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The American dream is the belief that people in the United States can reach a success life through hard work, perseverance, and determination. Jay Gatsby’s quest for the American dream reflects the experience of real Americans today because he is the perfect example of the term “rags to riches”. However, Jay Gatsby’s American dream is different from real Americans today because he did not care about his mansion, his cars, or the money. Jay Gatsby only cared about Daisy and wanted to be with her but he knew that she would never marry anyone who was poor.
Jay Gatsby had one goal in life and that was to be with Daisy. When Daisy and Gatsby met, they fell in love with one another even when they both knew that Daisy came from a wealthy family while Gatsby, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. When it would come down to marriage, Gatsby knew that he would never have the opportunity to marry Daisy unless he was well provided for. After Daisy chose money over love and after Daisy and Gatsby split and went off with their own lives, Gatsby came upon a stupendous amount of money. In chapter four Jordan claims “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay (pg. 78).”, meaning he wanted to be close to Daisy and possibly have the chance to impress her
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with all the money he has. Jay Gatsby does not reflect the American dream of Americans today because he reached luxury by participating in illegal activities.
The American dream is when someone from the lower class rises to the top by working hard, not by committing crimes. Jay Gatsby was a bootlegger, which is someone who smuggled alcohol which was not allowed because making, selling, and buying alcohol was illegal during the 1920’s. In Chapter seven Tom says, “He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter…(pg 133).”, this is when we find out Gatsby became wealthy by selling alcohol illegally. He did this to become rich and to win Daisy with his
money. For Gatsby, being with Daisy symbolized fortune. In chapter seven Gatsby says “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me (pg. 130).”, this tells us that Gatsby was unable to be with the women he loves due to the fact that he was unfortunate. Now that Gatsby is affluent and independent, he believes he can win Daisy back and they can both be happy together. Gatsby never cared about his mansion, his vehicles, or even the money, he only wanted all of that to prove to Daisy that he is well provided for. He also hosts the biggest parties, not because he enjoys them, but because he believes that Daisy might make an appearance at one of his famous parties. Jay Gatsby’s quest for the American dream does not necessarily reflect the experience of real Americans today because he reached luxury through illegal activities. However, he did rise up and became successful but he did not achieve his success through hard work and initiative. Gatsby was truly in love with Daisy and tried to win her back no matter what, which might have been the cause for his tragic death.
The American dream is an idea that every American has an equal chance of success. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us this is not the case. Fitzgerald wrote the character Jay Gatsby as a tragic American hero. Jay Gatsby went from a nobody to a millionaire and most people believe that he had achieved the American dream. However, he did not achieve the American dream because he lost a piece of himself in his pursuit of his supposedly incorruptible dream.
American clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger once said “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve the American dream.” This idea of the “American dream” has been around since the founding and has become a prominent part of American culture and identity. This same idea is what the raved about novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is based around. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, pursues this American dream through his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan and his need to be insanely rich.
The American Dream states that with hard work people come rich. Fitzgerald questions this value. Gatsby’s story presents the unrealisticness/falsehood of the tradition/original American dream.
Jay Gatsby believes he can buy happiness. For example, Gatsby's house is “ A factual imitation of some Hotel De Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (The Great Gatsby 9). His house is nothing more than an perfect symbol of his vast income. Gatsby uses the house in an attempt to win happiness and respect from his peers. Furthermore, Gatsby also tries to impress others with such unimportant possessions as his clothing, as when Daisy emotionally comments, ”beautiful shirts… It makes me sad because I have never seen such beautiful shirts before”(98). Crying over articles of clothing is outrageous, yet it is not the shirts that overwhelm Daisy. Their symbolism of Gatsby’s unlimited wealth and faith in money is truly saddening. Also, Gatsby realizes that Daisy’s main and only concern in life is money. Gatsby pursues immoral and often illegal actions in pursuit of wealth, subconsciou...
Gatsby's belief of achieving his American Dream through Daisy lead to his failure. While the American Dream suggests that everyone can achieve the status and wealth they desire through hard work, Gatsby's newly earned wealth and lifestyle are looked down upon, due to which he desires to be married with Daisy, which can lead to him attaining his dream. The American Dream during the nineteen twenties is portrayed by the author as a dream merely restricted to the attainment of wealth and social class which had consumed many people including Jay Gatsby.
