Thesis: How does F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, compares the American Dream in today's generation and back in the 1920's-30's? What did the American Dream really mean and why? So why did this issue happen? Do you think America can change in the future? What is the american dream really about? When did the phrase: ‘american dream’ started? Have you ever wondered what the 20s and 30s were like back then? How can this so called dream ever bring hope to our country? These are all the questions I would like to know myself. I’ve found three online sources & one source from the novel that can help explain about the 20th century, the Gatsby novel, today's generation, and about Mr.Gatsby from the book. My 1st source is about the american dream from the 70’s to the early 2000s. There are three quotes I thought would help: “Set against this atmosphere of despair, the U. S. looked like a shining city on a hill.” ,”It’s as if the world has been turned upside down.” , and “You can divide the american workforce in many ways, but any way you slice it, you see the same trend.” It shows how the americans living through a tough time. A man from India saw how life was like in america …show more content…
by comparing the americans with the indians. Middle class people worked for a living, many men and women doubted about their current living, and a lot of americans looked grumpy and angry, while the indians cheered with high hopes to go to america. My 2nd source is from The Great Gatsby novel about the 20s. The three quotes are: “It takes a crook to catch a crook.” , “We cannot relinquish it, but its glory is so diminished that we are blinded to what the dream really was, but also of the greater dreams they once symbolized.” , and “Each generation would need to relearn the lessons of inequality and disappointment.” The novel showed about greed and betrayal. This proved that Gatsby was borrowing money to spend for his biggest parties in hope that Daisy will one day come to his party and rekindle with their romance. However, Gatsby was living in a rich lifestyle and remembered the green light by Daisy’s dock. Clearly, the green light was a symbol of money. The problem is that Daisy is married to Tom and had a daughter named Pammy. Too bad Gatsby and Tom didn’t realize that money doesn’t make you happy. There is a lesson for all of us to learn: girls will want to go out with men based on wealth or rich lifestyle, sometimes old relationships will/won’t work out, and never cheat on your spouse. The 3rd source is from today’s generation of our american dream.
I only had 2 quotes instead of 3 because this online source was a lot more harder than I thought it would. Here’s my two quotes: “American Revolution’s origin as a rebellion against taxation and distant authority, such skepticism is understandable, even if it’s not well founded.” and “ Our dreams are more powerful when they are shared by others in our time.” Well that would explain why our 21st century hasn’t really improved much since the 20th century. Again, the american dream is the same as before with the social classes (rich, middle, or poor class), the concept of the american dream to the eyes of our U. S. citizens, and bringing back history to remind us all of the events that happened many years
ago. My 4th source is about Gatsby. Here's the three quotes I found: "His voice was solemn, as if the memory of that sudden extinction of a clan still haunted him." (Chapter 4, pg.51) , "It had seemed as close as a star to the moon.” (Chapter 5, pg.72) , and “Only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away.” , (Chapter 7, pg.103). The novel explains about Jay Gatsby’s past. Friends with Nick Carraway, soldier who fought against the germans, real name was James Gatz, knew Daisy since he was in the army and was poor, grew up with unsuccessful parents in North Dakota, met Dan Cody when he was 17, worked for Mr.Cody as a yacht driver, was given the name Jay Gatsby, and inherited $25 grand when his boss died. Daisy thought he died in the war and didn’t know Gatsby survived the battle after 5 years later they meet again. There were other issues going on in the novel besides Gatsby trying to get his relationship to work again with Daisy. Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, George knows Myrtle is hiding something from him, Gatsby’s past before he moved to West Egg, Myrtle was run over from Daisy’s driving, George killed the wrong man, Nick and five of Gatsby’s servants attended to the funeral and not much people came. “In conclusion, the story ended up into a sad ending. Because it showed scandal, a love triangle gone wrong, selfishness, complete arrogance, some who are ignorant, mean, no kindness, powerful, rude, and especially irresponsible. There are many kinds of people out there, good or bad. The biggest lesson of all… is to get a job to make a better living. Don’t waste your life partying or drinking all the time affect you. If you can’t be able to get previous relationship(s) to work out, then… move on! Hopefully, the world can change in a positive way. No more of this american dream catching on.”
The philosophy of the American Dream has been with Americans for centurie; James Truslow Adams says that, regardless of social class, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams). Although this vision has never fully encompassed the entirety of America, it has been generally a positive ambition that all Americans should look past their circumstances and rely on only themselves to succeed at life. However, American capitalism and Marxist ideas have contradicted the traditional dream. Materialism is a simple concept, but its definition has been skewed over time. At ...
