The American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1085 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The evolution of the American dream in time

The 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In addition, this revolution transformed many of the great writers and authors of the time as well as their various works. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emergent trends of the 1920’s. More importantly the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dream and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive for acquiring the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the authors view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby. The image of parties throughout The Great Gastby represents Fitzgerald’s belief that the American dream is only attainable in parts. These parties represent Gatsby’s grasp of superior status, which was part of his original goal to get Daisy back. To do this, however, he could not just hold a simple get-together. Gatsby had to throw the most outlandish and lavish party in town in hopes that Dai... ... middle of paper ... .... (Parkinson 96) This kind of so-called rebellious lifestyle encompasses a part of Gatsby; the part that put ultimate wealth as a life goal and as a way to Daisy. This depiction of Gatsby’s battle for the girl proves that Fitzgerald’s view towards wealth had to have been influenced by the time period he lived in. It also demonstrates the emptiness of values and morals that were so common amongst the majority of the population at that time. This lifestyle spread like a virus to most people because it promised a happy life while being the social norm at the time. It not only included wealth as a goal but sex and women played a crucial role in the average American dream during the 1920’s. For, “wealth and sex are closely related in this vicious and greedy world of plunder, which renders life meaningless by denying any altruism in human endeavor” (Parkinson 110).

Show More
Related

  • The American Dream In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Chasing the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book starts off with the narrator Nick Carraway. He is from Minnesota and in 1992 he moves to NYC in the summer. He starts by giving us advices that his father told him about not to make fun of people what so ever. Daisy Buchanan is Nick’s cousin; she is married to Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker is Daisy’s close friend. Daisy Baker falls in love with Nick, and he loves her back. He goes to NYC to study about the bond business.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    When reading The Great Gatsby, the audience must wonder at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s purpose for writing one of America’s most influential novels. Fitzgerald’s life drew remarkable similarities to that of Jay Gatsby. They both sacrificed and succeeded in the name of love, but were ultimately disappointed.

    Read More

  • American Dream in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    America is the land with the most dreamers. America is the land of opportunity and equality. In America your dreams can be fulfilled if you work hard to achieve your goals. The American dream to most is, to be wealthy and to be able to afford anything. Wealth is a plus in life because you can afford expensive items that do not necessarily have a use, but it does not necessarily matter how hard you try or how much you spend you can not buy happiness. Although being wealthy can make you seem happy on the outside, on the inside you would not be as happy as you seem. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author shows how being wealthy will not make you happy. Many people have voiced their opinions of the America dream.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s been ingrained into the fabric of society that to be truly happy in life, one needs to be wealthy. The characters in The Great Gatsby show this is not always the case, and that wealth is not always as important as one would believe. Society has always placed a significant importance on being rich, being wealthy. It makes one believe that being wealthy is the only true way to live a happy and fulfilling life. With this in mind, many readers are going to look at the characters in The Great Gatsby, such as Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, and fantasize about one day living the lifestyle that they live. While many characters in The Great Gatsby would appear from the outside to be living the American Dream, it what lies underneath this image of

    Read More

  • The Theme Of American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very good host.” says a gentleman, a host of legendary parties, a typical example of fulfilled American dream (48). In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the author well shows man’s desire for power. It is a common thing for mankind to dream of gaining more wealth, power, and control. But what if chasing that dream ends up destroying your life? Jay Gatsby, one of the main character of the story, has ambitious ideals and illusions created by his past. He seeks for power and wealth—to reach his old dream and to be worthy of Daisy’s love—not knowing that it blinds him and eventually leads to the path of his destruction.

