The F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, has become one of the most read, praised pieces of fiction in American literature. Without a doubt, The Great Gatsby appropriately represents a period of American history where everything was possible, or at least thought possible. In the novel, Fitzgerald doesn’t just depict the social, historical, and economical conditions, he provides the reader with insight into the lives and motives, which the characters use to validate their actions. An underlying reason as to why everything happens the way they do in the novel is the overarching idea of the American Dream. Towards the end of the novel, one must wonder whether or not the American Dream in The Great Gatsby still holds its meaning, or is it the remnants of a once great idea.

Achieving the American Dream means reaching a level of material wealth and social status to almost everyone. Although most people think they would pursue the American Dream with integrity and sincerity, the allure of material wealth often leads people to compromise.Their moral compass often becomes relative and their relational pursuits often become predatory. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the morality of society and the pursuit of the American dream through his characters’ actions and worldviews.

Ever since the formation of America, cultural values and ideals have been strongly centered on the belief that any man, no matter his initial station in life, can achieve greatness and prosperity, should he be willing to work hard and have initiative. Americans had trust in the idea that they would find a certain level of success, as long as the aforementioned traits were put into practice; no prerequisites were required to obtain these goals, and all people had a chance to better their situation. However, this long held belief was put into question in the aftermath of the First World War; millions of soldiers and civilians were killed, advanced methods of warfare destroyed homes and cities, and the

Wealth is a major theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It drives the behaviors of the book’s major characters and creates the tension and tragedies that unfold throughout the story. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Nick are all affected by what they believe wealth will bring them but, in the end, only Nick truly understands the misery that having a fortune can bring.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, depicts the characters Gatsby and Daisy as symbols of the American Dream. Those who long to be at the top of the social ladder are evidence of the greedy scramble of wealth. Although Gatsby falsifies the original story of his climb to the top, this rags to riches endeavor is the pillar on which the American dream stands which gives him a mysterious yet interesting persona. Gatsby embodies Jack Solomon’s premise, in “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”, through his empty pursuit of materialism. Solomon argues that the American dream is an ideology that measures individual success based on how much wealth and property one owns. This idea of the American Dream dictates that a person’s outward appearance gives the illusion that if one attained wealth and property, happiness would suffice. By applying Solomon’s thesis to an analysis of Gatsby, we see that this idea of the American dream is an empty pursuit of pleasure that ultimately leaves him in a whirlwind of depression.

From a young age, everyone is told to follow the example set by adults around them. Children are constantly berated for their behavior and told to act more mature. But issues in this world are not caused by children. The blame lies in the hands of the very adults that adolescents are taught to model after. Adults are able to get away with unacceptable behavior, claiming that being older means that they must know better. In the heart of the 1920s, an era of wild parties and reckless abandon, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the complex society of Long Island Sound’s elite, the fictional East Egg and its less fashionable counterpart, West Egg, in his novel The Great Gatsby. Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s already strained marriage is further shaken up by the reappearance of a flame from Daisy’s past, Jay Gatsby, who manages to make himself into an incredibly wealthy man. Readers watch through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s neighbor, as irrational actions force their lives to intertwine into a complicated mess. The selfish decisions and careless actions of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby prove that the behavior of adults is not always acceptable.

Humans continually search for success. This success surfaces in forms such as fortune, fame, glory, et cetera. The American Dream encapsulates the ideals of the “New World,” bringing together not only the idea of limitless success, but also its newfound availability and encouragement for embracing the promise land. The Great Gatsby explores the American Dream and “the actual nature of this dream... the manner in which people try to achieve it, as well as the moral implications their actions bring” (Smiljanić, 2). Through The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the truth of the American Dream by showing that it incorporates the drive for prosperity as well as the actual prosperity itself, but ultimately, the class distinctions amongst Americans, and the never ending search for fulfillment, prevent the dream from being achieved.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, wrote the Great Gatsby in 1925. It was based to take place in “West Egg,” a made up town in Long Island, New York. Nick Carraway a bond salesman who had just moved to West Egg, across from his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and next door to Jay Gatsby, who later we find in this novel are connected. When Nick moves in and is invited to go across the water to East Egg for dinner. He then sees his cousin, Daisy, who is with her husband, Tom Buchanan, and friend Jordan Baker. Within a short amount of time in this book, we learn that Daisy has issues within the marriage due to her husband’s cheating and his absence of their child’s birth. When Nick mentions the neighbor, Jay Gatsby, Daisy happens to perk up; this can help infer she knows something of him. Once Nick arrives home, he spots Gatsby, who is staring across the water to a green light and stretching his arm up towards it.

