According to Pope Francis, ¨When one lives attached to money, pride or power, it is impossible to be truly happy¨. In the book ¨The Great Gatsby¨, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American dream is based on money, appearance, and relationships. Throughout the story, the characters in the story deal with issues of greed, popularity and dishonesty. In order to achieve the American dream they are willing to do anything. Gatsby, the main character of the book, is really dishonest because he lies to everyone, pretending to be rich and wealthy in order to impress a woman who he has loved for a long time. The idea of the American Dream is based on how people acquire wealth and people's views of money, appearances and relationships can lead to dangerous …show more content…
outcomes. Money is important in this story because it about different types of class and how they grew up.
Either you had to earn money by getting a job or it's inherited from pass family members hard work. First off, Nick never really had to worry about anything because his family grew up with money. Nickś father says ¨ Just remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”(1 Fitzgerald ) This is showing that Nick’s father thinks this way because Nick grew up with probably everything he wanted that nobody had the chance to have as much nice things they had. On the other hand Gatsby has nothing growing up. He has to “earn it”. Gatsby shows that he only cares about spending most of his money on parties to impress Daisy who grew up with money. Gatsby starts off by saying ¨ Her voice full of money… It was full of money that was inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals´ songs of it… high in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl¨(Chpt 7). This is saying that if you are born with money. Those born with money could tell that Gatsby was faking his wealth the whole time. Money, whether earned or given was an important aspect of the American
Dream. Appearance is also an important characteristic of the American Dream. The characters in the novel are worried about how other people think of them regarding their houses, clothes and cars. For example, Myrtle picked her husband off the way he looked thinking he had money. Myrtle states ¨ I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe¨(34). This is displaying that Myrtle based her husband off by they look instead of if they're a good person. Next, Gatsby appearance is based off shy and just quit. For an example Nick says ¨His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day¨(93). This is showing that when Nick first met Gatsby at the party it was a bit surprising. Appearance is not always what it seems. Relationships are important because Gatsby would do anything to have Daisy and friends. First, Gatsby is just talking to daisy just having a good time. For instance, Gatsby says to Daisy "If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock." This revealing that when Daisy and Gatsby get together the dream starts to disappear of them being together. Lastly, Gatsby will do anything to be with Daisy. starts by saying "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." That this is showing that he cares that much about Daisy and he would pay any amount of money for Daisy. Relationships are hard to keep up with when someone is worried about other things. The idea of the American Dream is based on how people acquire wealth and people's views of money, appearances and relationships can lead to dangerous outcomes. My view on the American Dream isn’t about money, relationships, and appearance. The American Dream is about how you make of it and how hard you try to achieve it.
“Greed is so destructive. It destroys everything” Eartha Kitt (BrainyQuote). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is about a man named Gatsby, who is trying to regain the love of a girl who he used to date to get back together with him. Gatsby’s only problem is that Daisy, the girl he is in love with is married to Tom. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Daisy’s second cousin, once removed, and Gatsby’s friend. This allows the reader to know about Tom’s secret relationship with Myrtle Wilson and also allows the readers insight into Gatsby. According to Dictionary.com greed is “excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions”(Dictionary.com). Gatsby tries to get Daisy to fall in love with him, even though she is married to Tom. Gatsby throws elaborate parties that last all weekend in the hopes that Daisy will attend one. Greed is a major villain in The Great Gatsby through Gatsby’s chasing of Daisy, Myrtle’s cheating, and people using Gatsby simply for his wealth.
In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters. Gatsby and Tom both have a lot of money yet Daisey picks one over the other, not because of the difference in the amount they have, but because of the manner in which it is attained.
During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result of the greediness and desires of the main characters to become rich and wealthy. These character placed throughout the novel emphasize the true value money has on a persons place in society making wealth a state of mind.
The Modernist movement took place in a time of happiness, a time of sadness, a time of objects, a time of saving, a time of prosperity, a time of poverty and in a time of greed. Two novels, written by Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, portray this underlying greed and envy better than most novels of that period. These novels, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, show that despite the difference between the 1920s and the 1930s, greed remained a part of human life, whether superficially or necessarily, and that many people used their greed to damage themselves and others.
Selfishness is a disease of the soul that every person experiences several times throughout their life. To say that it has never been experienced would be hypocrisy. To say that it is a “good thing”, would be erroneous. Although as humans we like to lie to ourselves, it is no question that selfishness can make any person act like a fool. It consumes us and makes us into someone we are not. Whether it leads to getting people killed, falling in love, or buying alcohol, selfishness always leads to destruction.
While everyone has a different interpretation of the "American Dream," some people use it as an excuse to justify their own greed and selfish desires. Two respected works of modern American literature, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, give us insight into how the individual interpretation and pursuit of the "American Dream" can produce tragic results. Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, built his "American Dream" upon the belief that wealth would win him acceptance. In pursuit of his dream, Gatsby spent his life trying to gain wealth and the refinement he assumes it entails. Jay Gatsby, lacking true refinement, reflects the adolescent image of the wealthy, and "[springs] from his Platonic conception of himself" (Fitzgerald 104).
