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Characteristics of the American dream
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The American Dream is someone’s pursuit of happiness. Money, power and social status, are primarily given and rarely earned. Many fail to realize money and social class do not make someone successful. Being humble, working hard and making an honest living while achieving success says more about an individual than being handed down things. Attempting and failing builds character, achieving and progressing gives pride and hope. Conquering shows strength and commitment. These life experiences cannot be taught for they are learned and used to sculpt you into a better person each and everyday. In The Great Gatsby achieving the American Dream status was through materials items such as the size of their home, how much money they had and what kind of car they drove. The true American Dream is accomplished by those who strive to achieve success not by those …show more content…
It is very spacious, filled with beautiful furniture and antiques. In the book when Nick first entered the house, he was greeted by a high hallway enclosed by rose colored walls and there were large french windows at either end. The ceiling of the home was ornate, the main rug was the color of wine, and the couch was enormous. They emphasize on the details and luxurious colors to distinguish that they have the means to live a lavish lifestyle. In the beginning of the chapter Nick talks to us about Jay Gatsby's house as “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel 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.” Both Jay and Tom’s home are described in detail as luxurious and distinguished because they are wealthy and are perceived as living the “perfect lifestyle.” The way they carry themselves demonstrates that money is not a
The American Dream is something that anyone no matter their background, social standings, or ethnicity can improve their life through hard work.
The American Dream There is no set definition to be found anywhere of the true meaning of The American Dream. Any hope, dream, or goal pursued by anyone in the history of America is an American Dream. In modern times the accepted dream seems to be 2.5 children, a house with a white picket fence, and a perfect spouse. However, as it is shown throughout literature from the early days of America to contemporary times, the American Dream is not always so simple a concept. America was originally founded on the dream of freedom.
The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high income, and the ability to spend on luxury items. America is considered a land of plenty, and as such, many who come to the United States in search of the American dream have this form of success in mind.
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.
Gatsby partly owns the American Dream because of his great achievement in wealth. He captures everything a wealthy man could possibly own. For example, a big house, a fancy pool, acres of land, garden, cars, etc(5). He never lacks the discomfort of buying something that was out of his reach. Furthermore, hard-work is another part of a true American Dreamers. Gatsby 's success was only possible with his tough mindset that working hard leads to success. Gatsby once had nothing. As Nike states,"his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people"(98). Gatsby 's once been poor, he worked his way to the top shows that anyone can strive for the American Dream. On top of that, he never gave up; he always wanted more than others. Gatsby believes,"tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther"(180). He is the definition of working hard to grasp dreams by the neck. Gatsby has been a self made man starting as a young man. As his father describes him in his young ages: "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that"(173). Gatsby was always moving forward improving and building his skills; he had a particular schedule which he follows to stay on task and he had a list of things he needs improvement on. Only a few individual with big dream are working day night improving their skills.
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
The Great Gatsby is a story of the American Dream. The Great Gatsby is a view into the society of the 1920's masterfully created by Fitzgerald. In this society, the one and only Gatsby falls right into the middle. Gatsby is an exemplary example of one trying to live out the American Dream.
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
F. Scott Fitzgerald penned The Great Gatsby in the midst of the Roarin’ Twenties. It was a period of cultural explosion, rags-to-riches histories, and a significant shift in the ideals of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s characters all aspired to fill an American Dream of sorts, though their dreams weren’t the conventional ones. In the novel, the American Dream did a sort of one-eighty. Instead of looking west, people went east to New York in hopes of achieving wealth. The original principals of the Dream faded away, in their place, amorality and corruption. The fulfillment of one’s own American Dream is often marked by corruption, dishonesty, and hope.
First, what is the American dream? According to David Wallechinsky, “the traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can improve their lives, pay their monthly bills without worry, give their children a start to an even better life, and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire” (1). “The American Dream” states, “It has always represented the possibility for individuals to succeed and live a life of wealth and comfort, made possible by both the political and economic attitudes in the USA and the individual’s own hard work” (1). Daniella Nicole adds that “in years past, chasing the American Dream meant the sky was the limit. . .” (1).
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.
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
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.
The American Dream was and always will be something that makes America great. It allows those with aspirations to make them come true. In America alone needs is a dream and the motivation to carry out that dream. Ambition is the driving force behind the American Dream. It allows any one that has an aspiration, a desire, a yearning, to carry out the individual dream. It knows no bounds of race, creed, gender or religion. It stands for something great, something that every one can strive towards. A dream can be a desire for something great. In America, the American Dream allows dreams to become realities. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as "An American social ideal that' stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity". To live this dream is to succeed. It allows anyone, rich or poor to have the opportunity to succeed. It is the ability to come from nothing and become so me thing. To succeed at any thing you do, you must have patience and persistence. It requires hard work, persistence and a desire for something better. To have these qualities and the desire and ambition to carry the moutis part of the American Dream.
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.