James Truslow Adams first coined the phrase “American Dream” in 1931 in his world-renowned history novel The Epic of America. The American Dream consists of a societal belief that with hard work and determination, one can achieve prosperity and advancement of socioeconomic status. One’s original status or wealth does not impede in their triumph in this ideal American society. Although the Adams coined the phrase in 1931, the philosophy of the American Dream existed beforehand in the culture and in literature. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald details the life of Jay Gatsby, who represents the “rags-to-riches” story that Americans idealize. With Gatsby’s story, Fitzgerald emphasizes on the importance of chasing the American …show more content…
Stars and the moon, from an earthly perspective, are in close proximity, although reality, they are thousands of light years apart. Similarly, Gatsby relates two distantly related things, the green light and Daisy. Moreover, the comparison of the light to stars suggests that Gatsby’s dreams, like stars, seem far away and beautiful. Gatsby aims to achieve something greater than what he already has, which matches the concept of the American Dream. After Gatsby’s death, Nick reflects on the effect of the green light on Gatsby’s character. He compares the light to “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (180). Fitzgerald coins the word “orgastic”, signifying the unrestrained excitement for the future that Gatsby has in his hopes to reconnect with Daisy. However, the future “recedes before” him, since he spends so much time dreaming about the future that he runs out of time to spend with her. This is an implied comparison of Gatsby to American society; Americans yearn for their own success to occur, yet lose the time to experience their victory. Nick further reflects that although the future “elude[s] us then, … …show more content…
Nick describes Gatsby’s car as a “swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes… behind many layers of glass [there is] a sort of green leather conservatory” (64). The car exudes luxuriousness, with diction such as “swollen” and “monstrous” insinuating an excessive quality to the wealth. The polysyndeton referring to the various types of boxes Gatsby owns also emphasizes the excess affluence in Gatsby’s life. Additionally, Fitzgerald draws the comparison between the interior of the car to a “conservatory”, which refers to a room with large glass windows used as a greenhouse or sun parlor. Only the most prosperous can afford this nonessential room; similarly, only the most prosperous can afford such a fancy car interior, which adds only comfort and style to the vehicle. Gatsby flaunts his fortune with this car, which has a green interior. Fitzgerald again associates the green color with the opulence of the car to make the connection between green and opportunity. However, this opportunity does not result in positive consequences. The American Dream supports those who earn their wealth, although Fitzgerald paints a negative picture of how the successful brandish their excessive wealth. Moreover, when Nick thinks back on his westward trips toward his home, he recalls the “fur coats of the
Phrases like “the green light” and “orgastic future” provide a foundation upon which one can show that what is being run after, what is having arms stretched out toward it, is a good thing. The green light is synonymous with Daisy, or at least Gatsby’s ideal of Daisy. This in turn is representative of the American Dream. The American dream is often defined as money or success, but in truth it is whatever a person defines it as. For Gatsby, his dream was to be with Daisy.
The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a book full of symbols and things that make the story of our protagonist, Jay Gatsby, very intriguing. The green light, in the novel, was one of the most crucial symbols that stands out and gives the book and it’s character an in-depth meaning. At a glance, the green light may not seem important but when the symbol is carefully studied it radiates a deeper meaning. The green light was just an ordinary light to everyone in the book, but to Gatsby, it represented a dream, his dream, which was Daisy. The green light represents the unreachable dream in the future that Gatsby is chasing endlessly, but never prevails.
In Fitzgerald's time his kind of romantic haven was "that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to Invent” In other words, Gatsby's dream was built upon superficial and materialistic values prevalent in his society. The idea that Gatsby's vision was doomed connects to his failure to achieve the American Dream and his misplaced faith in the dream itself. The American Dream typically represents the belief that through hard work, determination, and opportunity, one can achieve success, prosperity, and happiness. However, Gatsby's version of the American Dream is flawed because it is primarily focused on the accumulation of wealth and material possessions, as evidenced by the "vulgar, meretricious beauty" of his haven.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the American Dream, is to be extremely wealthy which will bring along the pursuit of happiness to those who are rich. Fitzgerald shows “American Dream” aspect through five characters Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Daisy and Mertyl and how this dream affects all of their lives. Fitzgerald shows in The Great Gatsby that this dream is unattainable through money. Although spiritual enhancement may come at a great cost, love cannot be bought and Gatsby starts to realise that. This is symbolized by the green light at the end of the dock and when Nick thought of Gatsby wondering when Gatsby first picked out the green light at the ends of Daisy’s dock.
