...“The Great Gatsby” represents the American dream. Typically, the American dream is rising through the social ladder and obtaining wealth. This can be achieved in multiple ways. Unfortunately, wealth or wanting wealth can lead to corruption. Occasionally, if a someone wants to live the American dream, they will do anything to achieve it. Also, once living the American dream, some people think too highly of themselves. Next, corruption comes in many forms. Two include: corruption of the mind and corruption through money. Mainly, Myrtle, Tom and Gatsby fall into one of the two categories. Myrtle’s mind is corrupted, Tom mind is also corrupted, and Gatsby is corrupted by money. First, Myrtle’s mind is corrupted by Tom, a wealthy man. At the...
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that takes a different spin on the stereotypical American dream. To say “through the novel, Fitzgerald puts across the idea that the American dream has been corrupted by the desire for materialism” would be accurate. Because “we see that Gatsby had a pure dream, but became corrupt in his quest towards that dream,” this is how the American dream was viewed as corrupt. Throughout the novel Gatsby displays many examples of how his quest towards the dream that was once pure, slowly becomes more and more corrupt. The first showing of corruptness in Gatsby’s dream, which is to marry Daisy, is his unethical means of obtaining a fortune. The stereotypical American dream is working hard for honest money. However, this is not the case for Gatsby. Gatsby attains his fortune through the illegal means of bootlegging. In the novel, the narrator Nick describes Gatsby, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a Son of God—a phrase that, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (The Great Gatsby Chapter 6 pg). This quotation shows how Nick saw Gatsby as trying to transform himself into the ideal person. He even goes as far as to...
Words: 1143 - Pages: 5
...can lead to national destruction and depression.” (Shirley Isakovan) The 1920s is perceived as an era of unprecedented economic prosperity, material excess, and renowned for the birth of the social and societal upheaval that spreads throughout modern America. This period in time brings about tremendous amount of technological progress, the automobile being among the greatest, and presents an opportunity to transform a person via wealth. As a result, the American Dream is recreated and seen to be the ideal lifestyle desired by the residents of the nation. Although a paradox, this golden dream of commodities, individualism and hard work to gain abundant money becomes a nightmare of materialism and carelessness. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic arbitration of the disintegration and underside of the American dream and portrays the consequences of those in pursuit it. Although ironic, Fitzgerald uses cars as a motif to represent the wealthy class living the corrupted American dream, whose careless actions drive the destruction of the 1920’s decade. He demonstrates this by using the car accident after one of Gatsby’s parties to foreshadow disastrous events, by emphasising Jordan Baker’s carelessness towards cars and her driving skills as a further insight to the recklessness of the wealthy, and by referring to Gatsby’s car as the “death car” after the incident of Myrtle’s death, applying a deeper meaning to the title. Fitzgerald applies...
Words: 1589 - Pages: 7
...In the Great Gatsby, the American Dream is supposed to stand for independence and the ability to make something of one selves with hard work but, it ends up being more about materialism and shellfish pursuit of pleasure. In modern times, people still conform to and rebel against societal expectations. In ‘’The Book Thief’’, the younger generation brings hope for a better future by rebelling against the Nazi. In the Political Cartoon, women rebel against society’s expectations on how they were forced to live their life. When the American dream was pure, motivation and ambition were some key aspects of the pure American dream, ‘’He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…and distinguished nothing except a single green light’’. It shows how Gatsby was striving for his goal and trying to accomplish it. When the dream was pure, motivation and self- discipline were present....
Words: 418 - Pages: 2
...The Great Gatsby (Novel) Author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Purpose To show the author’s conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age Relationship with the Author and the Characters Fitzgerald and Carraway Thoughtful young man from Minnesota Educated at an Ivy League school Moves to NYC after the war Found the new extravagant lifestyle seductive and exciting Fitzgerald and Gatsby Idolizes wealth and luxury Falls in love with a beautiful young woman while at military camp Narrator Nick Carraway; he also implies that he is the book’s author Point of View Both first and third person Presents only what he himself observes Tone Ambivalent and contradictory; sometimes he seems to disapprove Gatsby, and sometimes he romanticizes and admires Gatsby, describing events in nostalgic and elegiac tone Background Year written: 1925 (the Jazz Age) American economy soared; great prosperity for majority Prohibition (18th Amendment in 1919) ‘bootleggers’ Money is everything Plot Nick Carraway moves from Minnesota to New York (West Egg) to learn about bond business West Egg: wealthy and fashionable area; where the “New Rich” live Nick has social connections with East Egg, where the “Old Rich” live Nick’s classmate at Yale, Tom Buchanan, lives with Nick’s cousin Daisy in East Egg Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, in the Valley of Ashes Valley of Ashes is a gray industrial dumping ground At one party, Nick breaks...
Words: 863 - Pages: 4
...What is an American Dream? Base on articles over the years the "American Dream" is different for everyone. Our founding fathers view of the American Dream was freedom and not about materialism. Back then it was about getting rid of slavery and letting people of color equal like everyone else. In the 30's the great depression was happening so people wanted wealth and self sufficiency. The 50's having is was having freedom and democracy. The 90's everyone could attain their version of the dream and not take if for granted. Now where in the 21st century/ 2000's where everything is completely different and the American dream is too. Most people today believe that the American dream is being rich and marry a millionaire. Even though there are many successful people, American dream isn't attainable for all because some weren't considered as people, materialism and social mobility. People like women, former slaves and other disenfranchised groups did not have access to the American dream. Around this time slavery was very popular, wealthy white had all the power. Former slaves, women and other disenfranchised groups were not considered as people, in which they were mistreated, segregated and took...
