Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby has remained a spot-on representation of a time in American history in which the people believed anything was possible. Gatsby is the definition of this idea. The underlying cause of everything in this novel is his--and in essence everyone’s idea. This idea is the ubiquitous notion of the American Dream. And Fitzgerald does not only write about the American Dream, but about its corruption as well. This following quote truly epitomizes what the American Dream had become in the eyes of Fitzgerald: “The land of limitless opportunity was able to provide a means only to position but not to prestige; to power, but not to praise; to the present but not the future; to objects but not their meaning; to persons, but not their hearts; to a house but not a home; to entertainment but not friends; to money, but not peace.” The Roaring Twenties marked the beginning of an era in American history still relevant today. Following the end of World War I, the US economy boomed. There was an overwhelming attitude of hope--one that had never tru...
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.
Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may themes, however the most salient one relates to the corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream is that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her own hard work. The dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur making it successful for himself. The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth.
The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, deals heavily with the concept of the American Dream as it existed during the Roaring Twenties, and details its many flaws through the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and ambitious entrepreneur who comes to a tragic end after trying to win the love of the moneyed Daisy Buchanan, using him to dispel the fantastic myth of the self-made man and the underlying falsities of the American Dream. Despite Gatsby’s close association with the American Dream, however, Fitzgerald presents the young capitalist as a genuinely good person despite the flaws that caused his undoing. This portrayal of Gatsby as a victim of the American Dream is made most clear during his funeral, to which less than a handful of people attend. Gatsby makes many mistakes throughout the novel, all of which Fitzgerald uses these blunders as a part of his thematic deconstruction of the American Dream.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests Fitzgerald thinks that the American Dream is based on illusions. Fitzgerald uses an immense amount of symbolization and a variety of literary devices to portray, define, and all in all bring a whole different perspective to the American Dream. Not only does he shed light on the American Dream, but he goes in depth about the people who pursue it and the impact of their pursuit and desire for it. He does this through his depiction of Jay Gatsby and the people in Gatsby’s life.
The Roaring Twenties was a period of intense tension towards the numerous barriers of tradition. Unlike the gradual fluctuations in modern day society which lead tension in its wake, the 1920’s was a bombardment of radical change ranging from societal norms to economic consumption. The end of World War I led to the end of idealism, and evolving values began to escalate towards the 1920’s. The surge of immigrants allowed for greater and greater economic booms, including the use of credit and involvement in the stock market. Thus, increasing racial tensions surfaced, heightening as economic booms amplified. Such a deep shift in American culture conflicted with traditional mentalities. The rising tension between new and changing attitudes was led by emerging racial tensions, economic shifts, radical religious beliefs, and the divergence of the role of women in society.
The thesis of Kimberley Hearne’s essay “Fitzgerald’s Rendering of a Dream” is at the end of the first paragraph and reads “It is through the language itself, and the recurrent romantic imagery, that Fitzgerald offers up his critique and presents the dream for what it truly is: a mirage that entices us to keep moving forward even as we are ceaselessly borne back into the past (Fitzgerald 189).” Hearne’s essay provides information on the misconception of The American Dream that Fitzgerald conveys through “The Great Gatsby”. She provides countless evidence that expresses Fitzgerald’s view of The American Dream, and explains that Fitzgerald’s writing of the novel is to express to Americans what The American Dream truly is.
The 1920s, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great change and a time of powerful enthusiasm in many areas of society. The world had just finished the biggest war in history, the First World War, and the United States was left almost unharmed by the war. The United States was able to experience a decade of peace and success following the war. During this decade, America became the wealthiest country in the world (Trueman, 2000). The people in the United States went through a colorful period during the twenties. However, at the same time the 1920s was also a very rebellious and difficult time for many. The culture of the 1920s has influenced the culture of America’s society today.
The roaring twenties was a decade of excitement. For the first time in many families’ lives, leisure times were extended thanks to the time saving inventions such as the vacuum cleaner, the refrigerator, and the washing machine. Another factor that made the 20s the best decade for many Americans was because of installment, also known as “buy now, pay later,” buying which allowed the middle class families to afford those products when needed and pay it off later. Clubs bustled with life, filled with the stench of alcohol, and the noise of tapping shoes as men and women danced their soles off their shoes. New thing occurred and made many Americans’ lives a paradise. However, there were few groups of people who didn’t view the same decade the way that the others did. Some Americans negatively viewed the 1920s because of the fear of change in social differences.
The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is a novel that eloquently summarizes what the entire American society represents through Fitzgerald’s view. This novel develops its story in New York, at a time when the jazz age was at its peak. The roaring twenties, the era of glamour, infringed prohibition, conflict, growth and prosperity. The main concern in that age was materialism, sex, booze, and entertainment. The American Dream was the idea that anything, especially success, was possible through hard work and determination no matter where the individual comes from. On the other hand, in Fitzgerald’s perspective, he was aware of the falsity of the values in the American society; and also he was aware of the importance of honesty and sincerity. The argument is poetically obvious, through his novel Fitzgerald shows us that reality will always end by demolishing any idealism; because the American dream is untouchable, intangible, a hoax, a fraud, and a lie that only leads to the destruction of those who believe in a single dream for too long.
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. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald attempts to criticize American
“The American dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work, not by chance. Both native-born Americans and American immigrants pursue and can achieve the American dream” (Investopedia 2014). This deceiving passage sends hopeful words to the population of the United States as if pursuing the dream can give anyone a contented life from hard work, as their stepping stones to success. In the 1920’s the corruption of the American Dream is incorporated in most of the characters in the novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it portrays where dreams are driven by wealth, power, betrayal and shame to moral values. After World War I, commercial growth climaxed resulting the boasted financial gain to most civilians that
The pursuit of the American Dream has been alive for generations. People from nations all over the world come to America for the chance to achieve this legendary dream of freedom, opportunity, and the “all American family”. However, in the 1920’s this dream began to take a different form. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, unfolds what the American Dream really meant during the roaring 20’s. The Great Gatsby tells a story of the affluent Jay Gatsby and his dream of attaining the love of the married Daisy Buchanan. In this novel, Gatsby’s dream of love is unmasked and reviled as a dream of materialistic things. Fitzgerald shows that each character truly glorifies only money, power, and social stature. During the 1920’s, these things were the only thing people dreamt about. The symbolism in The Great Gatsby illustrates how the American Dream became corrupt in the 1920’s.
The American dream is ideal that all American citizens should have the same opportunities to achieve success and realize their dreams and aspirations through hard work and determination. But Fitzgerald argues in the novel that the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald is trying to communicate that the American dream is a lie. It is an unreachable facade for the lower class. The American dream came from the Declaration of Independence. In the 1920s there is still discrimination between social classes, as well as gender inequality.
Throughout the Twenties, the U.S. Economy expanded swiftly, and the state’s total wealth extra than doubled between 1920 and 1929, a duration dubbed “the Roaring Twenties.”
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.