As depicted by Scott F. Fitzgerald, the 1920s is an era of a great downfall both socially and morally. As the rich get richer, the poor remain to fend for themselves, with no help of any kind coming their way. Throughout Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the two “breeds” of wealthier folk consistently butt heads in an ongoing battle of varying lifestyles. The West Eggers, best represented by Jay Gatsby, are the newly rich, with little to no sense of class or taste. Their polar opposites, the East Eggers, are signified by Tom and Daisy Buchanan; these people have inherited their riches from the country’s wealthiest old families and treat their money with dignity and social grace. Money, a mere object in the hands of the newly wealthy, is unconscientiously squandered by Gatsby in an effort to bring his only source of happiness, Daisy, into his life once again. Over the course of his countless wild parties, he dissipates thousands upon thousands of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to attract Daisy’s attention. For Gatsby, the only way he could capture this happiness is to achieve his personal “American Dream” and end up with Daisy in his arms. Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy is somewhat detrimental to himself and the ones around him; his actions destroy relationships and ultimately get two people killed.
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
In the United States' Declaration of Independence the founding fathers stated: ".held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus on the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspiration of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and others; instead, a pursuit of those materialistic aspects of life. American Literae Thomas Wolfe said, ". to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity.the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him."
The American Dream provides Americans hope that if they work hard, they will eventually be successful, no matter how penniless the person. To understand the construction of this topic, there is a need to understand the circumstances involved. The Epic of America, The narrative in which the American Dream was constructed, was produced in the nineteen thirties. During this time, the Great Depression was at the height of destruction, and the new president Franklin D. Roosevelt created the “New Deal,” which inspired newly-found hope. In his Second Inaugural Address, he voiced his vision for the expanded role that the government would take in American's lives by stating, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). This began the facade of hope towards the impoverished folks attempting to achieve success. In reality the optimism and dedication given towards this dream is disproportional...
Firstly, the American Dream was a vision that varied for everyone, for some it might been having a house in the country, enjoying the fresh air and organic products. On the other hand there was always someone who wanted to live in the middle of the city, and enjoyed it's liveliness. Yet, even though they had different points of view both type of people knew the hardships that they had to face. They knew all too well that they had to be dedicated and they had to put in all of their time. They had nothing to
Years ago, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. In recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment and interest rates have skyrocketed. The “American Dream” is an idea that was once a commonly accepted ideology in this country. It has since become only a fallacy. The “American Dream” is no longer an attainable idea, only a fantasy. The “American Dream” is not a true dream that will ever be equally attainable by everyone.
Choose one of the following topics and write a well-organized essay with evidence supporting the statements you set forth. Your response should be two pages, double spaced with a 12 font in Times New Roman:
The Roaring Twenties is considered to be a time of excessive celebration and immense corruption. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a criticism of American society and its values during this era of history. This criticism is first apparent in the people who go to Gatsby's parties. They get absurdly drunk, do not know who their host is and are rude by excessively gossiping about him. This commentary is also shown in the corruption of the police. Gatsby is able to pay off the police so that the activities going on at his home will go unnoticed and so that he may behave as he wishes. This criticism is finally shown in the corruption of friendship and love, the simple fact being that there is none. People use Gatsby and then throw him away. Fitzgerald's criticism of American society and its values during this time period is first shown in the behaviour of people at Gatsby's parties.
Comparing the perspective of the American dream in the 1920’s to the American Dream in the 1940’s and present day seems to be a repeating cycle. The American dream is always evolving and changing. The American dream for present day is similar to the dream of the 1920’s. An Ideal of the American life is to conform to what our society has determined is success. Money, materialism and status had replaced the teachings of our founding fathers in the 1920’s. A return to family values and hard work found its way back into American’s lives in the 1940’s. The same pursuit of that indulgent lifestyle that was popular in the roaring twenty’s has returned today for most Americans, many Americans are living on credit and thinking that money and the accumulation of material items can solve all problems. Through film, literature, art and music, an idealized version of what it means to be an American has changed from money, materialism, and status of the 1920s to hard work and family values of the forties.
Throughout “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald an image of greatness is portrayed. In my opinion, Gatsby is not great. Although he is a caring person and his intentions are good with what he does, he is not great. Social class, insecurities, and love sway Gatsby’s decision to be the way he is. Bootlegging and lying are the qualities that do not make him great. His greatness diminishes throughout this novel. Throughout this novel there is a difference between perceived greatness and actual greatness. Overall, Gatsby was not great.
In the 1920s the change of the American Dream began to change for the worse. The Dream changed from “life, liberty, pursuit of happiness” to “anyone can get rich” because America grew as a nation. After World War 1 the creation of cars, telephones, movies, and
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.
Summary of 'The Great Gatsby'. The Great Gatsby is a book about rich people that are fighting for women, money etc. After I read this book, I realized that even if you are rich, you don't have to be happy. There are two main characters: Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, both rich men.
How do the themes in The Great Gatsby reflect on issues people face today regarding money and success in America? Why is this story, and its observations about money and success, relevant today? You may create your thesis argument and focus on one or more of the questions below.