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How the american dream is illustrated through the great gatsby
The american dream in the great gatsby novel
The american dream in the great gatsby novel
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The rigid social class structure and lack of social mobility in the 1920’s created a situation in where the great American Dream is ultimately unreachable. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is largely regarded as a love story, but can also be seen as a pessimistic view on the American Dream and its unattainability. Fitzgerald uses a range of techniques covering characters, characterisation and extensive symbolism to represent this idea. He majorly uses the characters of Gatsby, Myrtle and George B. Wilson to portray this cynical view of the American dream. Fitzgerald depicts a sceptical view of the American Dream and through his characterization suggests that hard work leading ultimately to social status is frozen by social immobility. …show more content…
Her desire to move into the lives of the upper class influences her adultery with Tom and is also the factor which ultimately causes her demise. Myrtles desire to be rich and famous is catalogued by the “several old copies of Town tattle” (p.31) in her apartment, showing that her wish to be old money is toeing on obsession. To Myrtle, Tom symbolises the life that she wants for and uses him to inch her way into the highest class hierarchy and somewhat succeeds. Myrtle achieved a sense of luxury and happiness through Tom that allows a taste of the American Dream. However, Myrtle is fundamentally denied this as her death serves to symbolise the death of the American Dream. Myrtle’s death is caused by the reckless driving of Daisy, a rich woman in a rich car. This symbolises that despite myrtles struggle and taste of success in achieving the American dream, the upper class remains in control and prevents anyone below them from climbing to their level. It also symbolises the social security of the upper class, as Daisy is relatively unaffected by the manslaughter and instead the carnage falls onto those of the class below her – Gatsby, who was blamed for it, Myrtle who is killed and George who is forced to deal with his wife’s …show more content…
Wilson’s character development shows the detrimental effects of the class structure and how the hope for the American Dream failed him. George Wilson is shown to be the hardest working character in the novel, yet instead he loses the most. Tom uses the threat of “selling [the car] somewhere else” (p.29) to enforce the notion that George is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The car symbolises the hope of the American Dream and the supposed attainability of it, and is what George is seen working towards the entire text and to the audience, his entire life. The car supports Fitzgerald’s pessimistic view by showing the almost pathetic hope of the lower class, but the audience realises that social mobility will not occur. The fact that Tom is the one in control of whether or not he sells the car indicates that the established class holds the monopoly over social class and chooses to create the immobility. The three deaths in The Great Gatsby – Gatsby, Myrtle and George represent how the lower social classes will forever be unable to move up even until death, and the upper class will remain above it all. Tom plants the seed that Gatsby had an affair with and murdered Myrtle in George’s brain, and this in due course causes both of their deaths. Tom’s carelessness with his affair also brought about the death of Myrtle. The lower social class’s deaths are all caused by tom, who signifies the upper class and in turn the events exemplified the ruined idea of the
The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, deals heavily with the concept of the American Dream as it existed during the Roaring Twenties, and details its many flaws through the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and ambitious entrepreneur who comes to a tragic end after trying to win the love of the moneyed Daisy Buchanan, using him to dispel the fantastic myth of the self-made man and the underlying falsities of the American Dream. Despite Gatsby’s close association with the American Dream, however, Fitzgerald presents the young capitalist as a genuinely good person despite the flaws that cause his undoing. This portrayal of Gatsby as a victim of the American Dream is made most clear during his funeral, to which less than a handful
...on materialism and social class. While novel is widely considered a zeitgeist of the time period, it is also a warning for the American Dream. Although the Dream is not Marxist materialism, it is certainly not traditional individualism and freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby poses a question: what is the American Dream?
The American Dream offers opportunity, equality, liberty, and social mobility to those who have lost their place, such as immigrants, African Americans, and white males with little wealth. This national ethos can supposedly be achieved through hard work, and determination with few social barriers. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates the unreachable American Dream that so many have stopped fighting for. While the American dream may theoretically promise equality for all, social status will either hinder or improve an individual 's chances of success. Through rhetorical strategies such as imagery, symbolism, and diction, Fitzgerald’s interpretation of the American Dream is developed.
