Fitzgerald's American Dream

F. Scott Fitzgerald is generally regarded as one of the great American writers. His work very much reflected on his life, specifically his pursuit of happiness and the “American Dream.” Fitzgerald was known social commentary, by telling what was going on in the upper class. He defined the culture of America in those times. He also commented on the decay of morales during the 1920’s. As someone who grew up without wealth but desired wealth, he defined the American Dream of rising from rags to riches and living a life of leisure and luxury (Fahey 70). However, his definition of American culture is out of date. The 1920’s was an era defined by the rowdy upper class crowd and the decay of traditional morales. Despite this time being that of prohibition, …show more content…
For the longest time, the American Dream was defined by being becoming rich and famous and having a boat and a mansion and a nice car and a trophy spouse and complaining about minorities (Greer). The Americans of today are much more diverse in beliefs and backgrounds than those in the twenties because of the advancement of minorities. The mixture of cultures, religions, lifestyles, and backgrounds provide unique individuals and creates unique versions of the American Dream. Contemporary Americans may not dream of the classic Monopoly game of becoming rich at the expense of everyone else (Donahue). Many people in fact want to do the opposite and live a life of simplicity and helping out their fellow man. While this idea certainly isn’t new, the diverse landscape of society allows these ideas to …show more content…
One of the most well known modern philanthropists is Bill Gates. Gates is known for donating large amounts of his Microsoft wealth to many different researches and charities. Gatsby, while rich, is nouveaux riche, or in English, “newly rich.” He differs from the old money because he has pretentious displays of his riches by throwing lavish parties, having a massive gaudy mansion, and driving his bright yellow land-yacht. His intentions with these displays were to impress Daisy, however she was old money and had come from a background of wealth. So, while she liked him, she saw his attempts as very gaudy, which likely was why Daisy never came to any of his parties (Fitzgerald). The idea of the nouveaux riche is still apparent today. celebrities like Justin Beaver driving a chrome Tesla or Joel Zimmerman and his bright blue “Purrari” with its gaudy decals (Frye) and hosting a “cat film festival” (Deadmau5). These are great examples of people who are nouveaux riche and more not nearly as cultured or classy as the people of the upper class who are not as garish in their displays of