Living the American Dream Through Gatsby “That dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone…” This is one quote written in James Truslow Adams book “The Epic of America.” This was the first book known to refer to this belief as the “American Dream.” It is said the first time the idea of the American Dream was brought up was in the Declaration of Independence. To fully live the American Dream, people must work together as a whole ("The American Dream What Is The American Dream?"). However, in the 1920’s some people lost their morals related to the American Dream and sought to be extremely wealthy without putting in the hard work. In the book Great Gatsby, the American Dream can be represented in both correct
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In The Great Gatsby, the quality of being equivalent was not shown. An example of this is the relationship between Tom Buchanan and other men. As we all know, Tom thought he was better than almost everybody. He would portray himself as being the richest and the strongest man around. Even when comparing himself to Gatsby, Tom devised ways to make Gatsby look like a lying man. This was demonstrated when Tom says, “I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. ‘He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong(Fitzgerald 143).” Tom refused to accept the fact that Gatsby had actually earned his own money, so he found a way to prove that Gatsby was no good. Not only does he present his advantages over Gatsby, but he also presents them against Wilson. This is demonstrated during the car scene in the book. Wilson tries very hard to get Tom to sell him his car, but Tom messes around to avoid the sale so that he can see his mistress, Myrtle, longer. In the story Tom realizes that Wilson wants to take Myrtle away and Tom does everything in his power to make this impossible. This example shows how Americans in the 1920’s were not …show more content…
He moved to the west egg to pursue a new job in the bonding business. Nick was not a poor man, but definitely was not considered wealthy either. He hoped to become an expert at selling bonds and wanted to become a wealthy man. This shows that he started from the bottom and is working hard to push himself to the top. Nick is also a very honest man, unlike many in the story. He once states, “I am one of the few honest people that I’ve ever known” (“The American Dream”). Later in the story he also refuses Gatsby’s offer of a job. Nick believed in earning his own
In The Great Gatsby, the quality of being equivalent was not shown. An example of this is the relationship between Tom Buchanan and other men. As we all know, Tom thought he was better than almost everybody. He would portray himself as being the richest and the strongest man around. Even when comparing himself to Gatsby, Tom devised ways to make Gatsby look like a lying man. This was demonstrated when Tom says, “I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. ‘He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong(Fitzgerald 143).” Tom refused to accept the fact that Gatsby had actually earned his own money, so he found a way to prove that Gatsby was no good. Not only does he present his advantages over Gatsby, but he also presents them against Wilson. This is demonstrated during the car scene in the book. Wilson tries very hard to get Tom to sell him his car, but Tom messes around to avoid the sale so that he can see his mistress, Myrtle, longer. In the story Tom realizes that Wilson wants to take Myrtle away and Tom does everything in his power to make this impossible. This example shows how Americans in the 1920’s were not …show more content…
He moved to the west egg to pursue a new job in the bonding business. Nick was not a poor man, but definitely was not considered wealthy either. He hoped to become an expert at selling bonds and wanted to become a wealthy man. This shows that he started from the bottom and is working hard to push himself to the top. Nick is also a very honest man, unlike many in the story. He once states, “I am one of the few honest people that I’ve ever known” (“The American Dream”). Later in the story he also refuses Gatsby’s offer of a job. Nick believed in earning his own