Why Is The American Dream Important In The Great Gatsby

In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is used as an example of individuals who are disillusioned with the idea of wealth and material possessions associated with the American Dream. Gatsby’s version of the American Dream is to be wealthy and be treated like those of “old money” as a way to win the love of Daisy. Gatsby views money and success as a way to solve his problems. Instead of working hard to make an honest living, Gatsby resorts to the crime of bootlegging in order to easily become wealthy. Gatsby distances himself from his meager past and becomes a man known for his luxurious parties, all the while being lonely despite hundreds of people around him.

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.

During the 1920s, also referred to as the Roaring Twenties, a cultural movement inspired many drastic changes socially and politically and in the traditional values in the United States. In the 1920s the 19th amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote. Before the 1920s change occurred slowly but during the 1920s changes occurred rapidly. The American Dream is defined as the promise of prosperity for Americans who work hard, regardless of race, class, gender and on April 10, 1925 The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published showing that this wasn't always true. Fitzgerald shows in the book that some people cheat their way into the American Dream and succeed in doing so, but they never become a part of the true higher

The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.

     F. Scott Fitzgerald is seen as one of the greatest American writers, admired by his contemparies and by modern audiences of today. Fitzgerald was very much in tune with the early twentieth century American culture. He is credited with capturing the ‘Jazz Age’, which he described as “a generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken”. Fitzgerald observed the culture around him with a critical eye. Despite being able to depict America like few others could, many see Fitzgerald’s writing as an indictment on its values.

As the opposite of Daisy, Gatsby “remained faithful to an ideal love for five years” (Seiters). Daisy comes from a good family and is also a very beautiful girl who has a strong desire for love and that may only be the reason she married Tom instead of Gatsby. She was scared that Gatsby did not come back so she did not want to wait any longer. Tom and Gatsby are two very different people, Gatsby wasn't rich all his life he had even changed his name, “Jay Gatz--that was really, or at least legally, his name” (Fitzgerald 98). He sailed with his mentor Dan Cody who had taught him to speak and act like a well educated gentleman. Knowing that it allow him to have a good reputation in high societies. With Gatsby's ability to make friends in the city he became a criminal who used him to sell bootlegged alcohol, basically a drug dealer. Gatsby is what they call new money which means he has to show off and prove to the world that he is rich, for example to his parties he wears extravagant suits with gold ties and drives an eye-catching yellow car “Gatsby's car is an adolescent's dream, the very vehicle for one who formed his ideals as a teenager” (Seiters), all this is done to get Daisy’s

For centuries in this country people have believed that through hard work, talent and ambition anyone can acquire great wealth and success regardless of their social class and background, a concept later named “The American Dream” in 1931. However, people have been questioning whether this idea of rags to riches really is attainable to all who work for it, or if it is merely a fantasy and a myth. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to illustrate the death of the American Dream.

Is The American Dream Worth Achieving? The American Dream founded this country, filling citizens with ideas of hope and prosperity; the idea of a better tomorrow. Inaugurated on the notion that “all men are created equal” (Declaration of Independence), there should be nothing a person cannot achieve through hard work. However, with the observation that there are many social barriers in between the lower class and the American Dream, it becomes nearly impossible. Once the wealth and white picket fence is attained, there is nothing left to strive for.

Wealth represents the type of car a person drives in society, as regular citizens have the same common affordable, car wealthy people like Gatsby have fast and new sports car that makes them unique in a society full of people placed in social categories.

The American Dream, which is “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” is a “promise” given to all citizens no matter of social class. However, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be fully achieved for Gatsby. Gatsby’s lifestyle may have represented the idea of what the American dream was at the that time, but Gatsby the man was never satisfied with his life. Gatsby’s idea of a perfect life was to be with Daisy. with Daisy Due to that, he was consumed with the that single idea, dream causing him to lose sight of what he already had, which

Wealth is one of the main themes in The Great Gatsby, it brings a sense of achievement, happiness, and power. F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals two kinds of wealth, new money and old money. For Gatsby, being new money, that meant flaunting his riches with fancy cars, boats and throwing extravagant parties to impress others. Although, the main purpose of his parties was to attract Daisy’s attention, she was not impressed. She belonged to old money society, where they only surround themselves with the rich and knew how to handle their money. On the other hand, her husband, Tom, uses the power of his money to be superior to others and treat them badly. Furthermore, people used wealth to prove their social status but mostly to enjoy the American Dream.

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

“The American dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (James Truslow Adams). The American Dream is alive, and one of the most important aspects of life especially individually.

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.

As time goes by, the American Dream seems to slip further out of reach for many Americans. The American Dream is the idea that every citizen, through hard work, can achieve financial stability. Contrary to this belief, many Americans each year find themselves in debt and out of work after years of hard work and dedication. The United States, which was once referred to as the Land of Opportunity, has found itself lacking in profitable opportunities in spite of the efforts of the people who built this country. This deterioration of the American Dream is due to lack of opportunities and low job security, low wages in comparison to the cost of living, and the consumer mindset that rules the nation.