One of the main themes of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is the American Dream, a dream defined as the set ideals of democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity, and equality for everyone. Though each character in his or her own right is in search of promises of the American dream, each character represents different ideas of appreciation, freedom, and sacrifice of the Dream.
First and foremost, the way in which the characters gain the American Dream determines their appreciation of the opportunities afforded by the dream. Characters like Tom and Daisy Buchanan along with the other riches that attend Gatsby’s parties have the American Dream given to them. They do not have to work hard for their money so therefore, they do not fully appreciate the American Dream and all the luxuries it affords them. …show more content…
He truly believes in himself, and he believes that he can really achieve the American Dream by working and building up the only thing he knows as income, the garage. Unlike characters who have inherited the opportunities from previous generations, George believes in a dream that one critic calls an illusion or myth. For example, Hearne says, our supposed perfection and idyllic “ease” is a myth, and like, Gatsby, we are “way off [our initial] ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute” with an illusory vision of what it is to participate in (as Fitzgerald sees it) “ the last and greatest of all humans”- the American Dream(189)” (Hearne 191). It is clear that George’s appreciation of the American Dream is one of hard work and
First and foremost, the way in which the characters gain the American Dream determines their appreciation of the opportunities afforded by the dream. Characters like Tom and Daisy Buchanan along with the other riches that attend Gatsby’s parties have the American Dream given to them. They do not have to work hard for their money so therefore, they do not fully appreciate the American Dream and all the luxuries it affords them. …show more content…
He truly believes in himself, and he believes that he can really achieve the American Dream by working and building up the only thing he knows as income, the garage. Unlike characters who have inherited the opportunities from previous generations, George believes in a dream that one critic calls an illusion or myth. For example, Hearne says, our supposed perfection and idyllic “ease” is a myth, and like, Gatsby, we are “way off [our initial] ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute” with an illusory vision of what it is to participate in (as Fitzgerald sees it) “ the last and greatest of all humans”- the American Dream(189)” (Hearne 191). It is clear that George’s appreciation of the American Dream is one of hard work and