The Hopeless American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Maus, on the other hand, takes the most horrific event of modern civilization and shows the complete opposite, how an individual can live in a world where you are persecuted for who you are, you have no right to liberty or the pursuit of happiness. Your only option is survival and even that is only a dim possibility. So in taking these two examples we need to understand how they are literal literature pieces that have shaped our society and in some ways society has not completely learned from these examples, repeating the bad behavior of the past. The examples from these two pieces can be only understood when you understand which each of them are written from and the background of their purpose. Maus is a story about

The novel concludes “So we beat on, boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past” (108). This means as we keep trying to move forward we are still restricted and defined by our past. Throughout the book Gatsby could not let go of the past and Fitzgerald related this to society. America was meant to be the new world filled with potential but this idea was soon ruined by old aristocratic values, like the Buchanans represent in the novel. To Fitzgerald, America is not full of possibilities, its frontier that failed to rise above its aristocratic European origins, just as Gatsby failed to escape from his

This novel shows the lack of social skills in newly made millionaires such as Gatsby that cannot even pick up on an invitation to lunch. This book was enjoyable to read because it set in when America was becoming an economic superpower and it was relatable in some ways. Jay Gatsby was someone that went from rags to riches which happens more often in the 21st century. Gatsby was a pioneer of coming from poverty into millions of dollars. This shows the American Dream as advertised.

The year of 1920s seemed as the second industrial revolution and the new mass culture create a national community. F.Scott Fitzgerald fortuitously captured the explosion of image (American culture) and sound-making machinery that came to dominate the American life. Then, he assembled this reshaped culture through by the morality classical novel the Great Gatsby. The young man named Jay Gatsby born in the lowest status of society, unlikely accepted this cruel fate, he worked ceaselessly to be a part of the world power that one day can reach to the woman he loved who born in higher social class. Fitzgerald exploited the story comes with figurative language and characterization so he demonstrated to the audience the ultimate goal may affect when falling in love with someone from a different social class can be an obstacle to achieving the American Dream.

In the British perspective, it seemed as if it was inconceivable that the Americans could ever win the Revolutionary War of the 18th century. The very idea was unthinkable, infeasible, and even laughable. They thought they were the very pinnacle of civilization, but Rome also believed that and Rome collapsed. They never thought that a diminutive army of disorganized, inexperienced soldiers could get the better of them. The New England society was made up of religious, astute, creative, determined, obdurate, and courageous men and women who were not going to allow some foreigners commandeer their nation.

The immigrants are full of a false hope for success that disillusions the reality of their life. Examples of the consequences of lack of ignorance can be found in other literary works such as Two Sheep by Janet Frame. The overwhelming absence of knowledge in combination with unrealistic hope is the cause of the frequent dilemmas they encounter, and by that definition, can be considered the antagonist of The Jungle. The first situation that delivers the Rudkus family into difficult circumstances transpires before they even enter America. The very decision to leave Lithuania and come to America was fraught with invalid information.

Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is led to his demise by his philosophy of idealism that prevents his from accepting reality. Idealism is an outlook that can lead to joy and hope, but reality cannot be escaped forever. By creating a fantasy world filled with illusions, Gatsby is given a false sense of fulfillment that allows him to continuously pursue unattainable goals with optimism. Eventually, the daze of happiness will come to an end, and the idealist will be awakened to the heartbreaks of the real world. When this occurs, and reality plagues the fantasies, the illusions are forever shattered along with he who holds them.

The Great Gatsby is a well-structured story that represents the decline of the American dream in the 1920’s. Not only does it tell about the facade between the east and west egg, but also the dreams and hope that are corrupted by the false idea of their own utopia. Not to mention the Valley of Ashes demonstrates the wasteland of America’s obsession and waste that shows the ugly consequence that occurred. As the green light vanished, the rusty billboard saw the interactions that took place throughout a land full of dust. Ultimately the symbols represent a life that was unattainable to reach which led to a tragedy in the end.

The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis “They were careless people…” says Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby. In a story depicting the 1920s during a time of prosperity, growth, and the emergence of the America as a major global power, this statement may seem to be contrary. But in reality, Nick Carraway’s description of his friends and the people he knew, was not only true, but is an indication of those who were striving for the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream is foolish, the people who pursue it are immoral and reckless, and this pursuit is futile. First, F. Scott Fitzgerald proposes that the American dream is foolish.

Two major themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are the suppression of feminine nature and the questioning of the romanticized quest for knowledge. These themes meet when Victor finishes his story and tells the sailors, “Oh! Be men or be more than men.” (Shelley 215), thereby encouraging the self-sacrifice of Walton for knowledge. But this was not his original purpose; before his tale, Victor rebukes Walton’s quest, “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness?” (Shelley 28).