Compare and contrast the importance of dreams and The American Dream in your two novels
The American Dream could be seen as the foundation of America. The desire to reinvent oneself whilst gaining wealth, prosperity and success has always been paramount to America, especially during the roaring twenties when that dream had seemed to become a reality for many. The American Dream was very instilled in Dutch sailors who came to America hopeful of attaining a fresh, better start, just like Scott and Zelda in ‘Z’ when they move to New York and Paris. Gatsby in ‘The Great Gatsby’ represented the American Dream himself, shown by his success. Individual dreams are also important through the novel which is shown in how Gatsby dreams of attaining Daisy, …show more content…
The passion that Gatsby holds for Daisy is a direct result of not being able to attain her which is reminiscent of Keats’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, especially so in the second and third stanzas where the speaker tries to identify with the piper and his lover on the Urn. The speaker says that though the piper can never kiss his lover because he is frozen in time, he should not grieve because her beauty will never fade as they are not bound by time. Even though he will never be able to kiss her, he will forever be about to, which is arguably better than actually kissing her. As they are frozen in time, their love will never fade, nor will the piper’s beautiful song; they are “for ever young” which means that they are living in an ideal world in contrast to the real world which “old age shall (it) waste”. This idea of obstacles very much links with the “green light” that was “minute and far away,” on the end of the dock below Daisy’s mansion, which he stares at night after night. This represents his yearning for Daisy, all the more intensified as it is across a body of water from him. The light loses significance when Daisy is with him at his house and they look at it together, when they do so “the colossal significance of that light had… vanished forever”. This concept of love and passion requiring obstacles to stay alive is prominent in early literature, as seen in the 12th century myth ‘Tristan and …show more content…
She dreamed of dancing when she was younger, yet had to leave that behind in order to go to New York with Scott. She later develops a passion for painting, and goes on to paint exclusively during her stay at Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where she was being treated for Schizophrenia. Many critics however dispute the idea of her having Schizophrenia, rather saying that she most likely suffered from bipolar disorder. She also enjoys writing more and more as the novel goes on. Literary critic Edmund Wilson, talks of how Zelda “expressed herself so delightfully and so freshly” during a party at the Fitzgerald home in Edgemoor, Delaware during February
The American Dream could be seen as the foundation of America. The desire to reinvent oneself whilst gaining wealth, prosperity and success has always been paramount to America, especially during the roaring twenties when that dream had seemed to become a reality for many. The American Dream was very instilled in Dutch sailors who came to America hopeful of attaining a fresh, better start, just like Scott and Zelda in ‘Z’ when they move to New York and Paris. Gatsby in ‘The Great Gatsby’ represented the American Dream himself, shown by his success. Individual dreams are also important through the novel which is shown in how Gatsby dreams of attaining Daisy, …show more content…
The passion that Gatsby holds for Daisy is a direct result of not being able to attain her which is reminiscent of Keats’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, especially so in the second and third stanzas where the speaker tries to identify with the piper and his lover on the Urn. The speaker says that though the piper can never kiss his lover because he is frozen in time, he should not grieve because her beauty will never fade as they are not bound by time. Even though he will never be able to kiss her, he will forever be about to, which is arguably better than actually kissing her. As they are frozen in time, their love will never fade, nor will the piper’s beautiful song; they are “for ever young” which means that they are living in an ideal world in contrast to the real world which “old age shall (it) waste”. This idea of obstacles very much links with the “green light” that was “minute and far away,” on the end of the dock below Daisy’s mansion, which he stares at night after night. This represents his yearning for Daisy, all the more intensified as it is across a body of water from him. The light loses significance when Daisy is with him at his house and they look at it together, when they do so “the colossal significance of that light had… vanished forever”. This concept of love and passion requiring obstacles to stay alive is prominent in early literature, as seen in the 12th century myth ‘Tristan and …show more content…
She dreamed of dancing when she was younger, yet had to leave that behind in order to go to New York with Scott. She later develops a passion for painting, and goes on to paint exclusively during her stay at Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where she was being treated for Schizophrenia. Many critics however dispute the idea of her having Schizophrenia, rather saying that she most likely suffered from bipolar disorder. She also enjoys writing more and more as the novel goes on. Literary critic Edmund Wilson, talks of how Zelda “expressed herself so delightfully and so freshly” during a party at the Fitzgerald home in Edgemoor, Delaware during February