Essay On The Great Gatsby And The American Dream

Improved Essays
Young people dream of adventure, far of places, or their prince charming, but as they grow older they tend to dream of money, power, and success. When a person gets power, success, or money will it really going to make them happy though? If it doesn’t make a person happy then what do they get from it? F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, has his own opinion of the American Dream and of all the power, money, and success. Fitzgerald depicts Gatsby, a man who achieved the American Dream, to show how meaningless it is. Through Gatsby, the reader sees that the American Dream is not only false, but it’s hopeless and only brings Gatsby pain and struggle in the race for all of the power and money.
“It is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul
…show more content…
In the end it only brought death and sadness to Gatsby. Nick speaks of Gatsby putting himself into his shoes and says, “what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass.” (161) Daisy is the soft and beautiful rose, but underneath the sweet exterior she is ugly and causes a lot of Gatsby’s pain. Daisy ruined his dream a dream that was just beginning, the reader can see that his dream is, “raw” and “scarcely created”. Gatsby shows us that no matter how hard he tried there were others there that were better of so that they would always have the upper hand. Furthermore towards the end of the novel Fitzgerald writes, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that the could hardly fail to grasp it.” (180) Gatsby never did reach his goal it was always the unattainable “green light” across the lake. Which is used to show that all of the money and power in the world aren’t going to make you happy because it is the people around him that love him that will make him feel happiness. Which is why he kept reaching for Daisy because he thought that she would love him the same way she did when they were younger, but it was different and money and life got in the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents many varieties of themes; however the most symbolic one relates to corruption in the American dream. The American dream starts out with individuals having a low economical and social status, but are working hard towards fame and wealth. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby however does demonstrate the importance of the American dream and how much it can impact people like Gatsby for many reasons. The novel not only has the American dream cause Gatsby to die with a unhappy state of mind, but this dream also caused major destruction in the book.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The “American Dream” is one of the defining principles on which the culture of the United States is founded. It is the idea that just being a U.S. citizen gives one the ability to work one’s way up from the bottom and end up being successful. This promise draws many people to work very hard to better themselves in an attempt to attain this success that they believe is theirs for the taking. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby does just that.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gatsby was born to parents who were “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people”(Fitzgerald 105) and wanted “all the beauty and glamour in the world”(Fitzgerald 105). He does so by selling liquor, but he does eventually get all the money he can dream of, but somewhere along the line he looses sight of this and yearns for a class he will never belong to. Gatsby’s dream is the leading force he lives for and cannot give up on; because his dream is not for himself but simply is to enter into Daisy’s world, it ultimately leads to his…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream term was initially derived in the year 1931 and has consistently modified its projected goal throughout the decades. Originally, people believed that anything could be attainable if one decided to strive in the workforce and enhance their current financial status. But as the world introduced a wide variety of customs, beliefs, advancements in technology, and other impactful sources in social life, people have begun to misinterpret the American Dream and have been provoked to seek a new definition that qualifies in relation to their outside influences. In the modern United States, it is nearly impossible to achieve the entirety of the American Dream because people are either born into a family of wealth or into a deficient situation where they simply have to commence their journey from the lowest levels of the pyramid. Literary texts such as The Great Gatsby, American Dream is Elusive for New Generation, and Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, portray the necessity of obtaining…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the award winning novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald draws us to each chapter with agony and deception of achieving the American dream. While the American Dream can be achieved by anyone, that doesn 't mean that it will be free of lies, rumors, and corruption. Gatsby, who is the main character, has unknowingly achieved the American Dream. Gatsby was born into poverty which led him to this “dream”; Gatsby fell in love with Daisy Buchanan who loved him as well, but because of his social and wealth status could not be with him emotionally or physically.…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream is the idea that anyone can attain success and upward mobility, despite what class they were born into. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many characters desire to obtain this dream; however, their failure to achieve this lifestyle shows the concept of the American Dream is just an illusion. Fitzgerald shows few characters actually successfully living in the elite upper class; most are just trying to get there. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are the only two characters that have this lifestyle, purely because they were both born into it. A lower class citizen attempting to achieve the American Dream finds it impossible, due to the American Dream is just an idea, not a reality.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s love for Daisy to develop the optimism of his character as he struggles to balance his ideology and his reality. In the novel Gatsby sees Daisy as a representation of his ideology, because of this he views her as perfect and is unable to see her flaws. In his article “The Great Gatsby”, John A. Pidgeon states “ As the novel unfolds, Fitzgerald illustrates the emptiness of Daisy 's character as it turns into the viciousness of monstrous moral indifference. Gatsby 's attraction to Daisy lies in the fact that she is the green light that signals him into the heart of his vision. ”(Pidgeon) I concur with M. Pidgeon, Gatsby’s optimism causes him to have such high expectations of his goals and ideals that when Daisy, the person who symbolizes these ideals fails to meet his expectations he continues to love her despite the reality of her many character and personality flaws.…

