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The American Dream in The Great Gatsby Essay

Decent Essays

American literature is much different from literature most authors write today. American

literature has meaning and a sturdy purpose. Three words with important meaning in society appear in

American literature. The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or

restraint is the legal definition of freedom. Freedom allows people to express anything or do anything

they want to if it doesn't offend people and as long it isn't violating any rights of others. Without

freedom a lot of things would be stolen away from us. The state of being equal, especially in status,

rights, and opportunities is the legal definition for equality. Equality provides a safety barrier for people

because is assures them that …show more content…

The idea of

taking a frog would not have crossed the mind of someone's head and caused them to think that they

were doing a bad thing. In his time, people had the freedom to go take a frog and have no consequences

or fussing after it was all said and done. In today's society if someone were to read this story now and

read about how a man used a frog just for a bet they would ask many questions in their head about the

wellbeing of the frog and what happened to the frog after it was used. People today are more cautious

about nature and animals and how both should be treated. In Twain's time it was not a huge concern

because of the time it was and because of other things going on around them. Their freedoms were

different in what types of things they had freedom in and what types of things were strictly outlawed. “

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over

in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that

all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."” (Fitzgerald, 1). This quote

from The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald represents the freedom of speech. The way this sentence

is stated implies that people could criticize each other whenever they wanted too. This is also true in

this time

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