Who Is Jay Gatsby False Prophet Of The American Dream

The American Dream: Society’s False Hope The façade or belief of being able to achieve “The American Dream” has been repeatedly written about through centuries of American literature. Those words can describe a multitude of different feelings and meanings. In the article, “Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream”, Roger L. Pearson stated, “The American Dream, or myth, is an ever-recurring theme in American literature. … It is the belief that every man, whatever his origins, may pursue and attain his chosen goals, be they political, monetary, or social” (Pearson 1970). Pearson demands that the idea that every man is somehow able to achieve this so-called American dream no matter what social class they were born into or what obstacles

He tried to obtain wealth through hard work but when that failed, he pursued a life of underground crime. Jay only had one goal in life, and he was not going to let anything or anyone get in his way. He was born into a dirt-poor, farming family. As a young boy, Jay, also known as James Gatz, was well disciplined and worked hard to become a better person. As a young man, Jay signed up to fight in World War I. During training he met a rich girl named Daisy who was going to change his life forever. He quickly fell in love with her, but he knew that he was not wealthy enough to marry into such an upscale family. Instead of attempting to make a great and successful life for himself, he worked diligently trying to become a person he thought could be worthy enough to make Daisy happy. Daisy was a girl who was born into money and never worked for anything she had. Gatsby said, “Her voice is full of money.” She spoke as if she was royalty. For some reason, Gatsby thought if he worked hard enough and became rich, he could win her love. Jay Gatsby is the ultimate rags to riches story. He was not content with the person he was because who he really was could not get him the love he desired. He started talking and acting like an old rich friend he once worked for. Jay’s American dream was to

Each place takes on a different meaning of wealth and success. Fitzgerald also used the different locations to divide up the social classes. The community of the West Egg represents “new money”. It is a place where the newly rich inhabit. A society of rich entrepreneurs who have made their money from participating in illegal activity after World War I. The West Egg society is portrayed in the book as being gaudy and showoffs; a community with no class or dignity. Fitzgerald includes Gatsby’s pink suit, Rolls Royce, and white mansion to depict Gatsby as being flashy and trying to copy the people from the East Egg. The East Egg is right across the bay from the West Egg, where the people who were born rich reside. The West Egg represents “old money”. The West Egg social elites are thought to have style, dignity, and class. As for Tom and Daisy, who live in West Egg, have none of those traits. They are both having affairs, Daisy killed a woman, and Tom is a racist abuser. This is an example that having the American dream will not make life easy or make a person any happier. Fitzgerald includes a place where the poor and hard-working citizens of New York live. The place where working yourself to the bone will get you nowhere in life and anyone who is wealthy enough ends up moving far away. It is a community of dirt poor people whose labor in the factories