They are both born into impoverished families, but deny acceptance of their lower status. Myrtle and Gatsby also share similar aspirations, to gain money and higher status. They are attempting to rise above their social class. Fitzgerald’s interpretation of Gatsby however, is much different from his portrayal of Gatsby. Gatsby is a tragic hero. He has nothing but good intentions and aspires for love, while Myrtle is simply shown as a foolish woman who is so absorbed in greed that she sacrifices her morals and sanity, in exchange for money and higher status. Gatsby, unlike Myrtle, maintains redeemable qualities until his murder. Everything he does is for his love, Daisy, because he wants only the best for her even if his life turns to ruins as a result. In contrast, Myrtle who has the same aspirations as Gatsby, exhibits impure intentions. She wants to achieve her goals of becoming a wealthy, elite member of society, purely to feed her selfish, eager desires, at the cost of her husbands’ sanity. This is what removes any sympathy a person may have had for Myrtle. She is depicted as a silly imbecile who cheats her way out her marriage and into her
The American Dream is a concept that has been wielded in American Literature since its beginnings. The ‘American Dream’ ideal follows the life of an ordinary man wanting to achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The original goal of the American dream was to pursue freedom and a greater good, but throughout time the goals have shifted to accumulating wealth, high social status, etc. As such, deplorable moral and social values have evolved from a materialistic pursuit of happiness. In “Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity”, Roland Marchand describes a man that he believed to be the prime example of a 1920’s man. Marchand writes, “Not only did he flourish in the fast-paced, modern urban milieu of skyscrapers, taxicabs, and pleasure- seeking crowds, but he proclaimed himself an expert on the latest crazes in fashion, contemporary lingo, and popular pastimes.” (Marchand) This description shows material success as the model for the American Dream. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reveals the characterization of his characters through the use of symbols and motifs to emphasize the corruption of the American Dream.
Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives the reader a glimpse into the life of the high class during the 1920’s through the eyes of a man named Nick Carraway. Through the narrator's dealings with high society, Fitzgerald demonstrates how modern values have transformed the American dream's ideas into a scheme for materialistic power and he reveals how the world of high society lacks any sense of morals or consequence. In order to support his message, Fitzgerald presents the original aspects of the American dream along with its modern face to show that the wanted dream is now lost forever to the American people. Jay Gatsby had a dream and did everything he could to achieve it, however in the end he failed to. This reveals that the American dream is not always a reality that can be obtained.
Lying has deadly effects on both the individual who lies and those around them. This concept is demonstrated in The Great Gatsby. Although Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle have different motives for being deceitful, they all lie in order to fulfill their desires and personal needs. Myrtle’s desire to be wealthy is illustrated when she first meets Tom, dressed in his expensive clothing, as her attitude changes when she puts on the luxurious dress and when she encourages Tom to buy her a dog. Tom’s deception is clear when he hides his affair with Myrtle by placing Myrtle in a different train, withholding the truth from Mr. Wilson of the affair and convincing Myrtle and Catherine that he will one day marry Myrtle. Gatsby tries to convince himself and others that he is the son of wealthy people, he creates an appearance that he is a successful, educated man through the books in his library and assures himself that Daisy loves him. Tom’s dishonesty reveals that he is selfish, while Gatsby’s distortions expose his insecurities, and Myrtle’s misrepresentations show that her sole focus in life is to achieve materialistic success. Gatsby and Myrtle both lie in order to obtain the “American dream.” However, Tom, who appears to already have achieved the “American dream”, deceives others out of boredom and because he takes his wealthy lifestyle for granted. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the human flaw of dishonesty for personal gain and how lies have inevitably tragic consequences in his characterization of Gatsby, Myrtle and Tom.
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 becomes 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. As Nick, the narrator, spends time in New York, he realizes the corruption pursuing goals. Characters such as Gatsby and Myrtle constantly strive toward an the American dream, which Nick realizes to be fruitless in the end.
