The Tainted American Dream America, known as the land of the free; where opportunity and prosperity are just waiting to be discovered. Where the hope and promise of a better tomorrow, wait around every corner from the hustle and bustle of New York City to the serene living of Buford, Wyoming. Merriam-Webster’s definition of the “American Dream” is “a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful.” Anyone, regardless of their circumstances of birth or socioeconomic status, with enough hard work and determination can achieve this “American Dream”. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald can be portrayed as a critique of …show more content…
We learn that Gatsby had a humble beginning and worked his way up to his current social status. While Nick disapproves of Gatsby’s dishonesty and extravagance, he says that he “turned out alright in the end” (Fitzgerald 4). Gatsby was willing to do whatever it took to transform his dreams into reality, to be worthy enough for Daisy, even dabbling in illegal activity to make his fortune. While Nick seems to admire his passion and determination, this is not the “American Dream.” Although Gatsby was indeed a self-made man, he, too, had a skewed idea of what the “American Dream” was truly about. Gatsby’s life reeked of self-indulgence and his actions were far from pure and virtuous, which are the main principle of this “Dream”. Gatsby, along with Tom and Daisy, represent the Americans corrupted by wealth, prosperity and success. It is because of their mindset, that the “American Dream” was tarnished in the first …show more content…
The “American Dream” was originally centered around the pursuit of happiness, but during this time was contaminated by greed and corruption. Americans were blinded by materialistic wealth, prosperity and fame. America, once the land of equal opportunity, now became engrossed in becoming successful by any means necessary. In turn, moral values and family ties took a backseat and were no longer the center of society. The poor were exploited by the rich for their own personal gain. The author describes this era and characters objectively, while allowing us to interpret the characters’ motivation on our own. By doing so, we get a better sense of the difference between their social classes and their way of
The American Dream is nothing new to world. In 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby” which was about a man truly living the “American Dream”. Everything he did though was to achieve wealth. He had elaborate parties in his fabulous house, bought the best of everything, and did whatever he had to do become the best. He started out with nothing and worked his way up by creating a fake life, even the woman he loved most did not know of his past. The woman, Daisy, he loved most was not even in Gatsby’s life, but in the life of another man. Gatsby worked and strived to get everything he had for a married woman who did not even love him. Though Gatsby thought he loved Daisy he only loved the idea of her. Someone who he had a few wonderful moments with, someone who he could see his life spent with. What did he really get out of life though? Wasted years to impress someone who never really mattered when he could have been spending it with someone who could of loved him for who he really was. Who was Gatsby though, no one can e...
Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald criticizes the American dream very elaborately and shows the idea of the American dream to be connected with the goal of achieving wealth. Fitzgerald does not praise wealth in the Great Gatsby but condemns it by drawing attention to the dreadful fall made by Gatsby. Fitzgerald finds the desire of wealth to be a corrupting impact on people. Throughout the novel, the characters with money contradict the idea of the American dream. They are portrayed to be very snobbish and unhappy people. The American dream in the novel is shown to be unachievable. For some time, the American dream has been focused upon material things that will gain people success.
success” and where money and fame is achieved through hard work. However, Due to the United States’ economic advantages, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to change the American dream, replacing it with a statement of "get rich quick".F. Scott Fitzgerald expresses and explores this idea thoroughly in his most successful novel, The Great Gatsby. 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
The American Dream There is no set definition to be found anywhere of the true meaning of The American Dream. Any hope, dream, or goal pursued by anyone in the history of America is an American Dream. In modern times the accepted dream seems to be 2.5 children, a house with a white picket fence, and a perfect spouse. However, as it is shown throughout literature from the early days of America to contemporary times, the American Dream is not always so simple a concept. America was originally founded on the dream of freedom.
America is the land with the most dreamers. America is the land of opportunity and equality. In America your dreams can be fulfilled if you work hard to achieve your goals. The American dream to most is, to be wealthy and to be able to afford anything. Wealth is a plus in life because you can afford expensive items that do not necessarily have a use, but it does not necessarily matter how hard you try or how much you spend you can not buy happiness. Although being wealthy can make you seem happy on the outside, on the inside you would not be as happy as you seem. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author shows how being wealthy will not make you happy. Many people have voiced their opinions of the America dream.
