essays on gatsby and the american dream

Simply enter your paper topic to get started! The Great Gatsby - American Dream Corruption 2 Pages 592 Words February 2015 Saved essays Save your essays here so you can locate them quickly! Topics in this paper The Great GatsbyF Scott FitzgeraldAmerican Dream Popular topics The American Dream is an unrealistic vision. It defines success as the measure of laborious work in a lifetime. The American Dream can deceiving, it isn't realistic in the end. Everybody wants to live the American Dream, because of how astonishing society makes it sound. People want to live this elegant lifestyle; of working hard to get a great amount of money. It implies that if you work hard enough, you will achieve great success. Anyone can succeed, but sometimes accomplishing goals comes easier to others. Throughout, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald embodies his ideas of The American Dream through the characters Myrtle, Tom, and Jordan. In the novel, Tom Buchanan exemplifies powerful men and The American Dream. The American Dream is mostly about wealth, and having the most extravagant possessions. The people who succeed, and get to where they want to be in their life, may feel the desire to show off; they may feel more superior. In the novel, the men feel the only way to show a woman that they love them, would be to flamboyantly display their wealth. Tom Buchanan said, I've got a nice place here. Tom simply states this. However, this shows how Tom knows he has an expensive home, and that he was not the slightest bit unsure about it. Tom has tons of money that he is proud of, and doesn't mind showing it off. Tom Buchanan lives The American Dream because of all of the money he had to spend, and the kind of life he was living. Myrtle craved being successful, and living the beautiful lifestyle of The American Dream. Sadly, not many people get there, and would do anything to live in that extraordinary.
Daisy Buchanon Daisy was born Daisy Fay in Louisville, Kentucky, a daughter of Louisville society and Nick Carraway’s cousin. Like the flower for which she is named, Daisy is delicate and lovely. She also shows a certain weakness that simultaneously attracts men to her and causes her to be easily swayed. Daisy’s weakness influences the major points of the story, and she is responsible, if not intentionally, for the novel’s tragic ending. Daisy first met Jay Gatsby in 1917, when he was stationed at Camp Taylor in Louisville. The two fell in love quickly, and Daisy promised to remain loyal to Gatsby when he shipped out to join the fighting. Two years later, she married Tom Buchanon because he bought her an expensive necklace, with the promise of a life of similar extravagance. Daisy is definitely distracted by wealth and power, and despite her husband’s unfaithfulness, she insists she still loves him because of his influence. Gatsby is another matter entirely. Although she left him because he couldn’t provide for her the way Tom could, she retained some glimmer of emotional connection to him. When Gatsby finally professes his love over tea, she responds positively. But is she renewing an old love, or manipulating Gatsby? The novel doesn’t give us any clear idea. Daisy is described in glowing terms in the novel, although her value seems to be connected to monetary value. In chapter 7, for example, Nick and Gatsby have the following famous exchange: “She's got an indiscreet voice,” I remarked. “It's full of —” I hesitated. “Her voice is full of money,” he said suddenly. That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. (120) Daisy is an ideal, and Fitzgerald gives her the qualities to not only live.
Answered by Aslan on 1:01 AM The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, an idealistic and illusionary goal to achieve wealth and status. The ruthless pursuit of wealth leads to the corruption of human nature and moral values. Fitzgerald uses characters in the novel to show the corruptions and the illusionary nature of the American Dream. The superficial achievement of the American Dreams give no fulfillment, no real joy and peace; but instead, creates lots of problems for the characters in the novel. What happens to Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Daisy Buchanan represent the failure of the American Dream. Each character has a different dream. For Jay Gatsby, his dream is to attain happiness, represented by Daisy's love, through materialism and power. For Nick Carraway, his goal is to find someone whose achievement in life could prove that the American Dream is not an illusion. I think in the end, Gatsby proves the American dream to be an illusion. Gatsby is never really accepted into filthy rich society and he can never attain Daisy. The American dream would seem to dictate that money and power assures happiness, or at the very least, gets you what you want. In the end there is nothing to be happy about for any of these characters.
The figurative as well as literal death of Jay Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby symbolizes a conclusion to the principal theme of the novel. With the end of the life of Jay Gatsby comes the end of what Fitzgerald views as the ultimate American ideal: self-made success. The intense devotion Gatsby has towards his rebirth is evident by the plans set forth in Gatsby's teenage schedule, such as Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it. Gatsby's death ironically comes about just as he sorrowfully floats in his pool, witnessing the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves (157) come crashing down. The rhetorical devices employed in the above passage illustrate the demise of the American Dream, the central theme of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby shouldered the mattress and started for the pool. Once he stopped and shifted it a little, and the chauffeur asked him if he needed help, but he shook his head and in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees, (169). Two details in this rather terse paragraph come to the reader's attention: first, Gatsby's decline for assistance in carrying the mattress to the pool; and second, the yellowing trees. GradeSaver provides access to 672 study guide PDFs and quizzes, 3580 literature essays, 1137 sample college application essays, 112 lesson plans, and ad-free surfing in this premium content, “Members Only” section of the site! Membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders. Join Now Already a member? Log in.
Enter Your Search Terms to Get Started! American Dream Great Gatsby Essay The American Dream The American Dream was the philosophy that brought people to America and to start a new life in a strange, foreign land. Due to this dream, it was believed that America was the land of opportunity, wealth, and prosperity. The dream consists of three components: all men are equal, man can trust and should help his fellow man, and the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a condemnation of American Society and focuses on its downfall. This holds true for three of the main characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan. To reach his ideal dream of spending his life with Daisy, Jay Gatsby attains his millions in a corrupt way which help him to replace emotions, and tries to cover it up with lies throughout the novel. In order to become rich, Gatsby engaged in illegal occupations such as bootlegging and being involved in the Mafia. “He and this Wolfsheim bought and sold grain alcohol over the counter.” (Fitzgerald 134). This is the opposite idea of the American Dream, which states that only the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. Gatsby also lies his way through life to conceal his wrongdoing. Gatsby claims that he belongs to a rich family whom provides his way to Oxford and from whom he inherits his riches. “’I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now.’” (Fitzgerald 65). Only later on in the novel, does Nick uncover the truth that “his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people.” (Fitzgerald 99). Gatsby also relies on money to bring him the comfort of family. Gatsby’s musicians sing, “The rich get richer and the poor get-children.” (Fitzgerald 96). He attempts to reclaim the loss of family that he experiences through his wealth. Nick describes a story about.