gatsby lives a luxuriant life in West Egg of New York. Gatsby’s wealth has an unknown secret because nobody seems to know where his wealth emerged from. Despite of having so much fortune, Gatsby’s true American dream has not been achieved. In the great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald develops Gatsby as a failed American dream to show the impossibility of the American dream in the 1920’s.
Throughout the book, the green light is a beacon of hope. Gatsby's obsession with it symbolizes his captivation with achieving the American dream: wealth, love and success as well as the girl who embodies it: Daisy. The green light symbolizes Gatsby's “undying love for Daisy” which was never love at all. Gatsby loves what Daisy symbolizes, which is the hope that one day he will have all that he desires. Nick explains what made Gatsby so different from other characters.
The American Dream was a prodigious and fascinating objective, in which everyone wished to accomplish in the 1920’s. Money, social status and happiness was the ideal image. Everyone desired and craved to achieve this dream in hope to have the opportunity to acquire success and the image of a perfect life. But this dream was corrupt. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby shows us that the so called “American Dream” is in fact just an illusion everyone had but could not obtain, because everyone alway seemed to be missing something to their picture perfect life.
Dreams are a compelling force in people’s lives. They are what propel them forward each and every day in an effort to reach something better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism, setting, and theme to depict the unattainability of the American Dream.
In the past the American Dream was an inspiration to many, young and old. To live out the American Dream was what once was on the minds of many Americans. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was presented as a corrupted version of what used to be a pure and honest ideal way to live. The idea that the American Dream was about the wealth and the possessions one had been ingrained, somehow, into the minds of Americans during the 1920’s. As a result of the distortion of the American Dream, the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby along with many others, lived life fully believing in the American Dream, becoming completely immersed in it and in the end suffered great tragedies.
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,
The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a destructive war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of disruption associated with modernity and a break with traditions.The Roaring Twenties was a time of great economic prosperity and many people became rich and wealthy. Some people inherited "old money" and some obtained "new money". However, there was the other side of prosperity and many people also suffered the nightmare of being poor. In the novel,The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a wealthy character
The American Dream was the vision that brought many people to America to start a new life in a strange and foreign land. This vision or dream is a common discussion topic by modern writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island in the summer of 1922. On the surface, it seems that the novel is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman, but the masterpiece major theme is about the American dream. The author writes about a man who takes the dream too far and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is by far one of the most interesting yet congested books I have ever read. I feel as if the story is shifting as soon as I was able to tell what was happening. One idea that was constant was the themes, symbols and motifs used throughout. Love and the seduction of money, to me, were the most influential themes that I noticed in the book.
In The Great Gatsby, a classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is in love with Jordan Baker, George Wilson is in love with Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan. Regrettably, all of these women are unworthy of the love and affection bestowed upon them by these men. Throughout the course if this essay, the love between these individuals will be analysed and the reasons why these women are unworthy will be highlighted.