“... I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 21). That solitary green light is an embodiment of one goal in Jay Gatsby’s life. Similarly, many Americans in the 1920’s entertained “The American Dream,” the concept that anyone could attain great wealth and make a name for themselves in society even if they started with meager belongings and standings in society. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to symbolize both the concept of “The American Dream,” and its declining status through Gatsby’s life of rags to riches and his interactions with the people around him.
The …show more content…
He immediately changes his character and name with no regret to get closer to wealth and status. Fitzgerald uses the pure innocence of Gatsby’s desires to show the radiant quality of “The American Dream” that many Americans of the 1920’s shared. Gatsby obtains the wealth that he wanted so greatly to the point where “everybody had seen” his “cream color, bright, (and) swollen” car filled with “triumphant… boxes” (Fitzgerald 64). Gatsby’s car was the very definition of wealth at the time. The car is very well known and famous for being the epitome of luxury and status. His affluence is also visible in the nickel plates on his car and the excessive amount of green leather and glass themselves. Every weekend, “his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight” (Fitzgerald 39). Gatsby holds a party every week to show off his wealth and entertain dozens of guests, a true monetary feat. Through his car and parties, Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby achieved “The American Dream” to great success even though Gatsby started with little to nothing. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald persuasively represents the definition of the “Dream” in Gatsby’s rise to wealth and fame. Notwithstanding his great achievement, the means Gatsby uses to achieve that wealth are …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to symbolize the grandeur fantasy of “The American Dream” through Gatsby’s wealth, but also the “Dream’s” decline in the degradation of morals and the false hopes that “Dream” inspires. Every character in The Great Gatsby portrayed both aspects of “The American Dream” to some extent such as Nick Carraway, whose family was also a story of rags to riches in their rise to money from entrepreneurship (Fitzgerald 3). However, Fitzgerald did not present both aspects of the “Dream” in Carraway as he did in Gatsby, who based his life’s value and work upon his “American Dream.” Jay Gatsby is a symbol for both the glorious dream that gave hope to Americans of the 1920’s, but also a warning from Fitzgerald of the diminishing status of the great
The …show more content…
He immediately changes his character and name with no regret to get closer to wealth and status. Fitzgerald uses the pure innocence of Gatsby’s desires to show the radiant quality of “The American Dream” that many Americans of the 1920’s shared. Gatsby obtains the wealth that he wanted so greatly to the point where “everybody had seen” his “cream color, bright, (and) swollen” car filled with “triumphant… boxes” (Fitzgerald 64). Gatsby’s car was the very definition of wealth at the time. The car is very well known and famous for being the epitome of luxury and status. His affluence is also visible in the nickel plates on his car and the excessive amount of green leather and glass themselves. Every weekend, “his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight” (Fitzgerald 39). Gatsby holds a party every week to show off his wealth and entertain dozens of guests, a true monetary feat. Through his car and parties, Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby achieved “The American Dream” to great success even though Gatsby started with little to nothing. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald persuasively represents the definition of the “Dream” in Gatsby’s rise to wealth and fame. Notwithstanding his great achievement, the means Gatsby uses to achieve that wealth are …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to symbolize the grandeur fantasy of “The American Dream” through Gatsby’s wealth, but also the “Dream’s” decline in the degradation of morals and the false hopes that “Dream” inspires. Every character in The Great Gatsby portrayed both aspects of “The American Dream” to some extent such as Nick Carraway, whose family was also a story of rags to riches in their rise to money from entrepreneurship (Fitzgerald 3). However, Fitzgerald did not present both aspects of the “Dream” in Carraway as he did in Gatsby, who based his life’s value and work upon his “American Dream.” Jay Gatsby is a symbol for both the glorious dream that gave hope to Americans of the 1920’s, but also a warning from Fitzgerald of the diminishing status of the great