Words: 507 - Pages: 3
...The Deterioration Of The American Dream The Great Gatsby, a novel by Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who try to reach its goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is used in many novels. This dream is different for different people, in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is that through wealth and power anyone can acquire happiness. To get this happiness Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream. In order to do this, he must have wealth and power. The dream also brought about the idea of being a self-reliant man, a hard worker, and making a successful living for yourself. The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American Dream in the 1920s, a time period when a lot people with tons of wealth and the need to show it off had corrupted the dream. When the American Dream is combined with excessive wealth it becomes nothing more than selfishness. Jay Gatsby, the main character of the story, is one character that longs for the past. Surprisingly, he spends most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies while trying. In the past, Gatsby in love with the attractive young Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves so that he can reach her standards and later hopefully rekindle what they once had. Once he becomes rich, he moves near Daisy, "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay (83)," and throws extravagant parties...
Words: 759 - Pages: 4
...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 that portrayed the life of immigrants and the working class in early-twentieth...
Words: 2096 - Pages: 9
...The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, presents the American Dream as corrupted in that success and wealth are valued more than hard work. Examples of this alternate American Dream are shown throughout the novel through Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, Jordan Baker, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Early in the book, Daisy is shown to have empty values in life. Daisy Buchanan has a corrupted approach to achieving the American Dream because she merely strives to be a fool and to be loved, yet she still obtains wealth and success. Daisy believes that women shouldn’t be anything more than an object to rich men in order to have it all. She wants her own daughter, Pammy, to follow her own desires for wealth and success. "And I hope...
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
...The American Dream is the idea that through hard work, one can acquire wealth, prosperity and a high position in society. This symbolizes a big house, a nice car, fancy clothes and having money, but having all of these things are very unrealistic for Americans who start low in the economic class. Although this idea is the common representation of America, the land of freedom and opportunity, it is nothing more than an illusion; a dream that is unattainable in this present-day circumstances and time. The Great Gatsby, placed in the 1920s, clearly illustrates the idea of the American Dream and the corruption the Dream causes as a result of the characters trying to pursue it. So although America would like to think it’s providing a land of equal...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness." (16) So ends the first chapter of The Great Gatsby and brings to our attention the first symbol in this book - that mysterious green light. In our first acquaintance with the light, we see Gatsby reaching out for it, almost, in a way, worshipping it. We find out later that this green light is at the end of Daisy's dock, and is a symbol for Gatsby's dream and the hope for the future. Green is the color of promise, hope, and renewal - so it is fitting that Gatsby's dream of a future with Daisy be represented...
Words: 2134 - Pages: 9
...Anthony Dellerose Ms. Ott Advanced English III 23 December 2015 Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Dishonest work is a major role in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Throughout Gatsby’s life he was always working for his American Dream. That doesn't mean everything he did was honest. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the American Dream through the illegal work of Gatsby, showing that, when one achieves wealth through illegal affairs and by doing dishonest work, one must prepare themselves for the consequences that pertain to that lifestyle. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby appears to be the embodiment of the American Dream until pieces of his past begin to come out. Early in the novel...
Words: 1038 - Pages: 5
...or replace a void in their life, the dream generally backfires. In the search for these material items people tend to lose the importance of the relationships in their life. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby this idea is explored in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy in which Gatsby uses his wealth in attempts to gain back to her love. Through symbolism, irony and imagery it becomes evident in Fitzgerald's writing that wealth and material objects cannot replace relationships or personal happiness. Through the usage of symbolism it is obvious Gatsby’s wealth is a proponent in the failure of his and Daisy’s relationship. Gatsby obtained his money and all of his extravagances in hopes of earning back the love he and Daisy once shared. However in one moment it is obvious that it is not possible, “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them...While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher…, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily” (92). The shirts are representative of Gatsby's riches, which is he throwing in Daisy’s face in hopes of impressing her. Meanwhile, Daisy is realizing the life she left...
Words: 678 - Pages: 3
...The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that shadows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on the prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story focuses primarily the young and mysterious bachelor Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. The Great Gatsby offers a vivid variety of social commentary, dwelling heavily on the theme of the abandoned American dream, Fitzgerald exposes this due to the apparent blind fixation on the past that the story exhibits with the characterisation of Jay Gatsby. Perhaps none is more sophiscated and well established than the sense of social stratification. The book is regarded as a remarkable piece of writing as it conveys the moral issues different social classes had to deal with in the 1920’s. Through exposing distinct social classes Fitzgerald delivers a strong sense of elitism circulating the society. Fitzgerald’s first method of approach was to create the riches and place them into distinct groups, new money and old money. New money were the people who benefited from the ufrom prohibited business trades such as the illegal selling of liquor Gatsby participated in. Characters in the story that acquired the majority of their wealth through inheritance include Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker – these characters are referred to as examples of “old money.” Their family were rich and...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...his power of respect and trust to persuade the others to pursue the vision in his dream. Old Major had all the power. But, history has proven that dictatorship does not work, due to the fact that, power leads to corruption in a communism style government. The power Old Major held led his friends into taking action in what he desired to do, which led to a rebellion and future tragedies. Power corrupted society and absolute power that is eventually obtained becomes corrupt within. From the death of Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer replaced him. At first things started off pretty well; the harvest was very good the first year and the reading and writing system had helped some, but had limited success on others. In time, the leaders of Animal Farm started to have mixed feelings. Snowball and Napoleon were in constant disagreement. An important meeting that was held ended with an astonishing outcome. One decision that was made was concerning the windmill project and the most important decision made was who would be the head animal. But, Napoleon sent his dogs after Snowball and they killed him. Since Snowball had died, Napoleon took over "The Animal Farm" which led to food shortage, hard labour, and deaths. Napoleon used all his knowledge and education to take over the farm. With all the pigs and dogs on his side Napoleon had absolute power over everyone. Napoleon's power had corrupted the whole idea...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