The world is always in motion. All aspects of life are constantly changing, reforming, and developing. The American Dream has evolved greatly since the actual term was formulated in 1931 by James Truslow Adams. He proposed the American Dream was “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller”. But F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is based on an entirely different American Dream, one that is constructed upon the basis of notions of great success and economic achievement. The American Dream is a series of ideas built on trials of reaching perfection. These economic trials all have an origin in common: they each evolve from dreams. Dreams that spark thoughts of evolution or development, inventive hopes that serve as roots for methods for attaining this insurmountable ideal. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby offers the reader a view into the window of the past in attempts to understand the endeavors aimed towards grasping the American Dream. These processes involved dreams that were capacious yet solitary, dreams that were unvarying yet everlasting, and dreams that were deceased yet somehow, still existed.

In Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, there are numerous themes, resonating ideas, and patterns that occur, but none are as crucial to understanding Fitzgerald’s character Gatsby and the overall story than Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the dying American Dream. Before exploring the American Dream within the context of the text, readers should consider the changing concept of defining ‘the American Dream. While there are several interpretations of the American Dream, the one that is continuously presented throughout the text is best portrayed by Gatsby himself when he states, “My life, old sport, my life my life has got to be like this. It 's got to keep going up.” The American Dream, as contextualized by Fitzgerald, is illustrated as a chase or a race from poverty or state of discomfort to a state in which individuals achieve elite, often materialistic goals. Fitzgerald demonstrates this chase for success throughout his text and uses his characters as vehicles to portray civil society’s idealized conception of The Dream, while simultaneously critiquing the concept of his perception of the ridiculousness of living only for the purpose of obtaining the Dream’s expected riches. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s varied uses of the American Dream is an effective literary technique to not only critique overt materialism, corruption, greed, elitism, and the Roaring 1920s society, but also aim to illustrate a subliminal message to American society about the negative aspects of the Dream as well

F. Scott Fitzgerald said it best when he stated, “That is part of the beauty of literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” That’s the great thing about literature; it allows people to feel like part of something. And some of the best literature has come from America and authors like Fitzgerald. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to his parents Edward and Mollie Fitzgerald. He came from a background of American royalty on his father’s side, receiving his name from a distant second cousin, Francis Scott Key. His mother held no valuable genealogy, coming from peasant Irish roots. After many attempts to start a family,

In this passage, I presume that Nick is indeed the author of this narrative. When Nick is invited to Gatsby’s party he distinctly felt special as being one of the few who were invited. The author’s description of the party scene is specified in great detail that shows that he is very sharp-eyed. The authors observation of his view of the scenery is apparent in the second line, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the stars.” The exposition of the moth focuses on imagery which is relevant to compare the men and girls to moths because they have no reason to wander around, they just do unsolicited.

In the book,“The Great Gatsby” by F Scott Fitzgerald is about a group of people set in Long Island. The main characters of this book is Nick,Tom,Daisy,Myrtle,George,and Jordan. However they appear in multiple area 's except for The Valley of Ashes to where all the poor people live. For the most part however it is briefly set between East Egg and West Egg. East Egg is to where all the more older and classy,rich people live while West Egg is for the more new rich people that haven 't completely gotten used to being rich and famous so they have not completely adjusted to the rich life and the way rich people are supposed to work and speak.

provides a general basis of where the themes or the stance of the author is influenced from, perhaps by the society in which the author was a part of, or an experience that he underwent

For many celebrated authors, the meaning of their work comes from a collection of opinions and outlooks on life that the writer has accumulated throughout his or her life. In the case of F. Scott Fitzgerald, this statement could not be truer. In fact, much of Fitzgerald’s most famous work feature plots that closely parallel events from his life (Lathbury 10). For example, his novel This Side of Paradise includes a young man who is rejected by the love of his life on the grounds of his social status. Zelda similarly rejected Fitzgerald for his social status at first. In comparison, it is not surprising that Fitzgerald’s story The Great Gatsby takes place in the Jazz Age, which he lived through while writing the novel. Writing a story that takes place during his time was Fitzgerald’s way of telling his story as well as to make commentary on the world around him. This commentary was the product of Fitzgerald’s lifelong aspiration for greatness as well as the baggage he carried from World War I like other members of the lost generation had. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby depicts his duplicitous mentality of celebrating, but criticizing the Jazz Age, an outlook resulting from his life and experiences in World War I.