Gatsby American Dream Failure

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Every American citizen has heard the term “American Dream.” We are taught from a young age that in America, we can make something of ourselves. Everyone has the dream of starting small and making it big. However this American Dream may not be as realistic as it is made out to be. The “American Dream” is defined as: “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” by the dictionary. The Great Gatsby is a perfect literary example of this American Dream. The story incorporates many different characters that represent different aspects of this American Dream. I think it is important to think more deeply into common sayings and ideas like this. …show more content…

One of the places that sticks out to me is the Valley of Ashes. This valley of ashes represents the failed American Dream. Workers tried making it big and they were unsuccessful so they have to make ends meet in a different way now. The city can represent the people in the process of achieving this American Dream. “Over the great bridge, with the sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.” Nick describes the city as this wondrous place where anything can happen. People move to the city to achieve greatness and make it big but realistically this doesn’t happen for everyone. East Egg and West Egg can also be representations of this American Dream. East Egg is the “old money,” the people born into their riches while West Egg is the new money, the people who found success. This is all an illusion as none of these people had actually worked and achieved their money in they way that the American Dream makes it out to be. The old money in East Egg was acquired from relatives and ancestors while the new money in West Egg was acquired in illegal ways. As described by a New York Times novel in the public imagination Great Neck has acquired a more sinister association: the crackup of the American dream.” Great Neck is the real life location that Fitzgerald based East and West Egg on. The story by Fitzgerald shines a light on what really goes on with these wealthy people. Before his story many people didn’t know the reality of the wealth. Fitzgerald opens readers eyes on the reality of this American

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