The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?

1747 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: discuss the novel the great gatsby as an 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. In the novel, Gatsby, a wealthy socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In the process of pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, destroys one’s own character and morals. Through Fitzgerald use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives. Through Fitzgerald’s symbolic description of Gatsby, he explores the extent of the American Dream’s deceptive nature that slowly destroys a person and his/her morals. During the Roaring 20s it was very common for people to project illusions to mask who they truly were; to fit in, it was almost essential to have one to survive in the highly materialistic and deceitful society. Nick is introduced as the objective narrator... ... middle of paper ... ...an Dream that becomes corrupted and leads to the ultimate failure and destruction of himself. Some say that Americans strive for the impossible goal of perfection; they live, die and do unimaginable deeds to achieve it, and when they do, they may call the product their own American Dream. The American Dream is substantial perfection. In reality, perfection does not exist, but illusions do. Those who live in a world of lies cause their own demise. Life is a series of unending imperfections. Living a dream of perfection is not possible, thus reducing our cherished American Dream to a simple fantasy. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. “The Great Gatsby in the 21st Century.” CBC Books. CBC/ Radio-Canada. 22 August 2012. Web. 5 May 2015. http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/08/the-great-gatsby-in-the-21st-century.html

Show More
Related

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    377 Words  | 1 Pages

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.

    Read More

  • Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power through imagery, symbolism, and characterization.

    Read More

  • Flaws In The Great Gatsby

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby: An Archetypal Analysis Of The Contemporary Tragic Hero

    1744 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fitzgerald makes a bold statement to a dreaming crowd. He argues through Gatsby’s example that as dreams become as “colossal” as imaginably possible, they will become increasingly more disconnected from their realities. Gatsby lives a life “lost to the old warm world, pa[ying] a high price for living too long with a single dream” (Fitzgerald 169). Fitzgerald argues that while dreams can serve as guidance towards an ultimate goal, they can also lead to a pitiful downfall. Gatsby lives with a dream that guides him towards recapturing his love for Daisy. However, the money that Gatsby needs to recapture Daisy blinds his love for her. He loses sight of the ultimate goal of his dreams, just as Fitzgerald must have seen in the hopeful eyes of ambitious young Americans. Poor, underprivileged people were developing dreams for better lives for themselves. But, in order to have better lives, they became too fixated on the means of getting there. Their dreams became blinded by money and became misguided from the ultimate goal of bettering oneself. Thus, through Gatsby’s tragic nature, Fitzgerald argues that the American Dream becomes ultimately unobtainable by the material means required in pursuit of the ultimate goal of a successful and prosperous

    Read More

  • The Theme Of The American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Final Essay

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Unhealthy Pursuits in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s the Great Gatsby

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    Literature has been portraying the idea of the American dream in many different stories throughout all of history. This dream can be defined as someone rising from the bottom and finding wealth and love in their everyday life. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the storyline illustrates the life of several characters pursuing the American dream in New York City. The characters are all by intrigued Jay Gatsby, the man who lives across the bay with the biggest house in the city. Every person wants to gain the wealth that Gatsby has. The corruption of this desired American dream develops throughout the novel as the characters pursue love and money yet ultimately end up broken-hearted, empty-handed, or dead. During the time period of The Great Gatsby, the empty and superficial way of life was masked by the glamour and wealth that the people were absorbed in.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby American Dream Failure

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    People aspire to achieve greatness, sometimes causing them to be or become someone they are not. The American dream is defined as someone who starts out low on either the economic or social level and by working hard earns his or her way to fame, wealth, or prosperity. Many characters such as Myrtle and Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby, all wanted power, money, and happiness and would do anything in their power to obtain them. Recent events support the claim that the American dream can be achieved with costly repercussions. People are willing to corrupt themselves in order to achieve their goal.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early 1920’s were a time when the economy began to soar, and the notion of the American dream began to take effect. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can come from any background and no matter who they are, if they work hard and stay true to themselves, they can achieve their dreams. The Great Gatsby, set in the early twenties, displays that socio-economic power is obtained through inheritance, forming an aristocracy of power and wealth. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates how geography and location dictate where the social-class level of an individual exists permanently in society. Furthermore, illusion and affectation portrayed in the novel to conceive the image of power and wealth in a way for someone to attempt to become something they are not, this goes against the idea of the American Dream. Even when the American Dream seems obtainable it is restricted by unruling variables. Therefore, the American Dream is simply, just a dream.

    Read More

  • Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. When Gatsby’s father showed Nick the journal where Gatsby wrote his resolution, he 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?” (182). The written resolution demonstrates how ambitious and innocent Gatsby was in pursuing his dreams and how much he wanted to improve himself that his father applauded him, which once characterized the process of pursuing the American Dream. While pursuing Daisy (Gatsby’s American Dream), Gatsby becomes corrupt and destroys himself. He did not achieve his fortune through honest hard work, but through dishonesty and illegal activities. Furthermore, Gatsby has a large, extravagant mansion, drives flashy cars, throws lavish parties filled with music and

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Good Writing

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Dream is something that so many people will strive to have one day. Doing so, a person may want the perfect house, family, and job. For Gatsby, that American Dream is fading away faster than ever. He had the house and the job, but one thing was missing, Daisy. Gatsby’s fighting for Daisy made him lose everything that he had gained for himself. In the end, Gatsby’s optimism and hope for a life with Daisy ends up killing him. F. Scott Fitzgerald delivers in his book, The Great Gatsby, a great description of the setting and his thoughts and emotions to readers in using ideas that people can relate to in this day and age. The development of the characters helps establish why The Great Gatsby is considered “good

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of one’s journey to reach the so called "American Dream" has served as the central theme for many novels. However, in the novel The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the American Dream as so opulent it is unrealistic and unreachable. The American Dream is originally about obtaining happiness, but by the 1920's, this dream has become twisted into a desire for fame and fortune by whatever means; mistaken that wealth will bring happiness. Fitzgerald illustrates that the more people reach toward the idealistic American dream, the more they lose sight of what makes them happy, which sends the message that the American dream is unattainable. The continuos yearning for extravagance and wealthy lifestyles has become detrimental to Gatsby and many other characters in the novel as they continue to remain incorrigible in an era of decayed social and moral values, pursuing an empty life of pleasure instead of seeking happiness.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    The roaring twenties was a time for happiness and celebration, but the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows a different side of this dynamic decade. Fitzgerald uses a poignant, yet hopeful tone to show the shadier side of the nineteen twenties most refuse to look at, while tying in the brighter side. In The Great Gatsby, the reader is sucked into a story of corruption, and empowerment by the rich hidden by extravagant parties and bright colors. Jay Gatsby, who only dreamt of wealth and love had an ideal dream life, that ideal life could be defined as his “American Dream”. His dreams were later crushed by very powerful people, careless people, people who used and abused others to get their way, no matter the consequences. Those people were Tom and Daisy Buchanan, they were the empowered rich. They crushed Gatsby’s American Dream, by being careless. Gatsby created this extravagant life for one reason, and one reason only; to impress the girl he fell in love with, years ago. The girl he gave his heart to hold forever, but after Gatsby left for war, she married someone else, someone who was from old money, like her. She married Tom Buchanan. Although Daisy was married, Gatsby held onto the hope that they would find a way to be together again, and forever. Close to the end, the reader wonders if matters will work out in Gatsby’s favor or not, but after the tragic accident that bring three dreams to an end, the reader ignores Gatsby’s hopefulness and just hopes for a happier ending, when in reality, nothing ends the way anyone wishes it to.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby and the American Dream

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print

    Read More

  • Corruption of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.

    Read More

More about The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?

Open Document