The American Dream is nothing new to world. In 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby” which was about a man truly living the “American Dream”. Everything he did though was to achieve wealth. He had elaborate parties in his fabulous house, bought the best of everything, and did whatever he had to do become the best. He started out with nothing and worked his way up by creating a fake life, even the woman he loved most did not know of his past. The woman, Daisy, he loved most was not even in Gatsby’s life, but in the life of another man. Gatsby worked and strived to get everything he had for a married woman who did not even love him. Though Gatsby thought he loved Daisy he only loved the idea of her. Someone who he had a few wonderful moments with, someone who he could see his life spent with. What did he really get out of life though? Wasted years to impress someone who never really mattered when he could have been spending it with someone who could of loved him for who he really was. Who was Gatsby though, no one can e...
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).
What is later revealed is that Gatsby’s wealth and luxurious lifestyle is all in the name of getting Daisy, Tom Buchanan’s wife, to fall in love with him. But in the end, even with all his money and power, Gatsby is not able to get the girl. What this brings to light is, was Gatsby’s money truly worth anything? “I love her and that 's the beginning and end of everything” (The Great Gatsby, Chapter ) This quote from Jay Gatsby shows that his entire life is centered around Daisy. That his only motive for the things that he does, for the massive parties that he throughs, for working to become incredibly wealthy, is to have Daisy fall in love with him. Gatsby’s life is one that is incredibly lavish. It is full of expensive amenities many would only dream of having. But Jay Gatsby is not living this fabulous lifestyle for himself. He is living it for Daisy, and only for Daisy. Gatsby’s only desire in life is to have Daisy be in love with him, and he chooses to live the way he does because he believes that is what she wants. Gatsby spends money at wild abandon simply to make an effort to impress Daisy. He throughs incredibly immense parties, with hopes that Daisy and Daisy alone will be impressed. But what is troubling about Gatsby is that, unlike most books, he doesn’t get the girl. Gatsby is, despite his entire life being dedicated to getting the one thing
"The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity." Wikipedia: So basically the American Dream is to have money, and a family. Gatsby got his money, but what he really wanted was Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby spent his whole life striving for one thing.
Since the 1920’s,The American Dream has been an ideal that everyone struggled to have. The Great Gatsby is based on the idea of The American Dream, and the demise of those who attempt to capture its false goals. For Jay Gatz, the dream is that, through wealth and power, one can obtain happiness. Jay devotes most of his adult life to achieving this unattainable dream by ending and creating relationships and conjuring up a web of lies in order for him to appear wealthy and well rounded.
Gatsby decides to devote his whole life to achieving the material goods with which to satisfy Daisy. The Quote, "Her voice is full of money," is said about Daisy by Gatsby.(76) To me this means that she has been raised rich and will always remain rich, which is the American dream. He lives in the past on a moment of absolute happiness hoping he can relive that state of emotion sometime in the future. Jay Gatsby, like any normal person, wants to fit into society. His feelings for Daisy make him strive to achieve that goal. In the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby attempts to fit into Daisy's society by any means available.
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy. The world in the Roaring Twenties, shown in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the world today all hinge on the same ideas and issues, the most basic of which is the difference between the poor and the rich.
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 became 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.
The American dream is defined as endless possibility- the ability to be able to be whomever or whatever you dream of, the only limit being you. Jay Gatsby epitomizes this definition with his rags-to-riches tale. He began his life as James Gatz, unsatisfied, but refusing to be complacent and accepting of his predetermined plan. Therefore he took his fate into his own hands and re-invented himself as a fairy tale hero, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby understood through hard work and determination and a little luck he could be Somebody and “to this conception he was faithful to the end.” Gatsby had the perspicacity to recognize the fortuitous opportunity he was presented with when he met Dan Cody, and he took the initiative to better himself. As a result of
Surprisingly, the American Dream has more to do with morality and virtue than material success. This can be misleading because of the common misconception, money can buy happiness. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby expected just that, he thought all his success would bring him happiness. He wanted to become successful to get the attention of Daisy, as his true happiness would only come from his dream of mutual love with her. Gatsby would