The American Dream was the ideal goal for most common people across 1920’s America. These citizens, regardless of their social status and family history, strived to become accomplished first-class socialites. Even though they struggled to grasp this materialistic dream, high class citizens- specifically those born into wealth- already reached this heavenly goal. Truly, this makes the wealthy ultimately the American Dream themselves because of their granted status that the common people desired. This concept is incorporated in Fitzgerald’s American Classic The Great Gatsby : a fiction work that describes a poor young man named Gatsby and his relationship with the rich and beautiful Daisy Fay Buchanan. Although at first glance, the plot is mainly a love story, it describes what the American Dream is. The storyline frequently mentions Daisy’s status and how she was born into money as well as her carelessness-- similar traits that the American Dream has. Due to this, Daisy’s wealthy background, her mysterious demeanor, and her irresponsible actions ultimately make her the embodiment of what the American Dream is.
Individuals often tend to forget what reality truly is and chase a dream which is not real. In the process, they forget the difference between right and wrong and engage in immoral actions in order to acquire their goal. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, individuals have the desire to chase the American Dream. A dream which revolves around discovery, individualism, and happiness; that a person from any social class can potentially become a wealthy individual. However, the American Dream is not factual and causes individuals to become someone who they are not and it leads to corruption and decay. This is shown when Gatsby lies to others about how he made his fortune, Daisy marries for wealth and
The Great Gatsby: Unfaithfulness and Greed. The love described in the novel, The Great Gatsby, contains "violence and egoism not tenderness and affection." The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, writes on wealth, love, and corruption. Two coupes, Tom and Daisy Buchanan and George and Myrtle Wilson, match perfectly with these categories. Both couples are different in the way they choose to live together, but are similar in a few ways. Unfaithfulness and greed are the only similarities the couples shared.
In F.Scott Fitzgerald 's novel, 'The Great Gatsby ', virtually all of the characters are in pursuit of the American Dream. This is a dream of prosperity, opportunity and equality that every American member is guaranteed a chance of achieving seen as every man has “unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” (Archives.gov, 2015), according to the United States Declaration of Independence 1776. With his lavish, loaded lifestyle, Jay Gatsby appears to be the most precious example of the achievement of the American Dream. But this materialistic dream and Gatsby 's success in this area is highly scrutinised as the reader learns more about Gatsby 's real pursuit of happiness; his pursuit of love and a happy ending
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.
America has been labeled "The land of opportunity," a place where it is possible to accomplish anything and everything. This state of mind is known as "The American Dream." The American Dream provides a sense of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. This dream, however, originates from a desire for spiritual and material improvement. Unfortunately, the acquisition of material has been tied together with happiness in America. Although "The American Dream" can be thought of as a positive motivation, it often causes people to strive for material perfection, rather than a spiritual one. This has been a truth since the beginnings of America, such as the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, which is an example of this set in the 20’s. The characters in this novel are too fixed on material things, losing sight of what is really important.
The roaring Twenties. Full of new ideas, new fashion and dancing. Underneath the magic, political change and economic growth came into power. Changing the 30’s in a blink of an eye. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream is foolish, the people who pursue it are immoral and reckless, and this pursuit is ultimately futile.
The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920’s, a time of extravagant wealth for the few, generated at the expense of the many. At this time, working men and women toiled their lives away in factories and mines run by companies who gave no care to their health, safety or material conditions. These workers lost the protection and representation provided by unions which were systematically suppressed and often cracked down upon by the forces of the state and the goons of capitalist interests alike. Reckless investors and corporations gambled with the capital generated by their labor, and the fate of the American economy, in the irresponsible and unregulated casino of Wall Street. This racket of influence, power, and profit churned
As a young child, Nick’s father always told him, ‘“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all of the people in this world haven’t the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1). This quote shows that although Nick has had a privileged life, he was raised to not flaunt his advantages and what others did not have. Nick had always saw the good in people; however, that was before he began spending time with the Buchanans and Gatsby. Witnessing their greed, superiority, and ruthless actions, Nick discovered that those people of wealth were not as deserving as they appeared to be. Some might say that Nick had been too kind his entire life; Nick began to agree with them. Towards the end of the novel, after Gatsby dies and Nick discovers that Gatsby had no close friends other than himself, Nick formulates a conclusion about Tom and Daisy: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald 179). This quote exhibits Nick’s perspective of the wealthy and sophisticated social class. Nick believed people like Tom and Daisy did not care about what they did, how they acted, or what they said. They could act however they please, for their money would always be there to fix anything in the end. While Tom and Daisy were successful people, they did not deserve or earn one cent of what they had inherited. Yet, they were praised upon and glorified for their worldliness. On the other hand, Gatsby was assiduous and diligent, and earned his money. Nevertheless, he was seen as a gangster and a bootlegger by Tom and those of a high social class, for Gatsby earned his money from illegally selling alcohol. Ever since Gatsby