The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The American Dream is a philosophy based off of starting from nothing and achieving family, fortune, and fame. The belief that self-determination and hard work will lead to the attainment of the American Dream is strongly tied with the American culture. This philosophical idea, however, is not portrayed in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is often referred to as one of the “Great American Novels” to date. In terms, a “Great American Novel” should portray an honest and well-remembered character, rather than a character such as Jay Gatsby who achieved his fortune through illegal business and dies without recognition towards the end. Although Gatsby lives a lavish lifestyle that many people fantasize about, Gatsby’s American Dream is never fully fulfilled due to his failure of not having a family, successfully obtaining money the righteous way, and leaving a legacy; therefore, the novel The Great Gatsby, should not be entitled as the “Great American Novel” today.

The symbolic imagery, such as goods and color, is often used by authors to suggest and help readers to understand the invisible parts of the characters, which are their personalities and so on, through the specific goods they own, or the story, which help to develop the whole plot. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbols in this book. Among all those symbols in it, the symbol of the green light is the strongest, due to the changes of meaning in the book and leading the plot. However, each symbolic imagery is not unique, they interact with each other. This essay will argue that, with the help of other symbols, the symbol of green light becomes the crucial symbol for us to understand The Great Gatsby. Besides, this essay will

Greatness is defined as “wonderful; first-rate; very good; being such in an extreme or notable degree; remarkable; exceptionally outstanding; important; highly significant or consequential” (dictionary.com). So, using that criteria as judgment, is Gatsby actually great? Historical figures that are considered “great” add perspective to the controversy of that question, making a model or guidelines for someone to be thought of as “great”. Jay Gatsby shares the title “great”, as these leaders do, yet may not fit the mold. Why? That is a sticky subject. Formerly known as James Gatz, Gatsby is “great” in that he pursues a dream until his death, something many people can’t do; however his “greatness” truly lies in the fact that he is defeated by his desire for a girl that did not belong to him anymore. He chases a dream that isn’t in reaching distance. This great failure is Gatsby’s legacy that makes him The Great Gatsby, but what makes Gatsby, or any man for that matter, “great”?

Throughout The Great Gatsby many themes are displayed to correlate moral corruption to each character. The Great Gatsby is basically a story about moral and the absentence of morals within the society of the 1920’s. Most characters in the book as only concerned about how society views them and what can they do to be the most rich and famous person that everyone is talking about. Tom, Daisy and Myrtle are three characters in The Great Gatsby who take no responsibility for their actions, in which the lives of others are destroyed and demonstrate how the corruption of the 1920s can ruin one’s life.

The Gold Rush and the huge economic burst during the Roaring 20s offered diligent youths numerous opportunities to rise up in the social ladder and accomplish their dreams. Yet Fitzgerald suggests through Gatsby’s tragic demise that the American Dream is an unattainable illusion. This fantasy arises from the endless possibilities in America and pushes people to devote their lives to futile attempts of fitting into an idealistic upper class they do not belong to.

Class structure of the 1920s was based on popularity and how well off people were compared to those around them. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates class structure in the book The Great Gatsby through the different characters in different social classes. Fitzgerald gives settings that correspond with the social classes of the characters to better illustrate what environment he placed each character in. The Buchanan’s, Gatsby, and the Wilsons are examples of the different conflicting social classes Fitzgerald lays out for his readers.

Lastly, Myrtle illustrated disillusionment of the American dream by switching roles whenever she would go from the Valley of Ashes to her and Tom’s condo in New York. For example, when she was on her way to the condo with Tom, she made him purchase her a puppy, “Mrs. Wilson gathered up her dog and her other purchases and walked haughtily in” (Fitzgerald 28). Myrtle acted stuck up as if she owned the place even though she was really poor. She was trying to be someone she’s not. She thought that being surrounded by such a lavish lifestyle would grant her happiness. Another reason how Myrtle demonstrated disillusionment of the American dream was her relationship with George. She and George came across seas seeking the American dream. They came to American with great intentions and opened their own garage on their way to be successful, but unfortunately that didn’t work out for them. Their relationship started to crumble once Myrtle started having an affair

