Name: Pranay Monga Teacher’s Name: Mrs Carolan Class: English II* Day Month Year: 3/26/24 Title: The American Dream: A Dream for some and a nightmare for others Hook: Most people’s dreams would be winning the lottery or being on the moon, but for Jay Gatsby, his was to pursue the American dream. Linking/background information (2-3 sentences):Back in the day, the possibility of becoming rich or wealthy was next to impossible. The only thing people could do to become rich was to achieve the American dream, just like Gatsby. But, Gatsby had to endure a lot of ups and downs along the way. Thesis Statement: In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of wealth and social status, exemplifying the American Dream in the …show more content…
Connection back to thesis statement (1-2 sentences): This novel underscores how the American Dream is doomed to fail in a society that prioritizes materialism and social status at the expense of the decay of societal values. Required topic sentence (One way that the author shows the main purpose or theme). What does it show or prove? Why does it matter? - Why? Even though Gatsby becomes wealthy and successful, his hollow core of ambitions leave him unfulfilled and yearning for the past. Required example from story to show this purpose or theme (Explain how the quote you’re about to use connects to the purpose or theme 1-2 sentences): His obsession and desire to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, his lost love from years ago, shows his inability to let go of the past. His throwing lavish parties in the hope that she will attend shows his obsession and the emptiness he felt in his life. Primary quote (quote from novel): “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: “I never loved you.” After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
The American Dream has long been thought of as the pinnacle idea of American society. The idea that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or financial status, could rise from the depths and become anything they wanted to be with no more than hard work and determination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream itself through the use of many literary devices.
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 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
Similarly, the theme of faulty vision is prevalent in the book. Wealth, material possessions, and power are the core values of the American dream. Gatsby did achieve the American dream but his idealistic faiths in money and life’s possibilities twisted his dreams and life into worthless existence based on falsehoods.
Purpose: is to show the unattainability/deterioration of the American dream. The American Dream is originally about the discovery of happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has become corrupted by the desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald does not us the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is evident that he shows the impossibility of achieving happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates this through the green light that Gatsby strives but fails to obtain. Gatsby is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, just as the American dream is, by society becoming corrupted by greed and materialism.
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.
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
In this story by F. Scott Fitzgerland the characters are Jay, Nick, Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, Catherine, Henry C. Gatz, Dan Cody, Ewing Kilpspringer,
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby," the character of Jay Gatsby undergoes a profound transformation throughout the course of the story. Gatsby's journey is marked by various experiences, lessons learned, and conflicts faced, all of which contribute to his evolution as a character. Through his interactions with others, his choices, and the outcomes he experiences, Gatsby ultimately learns valuable lessons about love, wealth, and the pursuit of the American Dream. One of the key factors that shaped Gatsby's transformation is his relentless pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby's infatuation with Daisy drives him to accumulate immense wealth and throw extravagant parties in the hope of impressing her.
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.
The novel itself ultimately questions whether the American Dream is achievable or just an illusion created by a deeply flawed society. Through the characters and their interactions, Fitzgerald illustrates how the rigid class distinctions and the pursuit of status perpetuate a cycle of moral decay and societal
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most compelling twentieth century writers, (Curnutt, 2004). The year 1925 marks the year of the publication of Fitzgerald’s most credited novel, The Great Gatsby (Bruccoli, 1985). With its critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream (Berman, 1996), this dramatic idyllic novel, (Harvey, 1957), although poorly received at first, is now highly regarded as Fitzgerald’s finest work (Rohrkemper, 1985) and is his publisher, Scribner 's most popular title, (Donahue, 2013). The novel achieved it’s status as one of the most influential novels in American history around the nineteen fifties and sixties, over ten years after Fitzgerald 's passing, (Ibid, 1985)
Since the early colonization of America, the American dream has been the ultimate symbol for success. In retrospect, the dreamer desires to become wealthy, while also attaining love and high class. Though the dream has had different meanings in time, it is still based on individual freedom, and a desire for greatness. During the 19th century, the typical goal was to settle in the West and raise a family. However, the dream progressively transformed into greediness and materialism during the early 20th century. The indication of success soon became focused on wealth and luxury. The Great Gatsby is a story focused on the deterioration of the American dream. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby is shown with a desire to achieve his dream by all means. Utilizing the Roaring Twenties as part of his satire, Fitzgerald criticizes the values of the American dream, and the effects of materialism on one’s dream.
The author Nicholson Baker wrote a passage about how wikipedia has come to what it is today. He starts out, in a very comical manner, about the main thing of wikipedia is to search and find definitions for any word, term, meaning, and so fourth of things that had been defined thus far on the newly developed website. Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia where any and everybody is the author. That was the main attraction at first for the website. If one has a very profound love for, as Baker mentions in his writing, “Diogenes of Sinope, Crazy Eddie, Bagoas, or the quadratic formula” (Baker 915) the joy of sharing your extended knowledge of what you now and love was more than just satisfying.