    • 1752 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby Daisy's Downfall

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The American Dream became an unattainable fantasy for Jay Gatsby. The American Dream is the belief that any person, regardless of their current situations, can become successful if the necessary work is exercised. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is based in the 1920s: the time where the American Dream equaled the pinnacle of success. It was Old money versus New money.…

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “[W]hat foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men”(Fitzgerald 2). Gatsby’s idea of happiness clouded his eyes so he could no longer see what could make him happy because he was so fixated on finding contentment through being with Daisy. When Daisy and Gatsby were first together, before she married Tom, the feeling of being in love made Gatsby happy. Unfortunately, he then associates happiness with Daisy instead of the happiness that being infatuated with someone gave him. Sven Birkerts, the author of A Gatsby for Today writes about the characters in The Great Gatsby and the flaws that Fitzgerald gives each of them.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reality of the American Dream America has been viewed as the “promise land” and the “land of opportunity” for many generations. America has built itself on the concept of opportunity, individualism, and self-reliance which are the factors that assembled the “American dream.” The American dream has fueled the aspirations of many. Many believed that through hard work and dedication, prosperity and success is achievable. Success varies from individual to individual depending on one’s own personal desires.…

    • 1546 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Money is the greatest influence in Gatsby’s life and gives him both hope and despair . In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the achievement of the American Dream gives Gatsby a second chance at love and also desensitizes him to the world around him. Gatsby’s undying love for Daisy is the focus behind every aspect of his life and his wealth. He focuses every ounce of his money towards getting her back.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the story Gatsby represents the American dream, he rises above his father and dreams. The novel also shows the condition of the American Dream in the 1920s. The topics of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Engaging the Fantasy The American dream is a method of establishing and pursuing goals embraced by many people in America. It brings people together, provides a source of inspiration, and drives people to work hard. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, every character pursues his or her American dream, looking for success in their own way. While Gatsby, Myrtle, and Tom do not specifically state that they are pursuing an American dream, every character has a goal they wish to achieve, whether it be the pursuit of a specific person, lifestyle, or simply maintaining the dream society believes they have already achieved.…

    • 1799 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    American Dream: The Great Gatsby In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. S. Fitzgerald writes about a time period in American history where achieving anything was possible, at least that was the common belief. Not only does he describe the economic, social, and historical circumstances that drive his characters, but also a glimpse into the minds of the characters that they use as a way to justify their actions and motives. The most basic reason for the actions that take place in the course of the book is towards an idea that many people are familiar with. It’s the American Dream.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The American Dream; the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Unfortunately, back in the 1920’s this ideal remained but a mere dream for anyone trying to work their way up from rags to riches for the simple reason that it was practically impossible to become rich unless you were already born into it. In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald we get an up close and personal idea of what it was really like to be after the American Dream. However, instead of the typical dollar and a dream story Fitzgerald puts his own spin. For one, Fitzgerald criticizes the “American Dream” in every possible way throughout the entire book.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays