How Does Fitzgerald Show The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Improved Essays
Great Gatsby Essay
How does Fitzgerald show the American Dream to be an impossible dream in The Great Gatsby? Introduction
Fitzgerald uses a variety of different literary techniques in the Great Gatsby to portray the American dream as impossible. The whole novel can be seen as a commentary in pursuit of this. One example of this is his use of symbolism in the novel. His disenchantment with it is equally shown in the choice of setting as well as with the decay of morality as a motif. Paragraph 1- Symbolism
Fitzgerald uses the literary device of symbolism extensively all through the novel to depict the American dream and its flaws. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock is a symbol of Gatsby hopes and dreams, Nick Caraway comments

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby Essay: Test In what way does Gatsby represent the American Dream and what does this say about Fitzgerald’s perception of the dream in the 20s and 30s? In what way do the themes of dreams, wealth and time relate to America at the time? In the story The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many themes and messages are portrayed through the character of Jay Gatsby.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. I believe the author uses the words hope and dream to draw emphasis on the American Dream. 2. Nick is the narrator and tells the story as he is standing on the outside, looking at the other character’s lives. Nick has many advantages that are brought to light in the first chapter.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby and The American Dream In the 1920’s the American dream was what people were aiming to reach throughout their lives. In the book The Great Gatsby by, F.Scott, one of his main characters known as Gatsby is trying to fulfill his American dream. Gatsby fails to reach the dream of reliving his past.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream in the Great Gatsby The American Dream is a national ideal that emphasizes freedom and making a better life for oneself and family through hard work. Many immigrants came to the United looking for a better life and they described their success as part of the American Dream. Throughout history the dream has changed and evolved as the nation has matured.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The rhetorical devices used in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, portrays the flaws in Jay Gatsby’s ability to attain an American Dream that, ultimately, kills him. This reveals the reality that many Americans experience while attempting to attain their dreams due to the hardships they encounter. Fitzgerald conveys these difficulties through Nick’s final reflection of Gatsby’s American Dream. He recurringly uses color symbolism to amplify the central message: living in the past results in fatal failure. Fitzgerald communicates that Gatsby’s American Dream was incoherent, as one cannot recreate the past.…

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, Fitzgerald exposes the irrational and unattainable nature of the American Dream in his novel The Great Gatsby. The central theme of the novel placed a spotlight on the imperfections of American culture so readers from all time periods could identify the imperfections of their own societies. Fitzgerald is one of the few authors to curate timeless themes in their literary…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby Essay The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and was first published on April 10, 1925. Was written in the Jazz Era, the Jazz Era was parties, social drinking, flapper girls, bootlegging and wealthy people. The main character Jay Gatsby had the mansions, money, girls, parties but he didn’t have it all. He fell in love with the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, who was gorgeous and loved to have fun but there was one problem, she was married to Tom Buchanan.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people have their own ideas and dreams in the American spirit. Fitzgerald had his own dreams and aspirations of the way life should have been for him. “ Sophisticated- God I’m sophisticated” (Fitzgerald 17). He knew that American society and dreams can happen and usually will you just have to get a green light or make your own. In “The Great Gatsby” it shows that Gatsby had many green lights but he sometimes had to make his own.…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream is a national set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity, and success, and in upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work. In The Great Gatsby, the author tries to show how the great American Dream is not attainable. For Gatsby, the American Dream was to win back the love of Daisy through status, riches and fame. Gatsby and Daisy's romance started before Gatsby went off to World War One. James Gats, a poor farmer boy determined to build an image that Daisy would appreciate, so, he changed his name to Gatsby.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American dream is a goal sought after and imagined by all who come to America. It is one of the main reasons that people come to America; they come for freedom as well as to one day attain the idea of a perfect American dream. The American Dream has powered the hopes and aspirations of Americans for many generations. Through the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald in his award winning novel The Great Gatsby, his opinions regarding The American dream are portrayed through the characters Tom Buchanan , Jordan Baker , and Myrtle Wilson.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The corruption of the American Dream is a prevalent theme in classic literature, as it highlights the falsified illusions of social mobility and power commonly promoted during the early twentieth century. The motivation for socio-economic inclination is generally consumed by materialism and shallowness in an effort to satisfy the constant lack of self fulfillment, which inevitably leads to self destruction. Many people blindly accept the idealistic concept of social and economic mobility only to discover its unattainableness. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the corruption underlying the pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby. In an effort to captivate Daisy’s attention, Jay Gatsby publicly displays his wealth and…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The malevolent decline of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The American Dream, established by humanity, declares that every human should have the opportunity to great success through hard work, but as the dream is merely an aspiration, it then holds great peril if delved too far for. In the outward story of a failed relationship, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby displays the American Dream as a rather idealistic aspiration of unrealistic goals in the form of an optimistic strength, but at the same time, a fatal frailty. Through the ardent protagonist that is Jay Gatsby, the entirety of his life and his encounters exemplifies the thorough process of recklessly pursuing the American Dream, which ultimately leads to his demise. In…

    • 1891 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby revolves a lot around the American Dream. “During the 1920s, the perception of the American Dream was that an individual can achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if they only work hard enough” (The Demise of the 1920’s). During the story Gatsby represents the American dream, he rises above his father and becomes the rich man he wanted to be. 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 America.…

    • 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

    The main theme behind Fitzgerald’s literature is the demise of the American Dream. By examining his portrayal of the “elite society” it is very easy to perceive that the American Dream is no longer about hard work and dedication to reach success. Rather Fitzgerald argues that it has now become solely about manipulation to become materialistic and corrupt. For example, on the surface Jay Gatsby is perceived to be a successful man with a dashing personality, expensive clothes, and a luxurious mansion. But upon taking a look at how he attained all of those things he is the exact opposite of what the American Dream was originally about.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays