...at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error” (Florence King). This quote brings to light the fact that the American Dream is nigh impossible to achieve. This is simply because people are so caught up in dreaming about what other people have obtained rather than taking the necessary steps to live the dream themselves. American author F. Scott Fitzgerald has an unparalleled impact on the idea of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s novels This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby have consistent themes that feature small aspects of the American Dream that conflicts him. Both the main male characters, Armory Blaine and Jay Gatsby showcase men in 1920s America who have come into wealth, yet their money and shiny trinkets do not bring them happiness, even though that is what both characters legitimately yearned for. Together, Gatsby and Blaine expose a perception of the American Dream that F. Scott Fitzgerald investigated thoroughly throughout his life. The idea that when a society is consumed by materialism and the promises it could bring the real American Dream is lost in the shuffle. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1869 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The author was named after his second cousin Scott Francis Key, who wrote the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner”. As a young boy he went to two Catholic schools the most prestigious of the two being the Newman school where he graduated high school in 1912 and was admitted to Princeton the following year. During...
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...Fitzgerald displays an expertise of the english language to tell the story of The Great Gatsby. His use of motifs allows him to further elaborate on events talked about in the story. The complexity of the motifs displays the moral issues that are dealt with in society. Fitzgerald does this to talk about the inescapable effects of wealth and one’s blind pursuit of happiness. The color green is a significant color motif used by Fitzgerald throughout the book. Nick narrates a scenario when he caught Gatsby looking off in the distance and “distinguished nothing but a green light” (Fitzgerald 21)”. The green is a symbol for a longing for more wealth and the desire to become a significant figure in society. Americans “have always been obstinate...
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...The American Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby” symbolizing a few different topics. Many people who read the book gather different perspectives on what the it is symbolizing. When I read “The Great Gatsby” I gathered the impression that Fitzgerald was trying to symbolize the American Dream which was a very common dream during this time period. The American Dream meant that life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. Even though The Great Gatsby is a superlative fiction novel that symbolizes many different qualities of the life, the American Dream is symbolized the most through color representation, physical attributes, and the personalities of the...
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...How is the great Gatsby about the failure of the"American Dream"? The American Dream is a myth that people struggle to achieve each day of their lives but will never achieve. It cannot be achieved because it is an endless race for perfection .In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby; all the characters are attempting to become happier. The characters are divided into two groups: the rich (upper class) and the poor (lower class); though the main characters only try to make their lives better, but they are ruined by the harsh reality of life. America is founded on the principle of liberty, the notion that everyone is free to say and write what they want and that everyone is equal. Some people assume that since so much freedom is allowed, at least one person is exercising that freedom to its fullest. They work their whole lives to try to be like that person, but that person does not exist. They want to be as rich as him, and as powerful as him. These people are called the wealthy. The Great Gatsby illustrates the story these people, and how they are corrupted by the potential of seemingly limitless freedom. Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich couple in East Egg, seem to have everything they unhappy and seek more wealth. Tom drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the could possibly want. Though their lives are full of anything they could imagine, they are dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(Fitzgerald 10) and reads "deep books with long words...
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...A Cruel Monster: Daisy Buchanan F. Scott Fitzgerald had many purposes in writing his novel The Great Gatsby, such as exposing the corrupt lives that were lived during the roaring twenties, especially within the rich. The main character, Nick Carraway, spends a lot of his time with his affluent friends Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan. As the novel goes on one gets a closer look to see who the characters really are. Daisy marries Tom Buchanan instead of waiting for Jay Gatsby to return from the war and as a result Gatsby decides to dedicate the rest of his life to win Daisy over. He does this by becoming as rich as Daisy’s husband Tom, if not more. She is often associated with the color white which symbolizes much more than the color of her car or the color of her clothes. Fitzgerald uses the color white to convey a false sense of innocence to reveal Daisy Buchanan’s true selfish, and her heightened class conscious character to reveal the corrupt lives the rich live during this time period. It can be seen that Daisy never really cares for Gatsby and she just cares about herself and her future. One of the few accounts of the past that one gets to read without any biased opinions, is when Jordan Baker retells the story of the night before Daisy Fay becomes Daisy Buchanan. Daisy becomes extremely intoxicated and starts crying whilst holding a crumpled up letter in her hand: “She wouldn’t let go of the letter. She took it into the tub with her and squeezed it up into a wet ball...
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...In what ways does Fitzgerald and Williams present the importance of hopes and dreams? Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Arthur Miller’s ‘A Death of a Salesman’ focus their main ideas on the importance of hopes and dreams. Death of a Salesman, produced in 1949, has become a classic of modern American theatre. It is a story of an average salesman with a dream of being rich and well-liked. Willy believes whole heartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream. In the 1940’s The American Dream was as simple as it gets, to have a perfect, successful life with a common nuclear family, a house in the suburbs, a nice car and a life without conflict or family strife. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a highly symbolic reflection on 1920’s America as a whole, in particular the disappearance of the American Dream in an era of material excess. On the surface, ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a story of the eternal love between a man and a woman. However, in reality the main theme of the novel involves a much larger, less romantic outlook. The 1920’s was an era of decayed social and moral values, which means that the idea of The American Dream was different to what it is now. When World War 1 ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who fought the war became intensely disillusioned. The rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden increase in the national wealth and a new found materialism, leading the younger generation to pursue a life of extravagance...
