Pursuing The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

From the start of the America, to the America we know today, the driving force and the heart of America has always been and is it today the “American dream”. The “American dream” is a goal for many who live in America. They believe that the “American Dream” is controlling their own destiny, becoming successful, and living free. The “American Dream” is success, freedom, and being able to control your own destiny. Without dreams, there is nothing to plan or look forward to; therefore, no reason to live.

He appeared to have a great amount of money, but people questioned how he obtained it. The most concerning thought of people was that it came through bootlegging. This suspicion was true as Gatsby and his colleague, Wolfsheim “bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 141). The Great Gatsby is set up during the prohibition era, where the selling of alcohol was illegal due to the dangers it caused. This shows that his wealth was a lie and was obtained through illegal means.

Generation after generation, individuals and families come to America in the hope of a successful and content life. Everyone has goals that they wish to accomplish, and their ideas fall under the American dream. The American dream is achieved by working hard to accomplish the ideal future someone wishes to have. There is no definite definition of the American dream because everyone has different opinions and beliefs on what they believe to be their ideal future. This dream many people have presents a pretty view of American society that ignores problems such as racism, discrimination, and income inequality.

However, the American government’s idea of freedom also relied on the access to land to prosper the economy. Therefore they sought to take this land for their use. The Native Americans disagreed with this, and fought to keep their land. However, the Native Americans never succeeded in claiming their land back. The settlers actually tried to compensate some of that land back to the Indians by a document called the Dawes Act, which supposedly protected Native American property rights, mainly through the land rushes in the 1890s.

This play charts the quests for success and happiness in order to achieve the American Dream. For the Younger, the American Dream was to find happiness and have a stable life. I believe that they were able to achieve this. Even though Walter had bigger plans for the family; they were still able to achieve what they wanted. Walter 's ambitions to have a successful business were decent but he didn 't have enough of the knowledge to make it work.

The film illuminates the changing character of Kane as the American Dream corrupts, consuming Kane in a world of power and wealth. Kane is a representation of the American Dream, however those who have achieved the dream are meant to live a happy life, this is not what happens for Kane. Kane as a child was given away by his mother in hopes for him to lead a better life; however this only resulted in Kane being raised by the bank, rather than a loving parent figure. Kane undergoes many transitions of character throughout his life, first being introduced to the viewer as an innocent child, then into a young man running a newspaper company, then finally into a tyrant who wanted the public to conform to his values. Kane’s character is examined through flashbacks, particularly the scene where Kane decides he wants to operate a newspaper, “I think it would be fun to run a newspaper”, and the scene where he announces to Susan that the public will also share the same views as

Inmigrantes see the American Dream as a way of better their live for them self and their families An finding a better future. First there is many thing that actually support the believe in The American dream is still alive. For example, Bob Miglani states that “I believe that the American dream is alive in each of us who wish to move forward and make a contribution to the place we work and to those we love. It is what we make of it” Bob came from the India and and came to America to achieve much more then he was achieving in the India.

The 1920 's was a time of excitement; people from all over the country had these grand aspirations of one day having it all. It was a time for those who believed in the American dream, and had no qualms pursuing it. A time when all it took was a little "courage and hard work". Some may have been born into a wealthy household, while others had to struggle by any means. Yet, somehow even when one may seem to have everything, the luxuries; it isn 't enough.

The American Dream is still alive and available to everyone today, although it is different for everyone. The American Dream is what each individual believes it to be and does not have a set definition, it is whatever the person believes it to be and it still possible for everyone. America still provides access to opportunity for everyone from the people who are born in poverty to the people that are born into wealth. While lately there has been much debate over whether the American Dream is still alive and well and many people believe that it is dead, there are considerable proof and evidence that the American Dream is developing and thriving. First of all, in the American Constitution, it states “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

In regards to the American Dream in America, US citizens hold their dreams near and dear to their hearts, but neglect to advocate for the dreams of their fellow Americans. In an excerpt from writer James Truslow Adams, he articulates his thoughts on the American dream, he states: That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper class to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it.

A freedmen is taking part in sharecropping as he gives most of the crops he produced to the land’s owner. He hopes for a better life, but he knows he will be forever indebted to the landowner. While some things changed for the better, the acceptance of African Americans was still scarce. During Reconstruction, the life of freedmen did change politically, but not socially or economically.

Does the American Dream exist? The American Dream has been questioned on its legitimacy in whether it is fact or fiction. Writers have pondered this idea in many forms in their writing, poems, songs, and essays. The American Dream seems to be a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained yet so many long to achieve it.

“By the 1920s, Americans had consumed over twenty-five million gallons of illegal liquor, and bootlegging became a one billion dollars business” As the bootlegging business blossomed, street gangs became established gangsters. With their new found wealth they were able to pay off law enforcement officials. Many law enforcement officials took the bribe, because they were underpaid and overworked. Not only did gangsters have money, they now had the power of the law which made running their operations less complicated.

Prohibition got rid of saloons, many well known restaurants and clubs. It was not even enforced by the people who started this but the starters would be hypocritical putting a law for no consumption of liquor but they were drinking it themselves. Officers and others of the federal government were bribed. The worst of all the murder rates went up mostly because of the criminals and their gang

The novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald is an example of failure of the American dream. The American dream is the belief that anyone regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (Blog Prep Scholar). Jay Gatsby is a character in the novel who does not come from old money; he comes from humble backgrounds and strives for a dream he never gets. In despite Daisy Buchanan does come from old money, therefore she is like the barrier Fitzgerald adds to the novel to portray an example of how wealth and unrealistic dreams will always end up in failure.