The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay

932 Words2 Pages

Individuals perceive life merely as a dream. They had a glamorous dream only to grasp it for a second and watch it fade away. The American dream was falsely portrayed through the eyes of Nick Carroway and through the glorious character of Gatsby. The dream was filled with lavish parties and desirable clothes, but if one did not have the family tree money was simply a piece of paper. “He had come a long to his blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it”(Fitzgerald, 2004, p. 180). Gatsby did everything to achieve the American dream, but could never fully grasp it since Gatsby did not have old money which he needed to earn the girl. Gatsby had the wealth, had the social backing, but did not have pedigree causing the American dream to stay a dream. The Great Gatsby perceives to be written about a marvelous man named Gatsby but as the story lingers he is just a coward and love-struck man searching for the missing piece to the puzzle. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year records before us”(p. 180). Gatsby is stuck in the past and trying to recreate the memory he shared with Daisy in Louisville, hoping she will fall in love with him again which renders that the American dream is fiction and can not be obtained. “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dream-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion”(p. 180). The great Gatsby was a love-struck man who was blinded in life by the idea of being together with Daisy. The “magnificent” Gatsby represented in the title was merely a miserable figure in the past never fully attaining the American dream. Through the eyes of Nick Carrow... ... middle of paper ... ...on who comes from modest a family could potential achieve the dream, if they work hard enough. The eyes glare down at the idea of the dream because it is virtually unattainable because for every rich family there is one hundred times poorer people. The dream may give one individual the money for the dream but for the most part they are like the ashes in the valley, hopeless and poverty stricken. The American dream is just a dream that people wish they could attain but life goes on and one can not dwell on the past. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”(p.180). People are stuck on the past and can not seem to let go but in order to make life enjoyable one must be willing to let go. Letting go of the past is the only way to turn the dream into reality. The metaphor portrays the character of Gatsby and the dream.

Essay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
729 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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514 Words | 2 Pages
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The American Dream in The Great Gatsby
811 Words | 2 Pages
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1167 Words | 3 Pages
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951 Words | 2 Pages
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The American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The American Dream'
1308 Words | 3 Pages
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Essay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
1872 Words | 4 Pages
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763 Words | 2 Pages
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1128 Words | 3 Pages
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760 Words | 2 Pages
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1163 Words | 3 Pages
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872 Words | 2 Pages
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839 Words | 2 Pages
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1207 Words | 3 Pages
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705 Words | 2 Pages
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The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay

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