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...Disillusionment and failure in The Great Gatsby In the book The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the theme of disillusionment, love, lust and failure in order to portray the “American dream”. The American dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Many believe that the American dream is “earned”, but what they don't know is that there is a lot of “behind the scenes” money making deals that occur. And these deals put you at the top without even asking. For example Gatsby wasn't the perfect man that he was imagined to be. Jay Gatsby's real name was, James Gatz and the change seemed right when he “reinvented” himself. Gatsby didn't like being the son of farmers and was embarrassed about where he was from. “His imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” He changed it at the age of 17 because of his transformation when he met Dan Cody. This one of the main reasons he hid his background from people. The other was that in reality Gatsby was indeed an unrepentant criminal, who bootlegged his way through the Prohibition to create his wealth and pursue his dream. The prohibition was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920 to 1933. To make his way to the top and to pursue the “American dream” Gatsby basically illegally sold alcoholic beverages...
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...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music—epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night—resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned, as the brutal carnage that they had just faced made the Victorian social morality of early-twentieth-century America seem like stuffy, empty hypocrisy. The dizzying rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained...
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...Dream in order to create better lives for themselves. The freedom of the American Dream, with no limitations on who can achieve it, has often lured numerous people. However, many have ulterior motives behind the dream that go beyond simply obtaining better lives. The character of Jay Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is one of these people. Throughout the novel, Gatsby represents the American Dream through both his wealth and his lavish lifestyle to once again win the love of Daisy Buchanan. Besides the fictional Gatsby, millions of others throughout history have also found the American Dream to be quite attainable. The idea of the Dream is and always has been...
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...they can't have. The more unattainable, the more attractive” (Buffy the Vampire). The book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has many significant elements and components throughout the story to enhance the theme, however, throughout the story, one of the most prominent, is the Green Light. The green light aids the theme of “when in love, one must suffer”. The light symbolizes an unattainable dream of true love between Gatsby and Daisy, as well as the sense of hope it gave Gatsby about Daisy, as she will remain in his life for as long as the light shines. The shining, green light across the bay, is a symbolical figure for Daisy, giving Gatsby a...
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...Analysis of “Materialistic Perception” in F. Scot Fitzgerald Using Marxist Literary Criticism Chapter I 1.1 Introduction The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. 1.2 State of Problem The Great Gatsby provides a critical social history of America during the Roaring Twenties within its narrative. That era, known for unprecedented economic prosperity, the evolution of jazz music, flapper culture, and bootlegging and other economy struggle that was the result of the materialism and capitalism damaging on social behavior, led to the widespread social distress. 1.3 Theoretical Framework Using literary criticism to interpret what is the ideal life of America in 19th century and what is the dream of American people after World War I. as a Marxist interpretation of the novel makes especially clear, reveals its dark underbelly instead. Through its unflattering characterization of those at the top of the...
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...United States Declaration of Independence proclaims that “all men are created equal” and that everyone has the rights for “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This document led to the national ethos that is the American Dream. This dream states that "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class. Following the Civil War the United States of America underwent large scale change and by the start of the twentieth century was one of the richest nations in the world. By 1950 the U.S.A. was the richest country in the world and a superpower. The state was not the only thing to change during this period. From the late-nineteenth century up to the 1920s average Americans experienced a dramatic expansion in wealth and prosperity. However, with the Wall Street Crash in 1929 the U.S.A. experienced an economic depression that destroyed millions of livelihoods. This eventful period of American history led many to question the American Dreams place in modern America. This research paper will examine the interpretation of the American Dream in literature between the Progressive Era at the start of the twentieth century and the 1950s economic and social boom. In order to do this the paper will examine the novels The Jungle, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman. These three novels all examine the American Dream in different decades. Written in 1906 by Upton Sinclair The Jungle is a novel...
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...updated version of The Great Gatsby that captures the zeitgeist of modernism? The extent to which Palahniuk’s Fight Club bears resemblance to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is debatable despite the fact that there are numerous similarities between the two texts in terms of its narrative structure dominant themes and the presentation of characters thus their respective zeitgeist of modernism, both texts have clearly their own mark that make them truly unique. Clearly the extent of the similarities between the two texts cannot be overlooked when Palahniuk stated himself in the Afterword that ‘’Gatsby’s updated a little’’, as both novels have apostolic narratives it can be seen that both reveal the hollow superficial nature that existed within society in both the 1920’s and 1990’s. Fight Club and The Great Gatsby can be contrasted as, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s lavish parties, flamboyant suits and mansion to be a template for the narrator’s own existence in ‘Fight Club’. His life is dominated by his IKEA ‘’condo’’ and his own job, which he then finds that he has nothing to live for and is empty inside. He is someone who has ‘’ lost everything’’ and is ‘’ Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete.’’, which also illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream of both novels. ‘’Fight Club’’ thrusts the idea of conspicuous consumption even further as the narrator describes the destruction of material possessions no longer defining who you are but how ‘’now they own you’’...
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...The Great Gatsby: Summary: Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg, Long Island, a wealthy area populated by the new rich, people who made their fortunes due to the economic upswing of the Roaring Twenties. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a huge mansion and throws extravagant parties on the weekends. Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island and the home of the upper class. Nick drives out to East Egg one evening to have dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, a former classmate of Nick during his time at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a random, vulgar party in the apartment that Tom bought because of his affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose. As the summer progresses, Nick eventually gets an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encounters...
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...In "The Great Gatsby," some of Gatsby's decisions had a positive impact on his life. Meanwhile, there were many that produced negative results. Gatsby makes these consequential decisions to pursue his vision of a perfect Gatsby and his love for Daisy. In doing so Gatsby does not consider the repercussions of his decisions upon the people closest to him. In "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald conveys the notion that one is willing to make consequential decisions for the betterment of themselves. As a result, it generates a sense of belonging...
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