Is the American Dream really a Dream?
The 1920s was a time of prosperity, security, and big dreams. Along with this, money came to people that are carefree, lenient, and those who work hard. Following the 20s, people who read The Great Gatsby assumed that the novel is based on the idea of romance and chasing after forgotten dreams. However, Fitzgerald wrote the novel from a completely different view. The Great Gatsby aims to show how F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes his characters’ selfish materialism—and their foul motives to become the wealthiest they can—in his novel to explain the corrupt American Dream that he has created.
The 1920s was characterized by many individuals who aimed to become wealthy and create a secure life for themselves …show more content…
One of those people is written into The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; he developes Tom Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan is “enormously wealthy,” and has “a cruel body” according to the narrator, Nick Carraway (6-7). Tom is described as a very powerful man who has one trait about him that sets him apart from other characters: proud. He is proud of the life he creates for himself and his possessions, one of them being Daisy Buchanan. Tom has always been rich, starting his life out right while Gatsby begins with the struggles of being average; they have some similarities: they are flashy, greedy, and yearn for Daisy—though it is a different type of admiration for both. Fitzgerald describes Tom in a way to represent his constant superiority over others. Tom is portrayed as a typical man of the 20s with showing and maintaining strict power wherever he goes and sustains this dominance throughout the whole novel. In addition, Tom represents the whole being of a luxurious life. This life is what lures the mistress, Myrtle, into wanting to be with Tom. Although she is unfaithful to George, she concurrently exists on the side of a wonderful rich and famous lifestyle that she deeply desires. Although she mostly wants this new lifestyle for herself, she allows herself …show more content…
Fitzgerald chooses to utilize Gatsby during World War I to show how he truly desires Daisy all those five-years ago, but just could not have her because of the materialistic ideals that stood in between them. In addition, he uses the relationship between Myrtle and Tom to describe how Myrtle wants to climb up the social ladder created during the roaring 20s, despite already having George as a lover. These two relationships are chosen to analyze the fact that people will always have materialistic desires, but sometimes these desires end up doing more harm than
The 1920s was a time of prosperity, security, and big dreams. Along with this, money came to people that are carefree, lenient, and those who work hard. Following the 20s, people who read The Great Gatsby assumed that the novel is based on the idea of romance and chasing after forgotten dreams. However, Fitzgerald wrote the novel from a completely different view. The Great Gatsby aims to show how F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes his characters’ selfish materialism—and their foul motives to become the wealthiest they can—in his novel to explain the corrupt American Dream that he has created.
The 1920s was characterized by many individuals who aimed to become wealthy and create a secure life for themselves …show more content…
One of those people is written into The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; he developes Tom Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan is “enormously wealthy,” and has “a cruel body” according to the narrator, Nick Carraway (6-7). Tom is described as a very powerful man who has one trait about him that sets him apart from other characters: proud. He is proud of the life he creates for himself and his possessions, one of them being Daisy Buchanan. Tom has always been rich, starting his life out right while Gatsby begins with the struggles of being average; they have some similarities: they are flashy, greedy, and yearn for Daisy—though it is a different type of admiration for both. Fitzgerald describes Tom in a way to represent his constant superiority over others. Tom is portrayed as a typical man of the 20s with showing and maintaining strict power wherever he goes and sustains this dominance throughout the whole novel. In addition, Tom represents the whole being of a luxurious life. This life is what lures the mistress, Myrtle, into wanting to be with Tom. Although she is unfaithful to George, she concurrently exists on the side of a wonderful rich and famous lifestyle that she deeply desires. Although she mostly wants this new lifestyle for herself, she allows herself …show more content…
Fitzgerald chooses to utilize Gatsby during World War I to show how he truly desires Daisy all those five-years ago, but just could not have her because of the materialistic ideals that stood in between them. In addition, he uses the relationship between Myrtle and Tom to describe how Myrtle wants to climb up the social ladder created during the roaring 20s, despite already having George as a lover. These two relationships are chosen to analyze the fact that people will always have materialistic desires, but sometimes these desires end up doing more harm than