Why Is The Great Gatsby American Dream Flawed
Many readers see The Great Gatsby as a promising novel that explores the American Dream, but The American Dream has often been flawed throughout the book. The book takes place through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a discerning young man who tries to prove his honesty but, at the same time, serves as an intermediate for most conflicting characters. Multiple points of view are shown throughout the book and possibly take on whether characters in this book exploit the reputable American Dream. The leading man, Jay Gatsby, tries hard to live out his dream but falls short of the values America always backs to that restrain upon the American Dream. In Fitgeralzd’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream can be seen by some readers as attainable because …show more content…
The rise of fame Gatsby elevates very quickly because of his illegal business, but the reader does not learn this until midway through the book. The Dream has a natural flaw because of Gatsby's value of material possessions. He values possessions like his house because he needs them to prove to himself the reality of his wealth, backed up by illegal doings. Owl Eyes, A character in the book, pokes around Gatsby's mansion for the truth about his wealth. He is distraught when he realizes Gatsby's books are not made of “nice durable cardboard”(Citation ). The fact that he searches Gatsby's house and expects to come up with emptiness because of his fault uncovers the American Dream as an unreliable fraud or temporary life position. Also, the dream will never reach attainability because of America’s social classes, set in stone by the aristocrats who built the country. Also, Gatsby lives for his previous life, with regret every day. This regret roots from the kiss that struck his life, he kissed a wealthy girl, Daisy Buchanan, and has been spell broken for her love ever since. The Past, along with a faulty business, stirs a crack in The American Dream, and when Gatsby is at his peak, his Dream snaps. Gatsby is late to realize this and metaphorically reaches “out his arms toward the dark” by participating in the corruption of society through illegal means of wealth. This snaps when he reaches too far into the past
Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby
527 Words | 3 Pages“Gatsby goes to spectacular lengths to try to achieve what Nick Carraway calls “his incorruptible dream” (Sutton1). Gatsby’s moral decline through his life shows his failed attempt at the American dream. “The collapse of Gatsby’s attempt to win Daisy proves that dreams, money, and blind faith in life’s possibilities, are not enough for a man to reach his goals”
Annette Hanshaw's Influence On The Great Gatsby
1051 Words | 5 PagesThe notoriously known American Dream takes dedication and perseverance to accomplish. Gatsby shows determination throughout this novel; however, his circumstances play a toll on his ability to obtain his dream. In Gatsby’s case, he is trying to accomplish the impossible; he has a visionary outlook on the American Dream. Gatsby is unsuccessful in his effort to obtain his American Dream in the sense of love; however, he successfully obtains his American Dream in the sense of wealth. Gatsby’s partial failure does not mean the American Dream is impossible to accomplish.
Examples Of Moral Ambiguity In The Great Gatsby
719 Words | 3 PagesThough Gatsby follows a corrupt path to gain considerable wealth through the façade that he has been born a wealthy upperclassman, he does so not for his own indulgence, but for Daisy’s love and approval, showing how people unknowingly undermine their moral values through disillusionment of their dreams. As he was actually born into a working family, Gatsby’s attempt to rise in status is seen as more understandable to the readers who can relate much more to his desires. Gatsby does not understand that his actions are not only immoral, but disillusioned as he equates reality and unreality. The idealistic diction and reference to his dream as a “rock” implies a foundation- stability and sturdiness- for Gatsby to leap off of and achieve what he desires. However the reality is difficult for Gatsby to accept as this “rock of [his] world” is founded on an intangible dream, a fantasy, “a fairy’s wing”.
Examples Of Patience In The Great Gatsby
1645 Words | 7 PagesThe American Dream’s widely recognized components are personified in Jay Gatsby. From an ordinary background, Gatsby worked hard to amass wealth and status. He is a self-starter who believes he can accomplish anything with diligent work. However, Gatbsy’s dream is to win Daisy over rather than amass wealth for himself. Even when Daisy stops talking to him, he begins to clutch at some last hope that nobody can shake him free of, further linking him with the delusion of those who believe in the American Dream.
How Does Fitzgerald Present The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
624 Words | 3 PagesAs Nick put it, Gatsby's dream sounded so possible and simple for him, for from the perception of others, it's a dre am that's way too far for his reach. Although all the characters seek the pursuit of the American Dream, th ey do n't all achieve what they're seeking for. Indeed the characters that formerly have the life of the Amer ican Dream aren't happy with it. In the novel, we read about the life of the characters of Tom and his wom an
Greed In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
1251 Words | 6 PagesGatsby’s life was never simple, he came from a poor farm family and had to work his way in the shadows of the rich, and failed many times before becoming the person he is. Sadly his goal of wealth is all he will ever be remembered for, even in death his father, like others, only recognizes Gastby’s hard work after seeing the house as proof of his son’s accomplishments. “...he looked around him now for the first time and saw the height and splendor of the hall and the great rooms opening out from it into other rooms, his grief began to be mixed with an awed pride” (Fitzgerald 168). The book parallels how American society may offer more opportunities for upward mobility, gaining wealth through hard work, and also the unrealistic parts that come with such dreams. Gatsby is a prime example of how he is only as great as his possession and grand lifestyle, and the parties he hosted.