I. Introduction A. Hook: The phrase, “The American Dream” was first openly described by historian, James Truslow Adams in his novel, The Epic of America, published in 1931. B. Introduce novel: The Great Gatsby (setting 1920s; a decade before Epic America) C. Thesis: In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters of the novel to demonstrate how “The American Dream” was mangled into what is no longer a pursuit of happiness. II.
The novel ends on an irresolute note with Nick saying: “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….And one fine morning——” (Fitzgerald 180). The “green light”, which serves as a symbol for everything Gatsby strived for in his lifetime, lingers even after his death, convincing more people, including Gatsby, that the American Dream is still possible. Even after his demise, he holds a strong faith in the American Dream and the fraudulences that sustains the Dream, which suggests that he is not great because he is still imperceptive of the quixotic nature of the American Dream.
Green is archetypally associated with wealth, envy, and life. One example of green being used in the novel is that it is the color used for furnishing Gatsby’s car. Although the outside of his car is yellow to certify that everyone is aware of his wealth, the area that he inhabits while driving is green to remind him of the wealth he had built himself. When Nick is in the car, he describes it as a, “green leather conservatory” (47). The use of the word conservatory reveals to the reader that Nick feels like it is something of a spectacle seeing how a conservatory holds things that should be looked at.
As most things go, the more expensive the car the more money you have. Fitzgerald uses the idea of cars throughout the book in the plot, dialogue and character development. Jay Gatsby, a classic representation in the beginning of the book of the American Dream, grows up in a poor family then later, in a three year time period, becomes filthy rich. Gatsby is so rich that he had people picked up for his amazing parties in his Rolls Royce. Gatsby’s
John A. Pidgeon says that, “The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American Dream”(Pidgeon 179). The prime example of this is Gatsby, who “believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (Fitzgerald 180). The green light symbolizes Gatsby’s dream to be upper class with Daisy, but he can never reach it. Furthermore, it is frustrating for him that when he does attain wealth, Daisy is still out of his reach.
Gatsby is a perfect example of what Fitzgerald shows as the American dream. He is rich and popular, however he is not happy. He wants to go back to a time when he believed he was truly happy. “His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.”
In chapter nine, Nick said, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic 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. . . and one fine morning - so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 189). This supports Fitzgerald’s message to the reader about the American Dream because the green light stands for everyone’s hopes and dreams and desires, however, it is unattainable.
Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s American dream through Nick’s eyes . For example, “ Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enhanced objects had diminished by one.”
Fitzgerald focused on the shift in the American Dream - from being the idea of self-fulfillment, dignity and comfort that is achieved through hard work, to being equated with the pursuit of wealth and power, and identifying happiness with having money. The novel depicts the rise and fall of the concept and describes the causes of its decay. The downfall of the American Dream is most accurately shown through the main protagonist of the story – Jay Gatsby. To reiterate, the American Dream is the concept that anyone can achieve a better life and become self-fulfilled, if they put enough effort to it and make the most of their abilities.
Therefore, many novels were written to point out the negative effects of the American dream. Parisa Ghangizi and Parvin Ghasemi took Great Gatsby as an example in their article, Degeneration of American Dream in F. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby to explain how the degenerated vision of the American Dream was strongly presented in Great Gatsby’s theme, and the deterioration of the concept of American Dream changed from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of money. In this novel the main character great Gatsby represents the category of people who became more and more obsessed with money and materials gains. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock symbolizes what Gatsby longs for the American Dream; this green light signifies the green color of the dollar bills.
“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther...” describes the belief known as the American Dream stating that anyone can achieve success through hard work regardless of their past. The story The Great Gatsby, originally portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel and later Luhrmann’s film adaptation, explores the theme of the perversion of the American Dream. This is evident through analysis of the meaning of the American Dream; Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the characters of Gatsby, the Buchanan’s, and the Wilson’s; the symbolism behind locations such as The Valley of Ashes and West and East Egg; and the social norms of the successful, such as partying and drinking. “Gatsby believed in the green