The American Dream is the concept that anyone, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in his or her life through perseverance and hard work. It is commonly perceived as someone who was born and starts out as poor but ambitious, and works hard enough to achieve wealth, prosperity, happiness, and stability. Clearly, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to personify the destruction of the American Dream. Gatsby started out as a poor farming boy, meticulously planning his progression to become a great man.
The American Dream was the philosophy that brought people to America and to start a new life in a strange, foreign land. Due to this dream, it was believed that America was the land of opportunity, wealth, and prosperity. The dream consists of three components: all men are equal, man can trust and should help his fellow man, and the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a condemnation of American Society and focuses on its downfall. This holds true for three of the main characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan.
The American Dream is a concept in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. All of this is achieved through the efficiency of hard work and dedication to reach that dream. People are lured into thinking they can have that dream if they live in America because it is the land of opportunity. The novel The Great Gatsby, is centered around the American Dream and how unachievable it is. Fitzgerald 's novel comments on how bad society is and how people dream unrealistically. The American Dream is hard to attain and hard to keep in any social class. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows, through Daisy 's dream, Wilson 's dream, and Gatsby 's dream, just how hard it is to obtain and fold on to the American Dream.
"The American Dream is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for everyone to achieve their dream,” . Fitzgerald demonstrates in the “Great Gatsby” how a dream can become destroyed by one’s focus on only wanting wealth, power, and expensive things. Gatsby’s dream “is a naïve dream based on the fallacious assumption that material possessions are synonymous with happiness,harmony, and beauty” (“Fahey”). In the “Great Gatsby” Nick says “Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry”. The race after the American Dream is a primary theme that was seen throughout “The Great Gatsby”, wrote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and how he represented this theme through his characters and all that they did.
The American Dream is an exceptionally broad term. It includes ambitions of wealth, family, comfort, and anything a citizen or future citizen could ever want. Originally, the settlers wanted America to give them freedom and an escape from the harrowing inescapability of the European class system. The adventurous men were energized by their dreams of building a nation, but the definition changes through the centuries (Berman 128). Some arrive to escape their debts, and others wish to escape the rule of tyrants. Yet, the prevalent definition of the American Dream in the Twenties and The Great Gatsby appears to be the pursuit of materialistic comfort; everyone desires a fancy car, profuse amounts of money, a huge mansion, and a carefree life (Smiljanić). Gatsby, however, is not an average American.
Hope and ambition are vital aspects of the American Dream. Gatsby is a man of infinite hope and ambition. Gatsby’s father says, “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He’s always great for that.”(Fitzgerald, 173) Gatsby waited 5 years, hoping that he would obtain Daisy’s love once more. Nick acknowledges these qualities of Gatsby: “It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.”(2) These two qualities in Gatsby’s character represent the uncontaminated American Dream.
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
The American dream has an inspiring connotation, often associated with the pursuit of happiness, to compel the average citizen to prosper. In Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s infatuation for Daisy drives him towards wealth in order to respark his love. Due to Daisy’s rich background, the traditional idea of love became skewed because of the materialistic mindsets of people in the 1920s. In the novel, the wealthy are further stratified into two social classes, creating a barrier between the elite and the “dreamers”. Throughout the novel, the idea of the American dream as a fresh start fails.
At the roaring ages of 1920s, the booming economy brings up the notion of American dream. People chase the American dream in pursuit of happiness while some of them believe that wealth will fix everything in life. For the same reason, they are wiling to idolize Gatsby. Chasers are inspired by achievers just like how Nick is fascinated by Gatsby before knowing him .Nick’s fascination turns into idolization after Gatsby invites Nick to his party. Nick describes Gatsby had “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life(Ch.3).” Such description unifies the appearance of Gatsby with people’s expectation of a man who accomplished the American dream.
“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. 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.