F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby

Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers. Fitzgerald uses the Roaring Twenties as the setting of this novel. The twenties were a time of promiscuity, new money, and a significant amount of illegal alcohol. Fitzgerald was a master of his craft and there was often more to the story than just the basic plot. He could intertwine political messages and a gripping story flawlessly. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he not only chronicles a love story, but also uses the opportunity to express his opinion on topics such as moral decay, crass materialism, individual ethics, and the American dream.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the compelling story of the lengths one man goes to in order to try and win back the love of his youth. In order to do so, the titular figure of the novel, Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself from the hardscrabble soldier of his younger years into an enigma of a millionaire; during his time living at West Egg, Gatsby is revered by all, but known by none. Despite the lavish lifestyle which has made him ever so well known, Gatsby is never able to win back Daisy, the girl who has for so long represented the culmination of all of his desires. To convey the complex themes of the novel, Fitzgerald makes use of the literary techniques discussed in How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, especially in his portrayal of the geography of the Eggs and in Gatsby’s quest to win Daisy’s affection. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s desperate struggle to ingratiate himself into Daisy’s life to illustrate how one can never overcome the socio-economic barriers placed upon them at birth.

The American dream is a tacit promise given to all citizens in this country, which states that regardless of social class, any individual can aspire to new heights based upon the ideology of meritocracy. The American dream is a “recurring theme in American literature”(Pearson) and in American society. However, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be achieved, and according to recent events in America, Fitzgerald is evidently correct. The personification of Daisy as the American Dream, the issue of meritocracy, Myrtle’s death, the image of the green light, as well as the manner in which Gatsby is denied entry into the

Money, commonly associated with happiness and success, is deceiving because it doesn 't necessarily breed enjoyment at all. Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin in the Sun and F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby examine the difference between wealth and appreciation of life. Lorraine Hansberry explains this with Walter, a negro father in a poor family who seeks more money than is realistic to bring happiness into the family. Fitzgerald uses the character Jay Gatsby to show that wealth doesn 't imply success or happiness. Both characters occupy strikingly different roles in their stories, yet decently portray money 's impact on life. In The Great Gatsby and Raisin in the Sun, wealth is made to seem as the key to happiness, but, in essence,

Gatsby, who is generally an unhappy person, this situation, and a feeling of emptiness in life, drowns himself in worthless people, doing worthless things. This relates to the idea of the American dream, everyone wants to achieve this in a sense “social/wealth greatness” and when they achieve this, they expect to live an amazing life and get whatever they want, whenever they want it. Gatsby 's whole life is taken over by one hopeless ideal, and he doesn’t even notice or acknowledge it until it 's too late. Gatsby has many great ideals within his heart, yet cannot use them to his advantage bease the only thing on his mind is to achieve a hopeless impossible goal. While he is the ideal gentleman, and he has in a way achieved idealism, his wealth and fortune is gained through illegal activities, and on top of that,  he is still in love with another man’s wife. Gatsby has ideals, and then he has reality, and he cannot seem to understand that they both don’t go hand in hand.

To certain people, Gatsby’s death was a cruel and surprising conclusion to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But there is still some mystery around the cause of Gatsby’s death. Upon meeting Gatsby for the first time, one can tell that he has an obsession centered around Daisy Buchanan, his old love, and was dead set on getting her back. Gatsby’s obsession with repeating the past is responsible for his death and Gatsby’s greed put him in a grave. Further into the novel, it is revealed that Gatsby made his abundant fortune on illegal business and trades that were outlawed in the 1920’s. Gatsby’s death could be caused by either his love for Daisy or from his inner need for more. Roger Lewis makes the

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s unique ability to change his identity at will to achieve supremacy threatens the existences of other individuals he encounters and ultimately results in his own unhappiness because of his obsession with his goal.

Some people go through many obstacles to meet their dream, only to find out in the end it was all for nothing. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, focuses on the life of Gatsby and how he spent his entire life reaching for his dream and never met it. Nick, who is Gatsby 's neighbor, thinks that Gatsby is above the rest of society because he comes from new money and devoted his life to Daisy. However Gatsby is not superior; he ended up not getting the one thing that he wanted most and wasted his life away for Daisy. Through Gatsby Fitzgerald is showing even though you work your whole life to attain a goal, it might not end up working out.

The numerous possibilities of the 1920s led to the creation of America’s new definition of prosperity. This term, the American Dream, defined the migration towards New York City for innovation and creation that had capabilities to prosper into the wealthy “American Dream City.” Exploring these opportunities, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays the unattainability of this dream through the fantasies of Jay Gatsby’s character as well as the underlying judgmental tones of society.

Ever since the formation of America, cultural values and ideals have been strongly centered on the belief that any man, no matter his initial station in life, can achieve greatness and prosperity, should he be willing to work hard and have initiative. Americans had trust in the idea that they would find a certain level of success, as long as the aforementioned traits were put into practice; no prerequisites were required to obtain these goals, and all people had a chance to better their situation. However, this long held belief was put into question in the aftermath of the First World War; millions of soldiers and civilians were killed, advanced methods of warfare destroyed homes and cities, and the

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays many themes; however the most significant one revealed throughout the novel is the corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone who grew up below the economic or social level, and worked hard towards prosperity, wealth as well as fame. To embody the American Dream one must have money, power, love and a happy family. The Great Gatsby shows everyone’s undeniable desire for success and love. Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy's pursuit of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, have all been corrupted and destroyed by the dream leading them to their own downfall.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, depicts the characters Gatsby and Daisy as symbols of the American Dream. Those who long to be at the top of the social ladder are evidence of the greedy scramble of wealth. Although Gatsby falsifies the original story of his climb to the top, this rags to riches endeavor is the pillar on which the American dream stands which gives him a mysterious yet interesting persona. Gatsby embodies Jack Solomon’s premise, in “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”, through his empty pursuit of materialism. Solomon argues that the American dream is an ideology that measures individual success based on how much wealth and property one owns. This idea of the American Dream dictates that a person’s outward appearance gives the illusion that if one attained wealth and property, happiness would suffice. By applying Solomon’s thesis to an analysis of Gatsby, we see that this idea of the American dream is an empty pursuit of pleasure that ultimately leaves him in a whirlwind of depression.

“This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and raising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 26). In the novel, “The Great Gatsby,” the author F. Scott Fitzgerald, mainly depicted lives of the rich and their luxuries but also showed the lives of the poor people in the valley of ashes in a small portion of the book. The valley of ashes played an essential part in shaping the lives of the characters in the book as it shows the difference between social classes and the struggle of the poor.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author during the jazz age. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. He wrote novels and many short stories but he is mostly known for his iconic novel “The Great Gatsby.” This American Classic, written in 1925 takes place in New York during The Roaring 20’s. The novel revolves around this interesting character named Jay Gatsby. He is from North Dakota, and around 30 years old. Born poor, motivated him to do anything to acquire his longtime dream to become wealthy. Apart from that, he was also motivated to reacquire Daisy’s love. Gatsby acquires his wealth by performing illegal activities to impress, and win Daisy back. The Great Gatsby is an example of the prototypical American Dream, but also demonstrates many characteristics of American society that leads the country to the great depression