The Blinding American Dream
James Truslow Adams, the author of The American Dream, explains that "The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller... with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams). F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays this dream and ideology throughout his novel, The Great Gatsby. The frequent usage of eyes in Fitzgerald’s writing parallels Nick Carraway's stages of seeing the American Dream, moving from blindness to partial awareness to clear vision. Fitzgerald’s use of eyes as a motif portrays Gatsby’s America as a place that privileges social mobility over morality, using Nick as an anomaly to show his transition from old money blindness to a new awareness …show more content…
Nick follows Gatsby, a new money socialite, to a “business” meeting. Unbeknownst to Nick, Gatsby’s business partner, Mr. Wolfshiem, is one of the largest crooks of the 20th century, who was said to have “fixed the World’s Series...in 1919” (76). To emphasize how Wolfsheim is an example of the unjust American Dream, Fitzgerald describes a scene where Nick is “blinking away the brightness of the street outside... After a moment I discovered his [Wolfsheim’s] tiny eyes in the half-darkness” (72). Prior to blinking away the blinding light, Nick was unable to see, which represents how he needed to change his perspective to understand that Wolfsheim’s corruption was partially due to the American Dream. After clarifying his literal and figurative vision, Nick is able to see and understand that Wolfsheim’s American Dream influences him to be corrupt to obtain social mobility. Wolfsheim’s tiny eyes in this quote represent how egocentric his priorities are in that he only needs to see what advances his standing. Wolfsheim’s evident corruption prompts Nick’s coming into awareness about the inequality of the American
James Truslow Adams, the author of The American Dream, explains that "The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller... with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams). F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays this dream and ideology throughout his novel, The Great Gatsby. The frequent usage of eyes in Fitzgerald’s writing parallels Nick Carraway's stages of seeing the American Dream, moving from blindness to partial awareness to clear vision. Fitzgerald’s use of eyes as a motif portrays Gatsby’s America as a place that privileges social mobility over morality, using Nick as an anomaly to show his transition from old money blindness to a new awareness …show more content…
Nick follows Gatsby, a new money socialite, to a “business” meeting. Unbeknownst to Nick, Gatsby’s business partner, Mr. Wolfshiem, is one of the largest crooks of the 20th century, who was said to have “fixed the World’s Series...in 1919” (76). To emphasize how Wolfsheim is an example of the unjust American Dream, Fitzgerald describes a scene where Nick is “blinking away the brightness of the street outside... After a moment I discovered his [Wolfsheim’s] tiny eyes in the half-darkness” (72). Prior to blinking away the blinding light, Nick was unable to see, which represents how he needed to change his perspective to understand that Wolfsheim’s corruption was partially due to the American Dream. After clarifying his literal and figurative vision, Nick is able to see and understand that Wolfsheim’s American Dream influences him to be corrupt to obtain social mobility. Wolfsheim’s tiny eyes in this quote represent how egocentric his priorities are in that he only needs to see what advances his standing. Wolfsheim’s evident corruption prompts Nick’s coming into awareness about the inequality of the American