    Read More

  • The American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    The founding fathers of the United States declared that “all men are created equal”. Based on these beliefs The United States prides itself on lack of aristocracy and equal opportunity, which is basically all what the American dream represents. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald creates an American society that contradicts this pride, which displays debauchery, inequality, and the hypocrisy of the American society. When Nick Carraway came back from the east after the summer of 1922, he was disgusted with what he’d seen. Only one man was exempt from his disgust, that man being Gatsby. Fitzgerald utilizes deep characterization and symbolism to elaborate themes of the American dream to illustrate what the American dream stood for and what it truly

    Read More

  • The American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (Truslow, James 1931)

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s dream as a perfect example of the new mislead dream of many Americans in the 1920’s. Gatsby’s dream is centered on materials and their correlation with his happiness. Daisy, Gatsby’s old love becomes his obsession as she becomes and remains the center of Gatsby’s life even after she gets married. Gatsby’s dream was to acquire enough money and possessions so that he can woo Daisy into loving him and leaving Tom Buchanan. In hope of accomplishing his goal of being truly satisfied with his life, Gatsby purchases many expensive things that he doesn’t care for, or use. He also throws many enormous parties for many people although he rarely attends them and has very few actual friends, but as Fitzgerald portrays as the book progresses “morality and ethics have nothing to do with the qualities of ones parties” (Mellard857). Gatsby became infatuated with Daisy’s voice and described it as “full of money”; this revea...

    Read More

  • The Theme Of The American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Fitzgerald opens our eyes to the 1920s, an era of decayed social and moral values, illustrated in its distrust, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. In The Great Gatsby, the extravagant parties that Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, throws every Saturday night are petty attempts to

    Read More

  • Facing the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    America is based on dreams, from those of its creation to those of today. Yet one Anonymous dared to say, “The American Dream is dead.” That no longer is it possible for one person in America to acquire their dream, whether it be wealth, prosperity, happiness or any goal that with enough determination and ability can be achieved. It is erroneous to believe as such when there is so much left to uncover, build, develop, expand and acquire as shown in books and in life when we see that the future is a blank slate. The limit to what can be done has not been reached yet. In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a fiction drama, we see it when we observe New York City in the 1920s. There, in its boisterous environment, the setting, attracting everyone like moths to its flame to culminate dreams, hopes, and the future which goes against the quote. Not only that but we also see it in the plot of the story, though the theme of the story seems to be that the American dream is impossible to achieve, that there is a dream at all being chased refutes the saying. The Great Gatsby’s plot and setting allows us to observe that dreams are always a constant of life as long as there are humans, desire and the capabilities to achieve.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although it can be considered as “the great American novel,” the main theme of the novel covers a much darker and less romantic area. The Great Gatsby is a novel full of symbolism about the United States’ cultural expression in the 1920s, and in particular, on the decay of the American Dream in a time of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the “roaring twenties” as a time of devalued social and moral values, as evidenced by the cynicism, greed and the pursuit of pleasure from the member of the “Lost Generation.” The irresponsible desire that led to those decadent parties and the frenetic jazz music, which are represented by those opulent receptions Gatsby offers every Saturday night; it ultimately led to the corruption of the American Dream, to the extent that this unstoppable desire for money and passion depraved one of the ultimate American

    Read More

  • The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, is widely accepted as one of the great American novels of the 20th century. The novel follows narrator Nick Carraway through his encounters with Jay Gatsby and other affluent residents of Long Island, NY in the roaring 1920s. Gatsby lives an extravagant lifestyle in hopes of winning over Nick's cousin Daisy whom he had a short-lived romance with prior to World War I. He has crafted a near perfect image of wealth and luxury that he believes will convince Daisy to leave her husband Tom. Gatsby proves himself to be the embodiment of the American dream; both good and bad. The novel is regarded as one of the great American novels because the themes within are inherently American and represent the

    Read More

  • The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    For everyone who live in America, the ideas of American Dream is something they always want to achieved. But for Fitzgerald, American Dream is impossible to made it become true or even you do, you still have to give up something in order to get it. In The Great Gatsby, the readers learned that Gatsby’s goal is to have Daisy back. Despite everything he owns, including the huge amounts of money and an incredible mansion, for Gatsby, Daisy represents his ideas about money and by having her back, his life will complete. Unfortunately, Gatsby never has Daisy back even he has give up his life for her. Just like Fitzgerald, 59 percent of Americans now believe the American Dream is unachievable. Most of the reason why people believed the American

    Read More

More about The American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Open Document