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Explain The Destruction Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The Destruction of the American Dream The American Dream for many individuals, is a goal. Some achieve it, others result in failure. So what is the American Dream and why does it seem so appealing to the average person? The American Dream is the idea that anyone can work hard and achieve wealth and success in America. This is so inspiring and uplifting because most people want to better themselves, especially back in the 1920’s. This idea is portrayed as an important theme in the book, The Great Gatsby. The author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals many characters in the book that strive for the American Dream. However, it’s controversial if they achieved the American Dream or failed. In The Great Gatsby, there are numerous …show more content…

The author explains that Gatsby did all in his effort to get better for Daisy, but ended up dying in the midst of it. The author depicts this by stating, “Furthermore, his success obviously doesn’t last – he still pines for Daisy and loses everything in his attempt to get her back” (Wulick). The author also brings in the idea of George and Myrtle Wilson trying to achieve the American Dream. It is mentioned that George wants a better life just as much as Myrtle does. However, Myrtle seeks a better life through Tom and having him buy her materials. He bought her a dog, and even expensive accessories for the dog. The author believes George’s escape to a better life, is through his business and work (Wulick). He wants to have people come to his shop so that he makes money, but he never really succeeded. In the article is goes on to note, “Both are disempowered due to the lack of money at their own disposal” (Wulick). This meaning that neither George or Myrtle have any status because they don’t have the most brilliant ideas of achieving the American Dream and escaping their own personal problems with

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1223 Words | 5 Pages

The Great Gatsby is that it is simply about the death of the American Dream, but it is much more than that. The romances of George, Myrtle, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby clearly show that when one is in love, rich or poor, they are often driven to act crazy and without forethought. The deep-rooted love and devotion of George Wilson for his wife provides a distinct example of love-induced craziness in the novel.

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661 Words | 3 Pages

George is so devastated by Myrtle's death, he kills Gatsby, who he believes killed Myrtle, and then kills himself. Myrtle on the other hand is corrupted by the need for wealth. She is never able to love George, solely because he is low class, and poor. Thomas C Foster explains Myrtles corrupt reasoning, “She is coarse and unrealistic, not understanding how Tom is using her in the relationship and truly believing that he will leave Daisy for her” (Foster 140). Myrtle is blinded by the opportunity for a life of wealth and high class living, that she fails to appreciate her loving husband, and instead is delusional that Tom loves

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501 Words | 3 Pages

In “The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald, Myrtle Wilson plays a role in not only her own death, but also the tragic demise of J. Gatsby. In chapter 2 she is described as “in her middle thirties and faintly stout” (29). Myrtle Wilson is the wife of degenerate garage owner George Wilson. She expresses her feelings for her decision on marrying George as “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (34-35).

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951 Words | 4 Pages

Within The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presented Myrtle as a character who was unaffected by true love and craved extreme wealth. Many people like Myrtle in the 1920s felt having lots of money meant being able to live a luxurious and happy lifestyle. They refused to accept the idea of a simplistic lifestyle and always anticipated more. Fitzgerald’s writing revealed more than Myrtle constantly insulting her husband’s situation. He exposed the corruption of the “new” American Dream and the relationships it destroyed as a

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald's interpretation of the American Dream in the fictional novel The Great Gatsby is different from today's ideals due to people struggling financially, lack of acceptance, people losing hope, gender inequalities, and the cost of living increasing. People worry about their financial state because of their yearly

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783 Words | 4 Pages

"The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream." In this quote, by Azar Nafisi, it explains how dreaming can be tainted by reality, and it that if you don 't compromise you may suffer. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is one the many themes in this book. The American Dream that most people in this book obtains to have is wealth, statist, a fun social life, and someone to lust. It is the life we all strive to have until we obtain it and see it 's meaningless composure.

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1756 Words | 8 Pages

The Corruption of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates society in the 1920’s and the desire for the people with in it to achieve the American Dream, which embodies the hope that one can achieve power, love and a higher economic/social status through one’s commitment and effort. The novel develops the story of a man named Jay Gatsby and his dream of marrying what he describes as his “golden girl”, also known as, Daisy Buchanan, his former lover. Fitzgerald explores the corruption of the American dream through the Characters; Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy.

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419 Words | 2 Pages

The American dream is to start your life with little to no money and work your way into making a liveable salary. The American dream is often thought of by immigrants, many immigrants move to the U.S. thinking they follow the American dream. In the book The Great Gatsby, James Gatsby the mysterious wealthy character who dropped out of college and started his life as a young man. Gatsby could be compared to the immigrants in the thought of the American dream.

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772 Words | 4 Pages

"The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream." In this quote, by Azar Nafisi, it explains how dreaming can be tainted by reality, and that if a person doesn’t compromise they may suffer. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is one the many themes present. The American Dream that most people in this book hope to have involves wealth, status, a fun social life, and someone to lust after. It is the life they all strive to have until they obtain it and see its meaningless composure.

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

F. 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 .

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

The Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby In an era of greed and corruption, the American dream became less important in the 1920’s as social values decayed in people 's lives. Materialism became most important in society, resulting in selfishness and carelessness. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby shows this reckless behavior with Tom and Daisy Buchanan, a spoiled couple married for the wealth. The failure of the American dream is represented in The Great Gatsby with the upper class’s overindulgence and recklessness with material objects . F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the difference between old money and new money in The Great Gatsby with the East and West Eggs and the residents who live there.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby is not simply a story of Jay Gatsby’s undying and misguided love for a Daisy Buchanan. The novel, The Great Gatsby, encompasses a number of themes, the most significant one is the disillusionment and corruption of the American dream. The ability to obtain prosperity such as happiness, or a car is what comprises of the American dream. It is a belief that anyone who is self-sufficient, or who is a hard worker can obtain this dream regardless of their social standing. In the book, the facade of a dream appears to be at the tips of Gatsby and Myrtle’s fingers but this “pursuit of happiness” sentiment is in actuality impossible.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby, written in 1924 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in my opinion, focused on the American Dream and the problems with that vision. In contrast to all the other themes of the book, it seemed to be rather uplifting on the surface but when you look into the details it can paint a pretty disgusting picture of the American Dream in the 1920’s chiefly and the American Dream for all Americans throughout time in general. In the following, I will be discussing the American Dream in a whole over the course of the entire novel, using a specific quotation, and focusing on Gatsby. As we focus on the American Dream in the Great Gatsby, we must look in general across the entire book. We really first start to see foreshadowing to this theme in the second Chapter with George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson, one making a living as a mechanic/gas station operator, the other making money by being in an affair with Tom respectively.

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911 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby’s Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Dreams are seen as a positive way to keep people going forward through their lives. However, dreams can blind people and not let them to see the truth. The novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the idea of The American Dream of not being able to be achieved. Gatsby is one of the characters in the novel that tries to achieve The American Dream. The pursuit of the American Dream brings negative results to Gatsby because he becomes greedy, unrealistic, and dishonest, which shows that chasing dreams can destroy one’s life.

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1262 Words | 6 Pages

The desire for a luxurious life is what gets Myrtle into having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Her immoral decision harms her marriage with George, which leads to her loss of happiness and dreams of a rich life. Myrtle is full of life and dreams, perfect for a

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