With new modernist American literature, Americans lose faith in their traditional beliefs and values, including the American dream. Many novels used the concept of the American dream to make people question whether the dream still existed in the mist of the First World War and the Great Depression. In describing the American dream, one is led to believe that the individual is led to self-triumph, and their life will progressively get better and better in America. In Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, the American dream is perceived originally by the thought of discovery and the pursuit of happiness. Money, parties, and relaxed social views came with ease to the American people in the 1920s. However, Fitzgerald demonstrates how the American soldiers re...
Myrtle was born in and lives in the lower, working class, which is why she is used a direct representation of the lower class by Fitzgerald. Myrtle is a woman who lives in the “valley of ashes” in the book, which is supposed to show her poverty. She always thinks that she is better than the lower class and dreams to escape it. There are two ways she plans on escaping it: through her relationship with Tom or through actual hard work. These both seem to the reader like ways that might possibly be successful for Myrtle to complete her dream. When the character is first introduced as Tom’s mistress, it appears as though this relationship might actually go somewhere serious and this might be her escape route when it says that they would “get a divorce” from their current spouses “and get married to each other right away” if it were not for Tom’s wife who “[doesn’t] believe in divorce” (33). This builds the expectation that Myrtle might actually have a way out of the lower class, which heightens the situational irony at the end of the novel. Another thing that builds hope for Myrtle is her hard work and “vitality that [is] so remarkable in the garage” (30). This makes the reader think that by pumping gas and working hard she might actually make it out of the lower class. Both of these possibilities are destroyed when “her life [was] violently extinguished” when she gets hit by a car, ironically driven by Daisey (137). This is such a tragic turnaround that no one expects it, which is how Fitzgerald uses situational irony to make his readers realize the falsehood of the American dream. Fitzgerald wants his readers to snap out of their own dreams in believing that they can do anything they dream of. Gatsby also comes out of poverty, he also is used to represent the lower
This essay discusses the role of social mobility in The Great Gatsby. It argues that not all people can reach the highest social class, this is a class you must belong to from the beginning of life or marry in to. However, the characters are living the American dream which makes social mobility to the other social classes available. The essay addresses the American Dream, the difference in social class between the main characters and how some social mobility is unreachable.
Gatsby believes in the aforementioned "American Dream." Thus, Gatsby believes that money alone will allow him to enter the upper class. However, the unspoken truth of the "American Dream" is that class mobility requires money and the culture typical of the upper class. Gatsby becomes wealthy, but his lack of this culture prevents him from fulfilling his goal of social mobility. Writer Andrew B. Trigg discusses Gatsby 's inability to climb the social ladder: "culture provides a barrier to entering the top echelons of the leisure class" (Trigg.) Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby 's lack of taste is evident, which leads to the upper class 's rejection of him. Gatsby repeatedly displays his wealth in excessive ways. Gatsby throws extravagant parties, buys flamboyant clothes, and purchases an opulent car and mansion. Throughout the novel, these displays of wealth are met by criticism from those that Gatsby is trying to impress. Tom Buchanan, Daisy 's husband, and a man of inherited wealth, detests Gatsby. In Chapter seven, Tom frequently criticizes Gatsby for his gaudy displays of wealth. First, Tom criticizes Gatsby 's car: " 'Come on, Daisy, ' said
Myrtle is, as Daisy, impressed with Tom's wealth and appearance, but, like Jay Gatsby, is stuck in a fantastic, idealized perception of her object of affection. Even when abused and trampled over by Tom, Myrtle continues to adore him, just as Gatsby continues to dote upon Daisy after being obviously rejected by her. As far as ethical considerations, Gatsby tends to prove himself a sincere and caring person, while Daisy and Tom just destroy the lives of two people and then leave town to escape the consequences of their actions.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream as well as the portrayal of social classes. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating two distinct social classes ‘old money’ and ‘new money’, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the underlying elitism and moral corruption of society. The idea of the American dream is the idea that opportunity is available to any American, allowing their highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In the case of The Great Gatsby it centres on the attainment of wealth and status to reach certain positions in life, which Fitzgerald’s protagonist sets out to achieve even if it means moral corruption.