The Failure of the American Dream in the Context of The Great Gatsby
Sun Seo Jeon 전순서 20140880
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which is a belief that anyone, regardless of their social class and the situation they are born into, is given opportunities to achieve their own version of success. It is emphasized that American dream is achieved through sacrifice and hard work, not just by chance. This meant to motivate Americans to attain prosperity and happiness. However, there is an ironic interplay between idealism and materialism in this statement of American Dream; the dream suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but in reality, it is to become rich and of higher social status, which is only possible through materialistic means. The author Fitzgerald shows the failure this dream through the main characters and the symbols in The Great Gatsby.
Gatsby, the main character is on a pursuit of his version of American Dream. He makes great efforts to climb up the social ladder and ultimately be rich to win Daisy’s love. To Gatsby, Daisy was “the ultimate object in it. It is she for whom men compete, and possessing her is the clearest sign that one has made it into that magical world” (Fetterley 74). However, the object of his …show more content…
Nick judges that Gatsby's American Dream was corrupt since both the means and the goal was corrupt. Goal of getting Daisy's love, although can be said to be pure, was corrupt as she is the symbol of materialism. Nick believes that “Daisy is simply not worth the efforts Gatsby makes to win her, nor are his successes anything to write home about. He's a gangster, ruthless, amoral, willing to do whatever it takes to succeed” (Foster 143). Not only his dreams of getting Daisy’s love, but also his means through how he tries to achieve it are the representations of the failure of the American
Sun Seo Jeon 전순서 20140880
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which is a belief that anyone, regardless of their social class and the situation they are born into, is given opportunities to achieve their own version of success. It is emphasized that American dream is achieved through sacrifice and hard work, not just by chance. This meant to motivate Americans to attain prosperity and happiness. However, there is an ironic interplay between idealism and materialism in this statement of American Dream; the dream suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but in reality, it is to become rich and of higher social status, which is only possible through materialistic means. The author Fitzgerald shows the failure this dream through the main characters and the symbols in The Great Gatsby.
Gatsby, the main character is on a pursuit of his version of American Dream. He makes great efforts to climb up the social ladder and ultimately be rich to win Daisy’s love. To Gatsby, Daisy was “the ultimate object in it. It is she for whom men compete, and possessing her is the clearest sign that one has made it into that magical world” (Fetterley 74). However, the object of his …show more content…
Nick judges that Gatsby's American Dream was corrupt since both the means and the goal was corrupt. Goal of getting Daisy's love, although can be said to be pure, was corrupt as she is the symbol of materialism. Nick believes that “Daisy is simply not worth the efforts Gatsby makes to win her, nor are his successes anything to write home about. He's a gangster, ruthless, amoral, willing to do whatever it takes to succeed” (Foster 143). Not only his dreams of getting Daisy’s love, but also his means through how he tries to achieve it are the representations of the failure of the American