From a young age, our parents teach us to be grateful for what we have. However, as human beings and Americans, we * find it difficult to be content with what we consider “less.” Much of the American Dream revolves around success, and in general, the more you have, whether it is money, possessions, or relationships, the more successful you are. The American value of achievement often results in selfishness, once described by William E. Gladstone as “the greatest curse of the human race” (William E. Gladstone quotes, 2010). Collectively, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath demonstrate how selfishness breaks society, affecting both the individual as well as those around him, and how selflessness repairs it. Loneliness results from selfish choices. In The Grapes of Wrath, Muley Graves chooses selfishness when his entire family moves to California in hopes to find a better life, knowing that they will soon starve if they remain in Oklahoma, but Muley chooses to stay behind. When Casy hears this, he tells Muley, “You should of went too. You shouldn’t of broke up the fambly” (Steinbeck, 1967). In response, Muley simply states, “I couldn’. Somepin jus’ wouldn’ let me” (Steinbeck, 1967). The land has bestowed years of memories upon Muley, but now, the land is killing him and *** dividing him and his family because of his incapability of letting go. * Like Muley’s preoccupation with his land, Daisy becomes an obsession for Gatsby. He * grips their memories together so tightly that they limit his opportunities to live a fulfilling life. Both ** men end up lonely because of their single-mindedness. For Muley, he is left alone in Oklahoma with the Joad’s dogs while he watches his friends and family drive off into the dist... ... middle of paper ... ...teredness stems from the constant striving for the American Dream of success and especially applies to today, when we see war, embezzlement, and natural disasters all over the news. But the philanthropic acts that lift us up and allow society to survive reverse the selfishness that often presents itself during difficult situations. So while selfishness may be the “greatest curse of the human race,” selflessness is the greatest cure (William E. Gladstone quotes, 2010). References Fitzgerald, F.S. (1925). The great Gatsby. Retrieved 17 April 2011, from http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/index.html Steinbeck, J. (1967). The grapes of wrath. New York, NY, USA: Penguin Books. William E. Gladstone quotes. (2010). Retrieved 19 April, 2011, from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/selfishness_is_the_greatest_curse_of_the_human/178002.html
In a nation, two communities can often differ from each other. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his writing to contrast the morality described by Nick Carraway in the Midwest, to the corruption and inhumanity that is quite starkly present in the East.
In both The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" by Flannery O'Connor, the protagonists are searching for some type of fulfillment in life, and they both believe that they can obtain it through material belongings and behaving in a carless fashion. Both protagonists, Jay Gatsby and Mr. Shiftlet, do obtain material possessions thinking that these possessions will make them happy; however, neither are able to obtain a sense of fulfillment. F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby and Flannery O'Connor in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" illustrate their disapproval of searching for fulfillment in life through possessions and careless behavior through motifs of greed, foreshadowing, and symbolism in order to allow their audiences to feel the same rejection toward searching for fulfillment and happiness in wealth and careless behavior.
Is human nature inherently selfless or selfish? Although a seemingly simple concept, the aforementioned question has long been a profoundly controversial topic. While many claim that humans are intrinsically compassionate and inclined to help those in need, others argue that people instinctively prioritize their own individual security over other people’s welfares. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s literary works, “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlett Letter, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s renowned novel, The Great Gatsby, all reference the idea that people impulsively pursue perfection, as determined by their community’s values. While different communities establish different standards for perfection, society as whole romanticizes the idea of perfection and subsequently people strive to create the illusion of a perfect life. How an individual represents the values idealized by a given community determines his/her reputation in that community. Although people may appear to wholesomely follow the values idolized by their community, in reality, human nature is inherently flawed, making it impossible for people to achieve perfection.
Gatsby and Greed In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters.
“I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone” (172). In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby was a very wealthy man in East Egg who came from a poor family in the south. However, he was unsuccessful in the way that he achieved his wealthiness. Also, he was not necessarily someone who could be trusted because of his skeptical actions throughout the book. Clearly, Gatsby does not deserve his title of greatness because he is not well liked, he is unfaithful, and he is involved in illegal activities.
According to Pope Francis, ¨When one lives attached to money, pride or power, it is impossible to be truly happy¨. In the book ¨The Great Gatsby¨, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American dream is based on money, appearance, and relationships. Throughout the story, the characters in the story deal with issues of greed, popularity and dishonesty. In order to achieve the American dream they are willing to do anything. Gatsby, the main character of the book, is really dishonest because he lies to everyone, pretending to be rich and wealthy in order to impress a woman who he has loved for a long time. The idea of the American Dream is based on how people acquire wealth and people's views of money, appearances and relationships can lead to dangerous
F. Scott Fitzgerald had the creative and extraordinary way of writing a love story based on compassion, death, and betrayal. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, there are multiple themes offered, including justice, power, and greed. Once reading the book, it is realized that the author separated the book into groups. There are many titles that may demonstrate each chapter individually throughout the novel. Even though there are no chapter titles throughout the novel, with the different social classes, the money, the power and the love, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays a strong message through each chapter.
