Living in the suburbs with a white picket fence may be what comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘American Dream.’ For others, this dream carries heavier implications; a good education and hard work seem like the only pathway to success and wealth for those who hold or are held to higher standards. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s comparison of Jay Gatsby’s dreams and the American Dream in The Great Gatsby paints a picture of lust, greed, and eventual and inevitable failure for the reader. My idea of the American Dream may be different than other people’s, but each and every person are all pursuing one common goal: happiness. This goal has been evident since the term ‘American Dream’ was first used, over 90 years ago, and is definitely present today.
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Each person has a different idea of success that they would like to reach, some people obsessed with obtaining it, as Nick points out when “...[he] could have sworn [Gatsby] was trembling” (Fitzgerald, 24). Daisy, or merely the idea of Daisy one could argue, was the reason for everything Gatsby had done up until he felt he finally had it, similar to any person with specific goals in mind and a specific ‘American Dream’ just for them. Every path that is taken, whether it be the school one attends, the occupation one chooses to pursue, and the sacrifices one makes are all in order to achieve the true happiness that comes with completing their dreams. But some people lose sight of their American Dream. As soon as a person has everything they could’ve ever wanted, there’s usually a slight negligence or ungratefulness that comes with it. To Gatsby, finally getting what he thought he wanted made the green light, a symbol of success and happiness, “...again a green light on a dock” (Fitzgerald, 100). “The green light, which carries meaning at every level” becomes nothing more than a blip on Gatsby’s radar, similar to how people who have it all never feel like it’s enough (Source B). This pursuit of true happiness never feels completed, by both Gatsby and those of us who are never satisfied by our true American …show more content…
Greed tends to destroy people after they appear to have everything they’ve ever wanted, their dreams always becoming bigger as each previous one is achieved. Gatsby had achieved what his original goal was, but continued to push it until he felt it was perfect, this greed ending up taking his life. He already had what he wanted “and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it,” when in reality he had already done what he set out to do (Fitzgerald, 193). A dream that seems within reach is much more dangerous than one that does not, the disappointment in not getting exactly what is wanted more harmful than settling for something similar. The changing state of the world around us changes the definition of American Dream for each of us, but this impossible goal “recedes before us” (Fitzgerald, 193). “‘Throughout our history, the pure gold of [the American Dream] has been heavily alloyed with the dross of materialistic aims,” the greed that takes place in achieving that dream eventually leading to downfall (Source
Each person has a different idea of success that they would like to reach, some people obsessed with obtaining it, as Nick points out when “...[he] could have sworn [Gatsby] was trembling” (Fitzgerald, 24). Daisy, or merely the idea of Daisy one could argue, was the reason for everything Gatsby had done up until he felt he finally had it, similar to any person with specific goals in mind and a specific ‘American Dream’ just for them. Every path that is taken, whether it be the school one attends, the occupation one chooses to pursue, and the sacrifices one makes are all in order to achieve the true happiness that comes with completing their dreams. But some people lose sight of their American Dream. As soon as a person has everything they could’ve ever wanted, there’s usually a slight negligence or ungratefulness that comes with it. To Gatsby, finally getting what he thought he wanted made the green light, a symbol of success and happiness, “...again a green light on a dock” (Fitzgerald, 100). “The green light, which carries meaning at every level” becomes nothing more than a blip on Gatsby’s radar, similar to how people who have it all never feel like it’s enough (Source B). This pursuit of true happiness never feels completed, by both Gatsby and those of us who are never satisfied by our true American …show more content…
Greed tends to destroy people after they appear to have everything they’ve ever wanted, their dreams always becoming bigger as each previous one is achieved. Gatsby had achieved what his original goal was, but continued to push it until he felt it was perfect, this greed ending up taking his life. He already had what he wanted “and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it,” when in reality he had already done what he set out to do (Fitzgerald, 193). A dream that seems within reach is much more dangerous than one that does not, the disappointment in not getting exactly what is wanted more harmful than settling for something similar. The changing state of the world around us changes the definition of American Dream for each of us, but this impossible goal “recedes before us” (Fitzgerald, 193). “‘Throughout our history, the pure gold of [the American Dream] has been heavily alloyed with the dross of materialistic aims,” the greed that takes place in achieving that dream eventually leading to downfall (Source