Examples Of Disillusionment In The Great Gatsby
2056 Words | 9 PagesHe has gained extraordinary wealth in a few years, but he is never really one of the privileged and his dream is just a frontage” (Keshmiri 7). Contrary to the American dream’s concept of endless possibility and success, Gatsby’s story shows the impossibility of escaping certain circumstances. Gatsby wants more than anything to be part of the elite and wealthy, but unfortunately can never fit into the exclusive society because he was not born into it like the rest of them. The reality is that although Gatsby refuses to see it, there are limitations to dreams, and the American dream is not as realistic as it seems. In, “The Doomed Dreamer”, Jesmyn Ward asserts “that the very social class that embodied the dream Gatsby wanted for himself was predicated on exclusion.
Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby
711 Words | 3 PagesThe Great Gatsby is a classic novel of a man’s infatuation over a past lover and his hopes for their rekindled romance, and future together. However, at its core, F. Scott Fitzgerald is depicting the corruption during a time of wealth and economic prosperity, the 1920s. The idea of the American Dream is that through hard work and determination, anyone can become successful and wealthy. Several characters in the Great Gatsby demonstrate how the desire for wealth and power corrupted the American Dream for many during the roaring 20s. Jay Gatsby is a prime example of how the American Dream can be corrupted by the yearning for money and status.
The Great Gatsby Persuasive Essay
1026 Words | 5 PagesUnfortunately, these great attributes are also his tragic traits. As Gatsby is a hopeless romantic, he uses his wealth to attract his long-lost love, Daisy, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” (Fitzgerald 61). Gatsby’s persistent measures to get Daisy’s attention, such as buying a mansion across from her house and throwing loud, night-long parties, reflect his greatness as he does it all in the name of love. Said parties also showcase that he is living in the moment with his accomplished riches, which presents him as having an extravagant lifestyle.
Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby
999 Words | 4 PagesGatsby is rich, powerful, and influential, but that was never enough for him. He has everything that everything that people covet and wish for but to him it is only the things that exist to enable him to get what he wants. It is because of his fantasies about the American Dream with Daisy that everything he tried to build for years has been destroyed by those bad things that he did. Gatsby’s desire for money and social status led him to exhibit his negative qualities such as involvement in crime, dishonesty, and delusions about his life with a married woman.
Examples Of Deception In The Great Gatsby
674 Words | 3 PagesHe has the illusion that all of his deceptions over the years have made him untouchable, and everyone seems to agree with him. His pastries are the most lavish, his home the largest, and his car the fastest. He is what every man in 1920s America wants to become; he is the literal embodiment of the American Dream. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows the corruption and decline of the American Dream. Yes, Jay Gatsby started from the bottom and ended up at the top, but his rise was built upon mountains of lies and deceptions.
Examples Of Duality In The Great Gatsby
884 Words | 4 PagesGatsby has the American Dream of being successful and wanting to marry the girl of his dreams. However, Fitzgerald argues that The American Dream is a paradox because dreams aren’t supposed to be achieved, and are better off to remain in one’s imagination. For example, Gatsby wants to marry the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Sadly Gatsby sets such a high standard for her that she will never be able to live up to. Gatsby envisions Daisy as the golden girl, and once he put his plan into action, he realizes
Corruption Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis
1756 Words | 8 PagesGatsby was a man who came up from essentially nothing by gaining his money through bootlegging and other illegal acts in order to gain a reputation in society. Gatsby’s constant desire to accomplish more in his life demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream. It is evident that Gatsby has had a thirst for the American dream since a young age, this is shown when Gatsby’s father says: “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind?
The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay
1133 Words | 5 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of the American Dream. Written in 1925, the book tells the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, whose main driving force in life is the pursuit of a woman called Daisy Buchanan. The narrator is Gatsby’s observant next-door neighbor, Nick Carraway, who offers a fresh, outsider’s perspective on the events; the action takes place in New York during the so-called Roaring Twenties. By 1922, when The Great Gatsby takes place, the American Dream had little to do with Providence divine and a great deal to do with feelings organized around style and personal changed – and above all, with the unexamined self .
The Negative Side Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
772 Words | 4 PagesJust as the American Dream- the pursuit of happiness- has degenerated into a quest for more wealth, Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy has become the motivation for lavish excess and criminal activities. He used his dream to escape from his past, but then was stuck on hold for when he lost Daisy the only part of the dream he really cared for. Gatsby made a dream just for Daisy so she could be apart of his, but saw the meaningless of it when she didn’t choose him in the end. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….
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