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The Role Of Freedom In The Great Gatsby

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True freedom is commonly defined as absolute choice; whether it is in thought, actions or speech, freedom is an individual’s ability to take control of their lives and enables the human experience. Civilization views freedom as an ideal, yet the means of achieving it and whether or not freedom is truly achieved remains ambiguous. There are often individuals in civilized society who struggle and believe themselves to be free after a hard earned victory against oppression. Yet, the implications of maintaining a civilized social structure upon freedom is often overlooked. Many individuals view themselves as free from a subjective standpoint, although true freedom has an absolute meaning. Having true freedom would suggest the ability to develop independently as an individual, yet it becomes evident that in the societies of Brave New World and the Great Gatsby, the existence of social structure prevents true freedom from ever existing. …show more content…

In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley shows that the extent to which an individual is free is limited by the highly controlled class system set in place by the higher power of civilized society. Similarly, in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates that the idea of the American Dream and the actions of each character are influenced by the importance that social structures place upon money, and how their freedom is based solely on their class and

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