3. What determines whether the hopes a character has about changing location match up with reality?

In The Great Gatsby the American Dream assumes a huge part. In it you can see what occurred it during the 1920s. The qualities have completely changed, as opposed to striving for achievement, they simply need to get as rich as they could get.so it is not astonishing that the new sort of American dream falls flat a few times, which F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts in his book. He demonstrates that individuals are not yet treated just as and that social segregation still exists, which is depicted in the scene where Tom and Wilson converse with one another in Chapter II. For the reader it is promptly clear that Tom sees himself as better than Wilson. We can see that when Wilson needs to exchange Tom 's old auto. Tom essentially goes ahead with his amusement with Wilson since he needs to proceed with his issue with Wilson 's wife, as a consequence of that he doesn 't give the auto to Wilson. Wilson’s fantasy is to acquire enough cash to move away with his wife and to begin another life some spot lovely. In any case his fantasy can simply get to be valid with the assistance of Tom. Despite the fact that, Wilson does not understand that Tom would not like to help him get a car whatsoever. His fantasy fizzles, when his wife is murdered, which is the fact of the matter were life gets to be silly to him. Another example of how the American dream is portrayed in The Great Gatsby is Mr. Wilson wife, Myrtle Wilson, her dream; she needs to turn into a young lady of the high society.

Every individual has a unique perspective of the world. To people in the twentieth century United States, this perspective was largely influenced by the American Dream, the assumption that each person, no matter what their origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. When people heard about this American Dream, they sought new opportunities to change their lives. While many struggled to achieve it, others corrupted it. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows what happened to the American Dream in the 1920s. The old values that built it were corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. The value of a dollar meant little to people, and they slowly began to take advantage of all the new things around them. People not only worked to receive a paycheck, but to also show off on account of how much money they were making. We are still able to witness these things happening in our world now. In the book, Tom, Daisy and Gatsby must all have the latest and most glamorous items in order to feel worthy and content. On the other hand we have Nick who is completely content with what he has.

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been celebrated as one of the greatest, if not the greatest American novel. Yet this is sudden for the overall population, which has so hailed the book, is unequivocally that which is rebuffed all through it. Politically, the American dream was a foundation of guidelines and trusts for any and every American single individual. Especially, one of the convictions was an American dream free of class refinement; that every individual has the opportunity to be whomever they might want to be. In a sort of Cinderella-like style, it is in a broad sense an immaculate of social versatility and adaptability. The social reality, of course, is far crueler. Because of the coldblooded truth of social

Oppressive societies often negatively impact the marginalized citizens, and cause them to have unrealistic views of society. We can clearly see this in both Daisy Buchanan, and Abigail Williams.The marginalization of women causes them to have a distorted view of love. This distorted view of love often leads women to manipulate and influence the actions of those around them. Abigail Williams from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Daisy Buchanan from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby live in patriarchal societies where women are viewed as inferior to men. This role leads them to have a distorted and unrealistic view of love, which results in Daisy being viewed as selfish and Abigail’s malicious personality being revealed.

From a distance, the American dream is a hopeful one- that anyone, regardless of race, class, or gender, can become successful and wealthy if they possess ambition and the ability to work hard. However, when scrutinized, this rosy view clearly shows ignorance towards societal issues such as misogyny, racism, and income inequality and instead focuses on the notion of having an extravagant home, fancy cars, and a happy family- all of which symbolize the great American dream. Fitzgerald, through his literary text The Great Gatsby, illustrates not only the corruption of this dream, but the destructive effects it induces upon individuals of different social classes. Fitzgerald’s characters, Myrtle, Daisy, Tom,

The 1920’s, famously known as the Jazz Age, was a major turning point in America’s soaring economy. However, as a result, amassing wealth in exorbitant amounts and throwing extravagant parties became socially acceptable and the conservatism and the old-fashioned values of the 19th century were left behind. The roaring twenties also coincided with the prohibition period which saw bootleggers make millions off the sale of contraband and brought life to underground revelry. Contrary to his predecessors, Scott F Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby (1926), saw this period as a manifestation of materialism within American values, tainting them in his eyes. In the novel, Fitzgerald positions

The United States is a country that says to revel in principles of equality, freedom, and success. As a nation, we take pride in our lack of elitist dictatorship and boast about a fair opportunity for prosperity. But, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, openly challenges these principles and points out the aristocracy that stems from chasing the American Dream. Set in the roaring 1920’s during the time of prohibition and the rise of the stock market, Fitzgerald accurately portrays the United States and the American Dream during his period as materialistic, selfish, and corrupt. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, and Jay Gatsby are the strivers. Their similar histories and tragic fates emphasize the false promises of the American Dream and the eventual self-destruction that results from chasing such an elusive, corrupt goal.