Like God observing the world, we are the observers of The Great Gatsby. According to German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s two categorical imperatives, Daisy and Jay were unethical. Kant’s categorical imperatives state; ‘Act as if your action could be elevated into universal law’ and. Based on the principles of Kant, Daisy and Jay were unethical in several ways, according to Kant’s two categorical imperatives. Daisy used people emotionally and lacked responsibility, and Jay was manipulative towards the people around him. The Great Gatsby is a great example of a society that does not abide by Kantian principles.
When facing a conflict, one mostly tries to find a solution that will benefit him rather than accommodate everyone. It’s much more satisfactory to have everything go one’s way than having to compromise with another. This selfish mentality is something that repeatedly takes place in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, where many characters act out of their own self-interest. However, throughout The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, the individuals often commit acts of true altruism. Instead of always being on the lookout for themselves, they often make sacrifices for others. The Great Gatsby’s selfish, egocentric acts contrast with the altruistic, selfless acts in The Grapes of Wrath through demonstrations of self sacrifice, greed, and the ability to persevere and help others in the direst of situations.
The Modernist movement took place in a time of happiness, a time of sadness, a time of objects, a time of saving, a time of prosperity, a time of poverty and in a time of greed. Two novels, written by Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, portray this underlying greed and envy better than most novels of that period. These novels, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, show that despite the difference between the 1920s and the 1930s, greed remained a part of human life, whether superficially or necessarily, and that many people used their greed to damage themselves and others.
The portrayal of loneliness in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice And Men and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby caused isolation between the characters. Their emotions emerged which led to major catastrophes. “A guy needs somebody to be near him… A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is as long he’s with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick. He got nothing to measure by” (Steinbeck ). When loneliness is strucken upon the farm, the inner feelings of everyone start to show. Bitterness, anger, boredom and curiosity all triggered from solitude, cause a wild turn of events for the peaceful ranch farm in Soledad. Pure loneliness caused death, grief and more seclusion.
The 1920s and 1930s represent two decades in our country's history that were very much connected to one another but extremely different in terms of economy. The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring 20s, a time of extravagant parties and attempts at finding happiness after World War I. On the other hand, The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the 30s while America is suffering from the Great Depression and people are leaving their homes and lives to find success and work in California. Although the times were very different economically, both were dominated by people striving for the American Dream of wealth and social status in an attempt of obtaining happiness, success, and a better life. During the 20s, people wanted to escape the terrors of the war and during the 30s they were attempting to survive during the devastation of the Great Depression. Both The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath do an amazing job of representing people's desires for the American Dream and more specifically the prevalence of failure rather than success that came as a result of their efforts.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda.
You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five. Men have differed as regards what people you ought to be unselfish to—whether it was only your own family, or your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired.” (Lewis) Now, whether or not people choose to follow
It is true that there is a natural tendency for everyone to be selfish. But if we become excessively selfish, we care for only for our interests and comforts. We begin to ignore the rights of others. In other words we come more in considerate of our fellow-beings. We try to make our own life happy and to achieve this we are prepared to bring hardship and inconvenience to other people. We are too self-absorbed into our own ambitions and desires, that it can cause discontentment to others. ‘The Wrestler’, shows this unhealthy act of selfishness, where Randy Robinson is a ex-wrestler who is too absorbed in his life that he forgets to realise how inconvenient his actions are towards his daughter, Stephanie and her school boy crush Pam aka Cassidy. His whole life as a wrestler has been revolved around him and he begins to see how selfish he is when he tries to reconcile with his daughter. He faces these inconveniences because of how self-obsessed he was. Another example of selfishness is within the text, ‘The trees are down’ by Charlotte Mew. This text portrays the selfless act of humans .Mew creates a poem that portrays the destructive nature of man, being the selfish beings they are. “With the ‘Whoops’ and the ‘Whoas,’ the loud common talk, the loud common laughs of the men, above it all.” She portrays man as ‘above it all’ showing ‘we’ are the dominant life form. Due to this dominance we desire power and through this power it shows our selfish natures. These two texts shows how the representations of our human flaws. In this case it’s our selfishness. Our selfishness leads to an inconvenience when we are either trying to build a relationship or fix something that is dying. We are too stuck in our own little world that we forget what is more important to us, that we end up not caring at all about anything else but ourselves and our