Rhetorical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

So when Prohibition started up, it was a monumental step to earn money quick. You sell booze to those that don't want to give it up and are willing to pay the price. This is shown when Tom was talking about Gatsby, he said, “‘I didn’t hear it I imagined it. A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers you know?”’ (109) This is shown on numerous occasions, from the difference between West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes. The novel also shows the way money gives people power, in which it says.

As America evolves throughout the twentieth century, so does what people view as important, which adds on to what the American Dream means. The culture of the 1920s encouraged spending and materialism so people sought money, power, and expensive items to make them happy. In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, who is the epitome of the 1920s American Dream, saw that becoming rich and notable was the only way to get his Dream which was Daisy: “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me.”(Fitzgerald, ch 7) Furthermore, despite the fact that Tom was born with a silver spoon, he still felt he didn’t have the American Dream because Gatsby was more popular than him: “I know I’m not very popular. I don’t have big parties. I suppose you’ve got to

There is a difference between being selfish and being greedy. The definition of greed is “Intense desire for something, especially wealth or power”, whereas the definition of selfish is “Lacking consideration for others”. During the Gilded Age, America was characterized as the Land of the Free, which attracted immigrants from all over the world to come live the American Dream. Was it greedy or selfish for these immigrants to come to America and improve their way of living? During the Gilded Age, greed is what motivated industrial innovation and for people to improve their ways of living.

There is this idea that a person who comes from humble origins could achieve the Dream if they are willing to work hard and take advantage of opportunities. This is seen in Gatsby and Myrtle where they bootleg and commit adultery respectively. Though, the frowning eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg look down on the Valley of the Ashes as if to say that the American Dream is one big lie. The American Dream produced wealth for some, but for the majority of people their hopes for gold is just like the ashes. The reality is that not everyone can have as much money as the Buchanan’s have.

People might think that this creates a new place for them to just get drunk and be reckless, but it actually gives them a safe place to drink responsibly so they are kept off the streets where they could be seriously harmed. In addition to the increase in customers at local restaurants and such, the government will begin to see an increase in tax. In America all types of alcoholic beverages have an overwhelming amount of tax on them. Beverages such as distilled spirits, wine, and beer are three of the most common types of alcoholic beverages. For a gallon of distilled spirits the tax placed on them is $13.50, for a gallon of beer the tax rate is $6.18, and for a gallon of wine the tax is $4.86 (“Economic Contributions of the Distilled Spirits Industry.”) With all of these new adults eager to get out and drink with their friends the government is going to see plenty of money coming from taxes on alcoholic beverages.

Fitzgerald is genius in his use of the sun as a metaphor in The Great Gatsby set in the Gilded Age. Realist author Mark Twain figuratively referred to this age (in the late 19th century to early 20th century) as an age that appeared golden and extravagant on the surface but was dull and corrupt on the inside. The rivalry amongst mega corporations, where the wealth accumulated in the hands of the few, bashed the poor into heavy poverty in the Valley of Ashes, whereas the sumptuously stylish men and women of West and East Egg lived according to the doctrine of the American Dream, ceasing to see anything beyond the money and success of the Gilded Age. Fitzgerald’s basic exegesis of this platonic world (a metaphysical world in which perfect forms of people, places and things exist) is reflected through the eyes of James Gatz, who creates a million-dollar form of himself, Jay Gatsby, in hopes of winning

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, is a book that demonstrates how the American Dream is corrupt. The Great Gatsby presents three varieties of people, which includes the established rich, the newly rich, and the poor. The financial status of the people in this case does not matter because each group is corrupt. Each person in the book wants more and they all want money. Furthermore, since the American Dream is corrupt, it affects the characters’ lives and makes them corrupt.

The amount of wealth amassed by the top 1% of the population began to unnerve the American public and politicians alike. The rich got richer while the rest remained stagnant or became poorer. Labor strikes and riots were common during the time. Policies were put into place to prevent individuals from gaining this much power ever again. In todays’ modern Gilded Age loopholes have been exploited and the rich are becoming just as powerful as they have ever been.

This shows the American Dream as advertised. Fitzgerald also shows the dark side of the American Dream as in Money’s power to corrupt people or how the rich escape mighty consequences such as Tom and Daisy destroying people’s lives and then falling back to their money. ―”He‘s a bootlegger…One time he killed a man who had found out that he…”(Page 61)Nick Carraway said “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or

The quote also show to us the double standard the Tom exists in as tom was too commenting the very same sin of adultery. He chooses to ignore his own wrongdoing in order to protect the weakening of his achieve american dream. Tom talks about the traditional nuclear family but is actively taking a part in taking said