The Great Gatsby Dbq Analysis

The American dream was a notable value during the 1920s. The cultural value focused primarily on pushing the average individual's ambitions and capabilities to achieve wealth and prosperity, which was deemed success at the time. In the excerpts from Zora Hurston and F. Scott Fitzgerald, both prominent figures successfully expressed notions that conflicted with the ideals of the American Dream, asserting the idea that true successes can't be achieved even with devotion, as exhibited by Fitzgerald's demoralizing representation of American ideals of success and Hurston's rebellious demeanor towards assimilation. First and foremost, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the thematic message was a protuberant aspect in the novel's
addresses against the overly glorified American Dream. Jay Gatsby, the main protagonist emerged from poverty to prosperity as a result of his overly excited drive to obtain wealth and Daisy, the girl of his dreams. Gatsby constantly reaches for this dream in the form of a green light, but he never really obtains it. The green light is a prominent recurring symbol in the novel as it ultimately represents Gatsby's dreams and authentic desires. This idea is imperative as it tarnishes a primitive aspect of the American Dream, as Fitzgerald demonstrates that even if one devotes their entire being to obtain success, they won't completely achieve it due to moral incompletion. Gatsby essentially obtained all the riches and stature, yet he lacked satisfaction and ultimate happiness as a result of his inability to secure the love of his dear Daisy. Conclusively, Fitzgerald illustrates a disillusion in this American value.
Fitzgerald essentially argued against the definition of the American dream stating that it should really revolve around the idea of self-realization, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. He portrayed the the corruption of money and in materialistic values in the pursuit of the so-called “American dream.” This materialistic values emerged as a result of consumer culture as seen in Document 17.2 and Document 17.3, which displays the advertisement of a bicycle and an automobile being massly produced and widely sold at relatively cheaper prices, attracting new acquisitive and greedy consumers. Furthermore, in Document 17.5, Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, reinforces the mass growth of greed and materialism in America, uttering the iconic phrase, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter--to-morrrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” This key element in the novel presents the same idea, stating that people pursuing the American Dream will work harder, expand their ambitions, and reach out for the green light or their dreams just as Jay Gatsby did, but similarly they will never achieve their true desires and dreams. This idea correlates with Document 17.1,
the Chicago Streetcar as many devoted themselves to revolutionizing transportation with improvements in automobile. The invention of the automobile was itself a great innovation, but proved how obsolete transportation would still be as depicted by the overcrowding and bustling city traffic in Document 17.1. This idea supports the argument that even though one expands their ambition, their success is still far from reach. Additionally, Fitzgerald again mocks the American dream by adding the idea that most or all characters of wealth in The Great Gatsby didn’t not achieve their class through hard work and dedication. The Buchanans and the Carraways achieved their status through aristocracy and Jay Gatsby through ill-gotten gains. This minor detail mocks the American dream, establishing the idea that hard work isn’t necessary to achieve wealth, but it is necessary to achieve moral completion and authentic happiness. Similarly to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Hurston went against the American dream, asserting the idea that no matter how diligently she or other African-Americans worked in a predominantly white society, they could ultimately never achieve happiness or success. Obstacles constantly impeded her as a result of who she is. Hurston in Document 17.6 essentially expressed her adversity by preaching out the injustices against African Americans values and the complexities of her culture. She tarnished the idea of the American dream for African-Americans or “potential slaves” as Hurston mentioned, indirectly stating that the dream was unattainable for her people. According to the so-called “American dream,” if people extended their ambitions and capabilities, they would yield prosperity and success, but according to Hurston, after decades of slavery and entirety of lives devoted to servitude, blacks still faced adversity and couldn’t even assimilate into white culture without keeping aspects of their own culture and character. As Hurston lived amongst whites, she progressively realized the loss of African culture and history. She announced her presence amongst caucasians as an outsider. Hurston couldn’t even dance to Jazz without being ridiculed by whites. Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald did, Hurston as well did not interpret the American dream as pursue for financial success, but as an ambition for self-realization, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. As a result of Hurston’s adversity, she believed the consensual dream of Americans should be finding a sense of solidarity and tolerance amongst neighboring peoples, especially differing ethnic groups, choosing to pursue their own cultural beliefs. This ideal correlates to Document 17.4 with the Scopes Trial, expressing the hoax in the American dream. Americans orchestrated a ban on the teachings of evolution, despite orchestrating against various trials in history to obtain the First Amendment allowing the freedom of speech. This indication is quite influential as it signifies a sense of hypocrisy in the American dream, bring false senses of achievement only left barren with the idea of success and that’s what the American dream represents in the time period. Ultimately, both writers succeed in addressing this corruption of ideology in what is the “American dream.” Both Fitzgerald and Hurston provided clear portrayal of how the American dream failed to furnish the successes, riches, and happiness to the common American individuals. They’ve reshaped and redefined the meaning of the American dream into sense of ambition for self-realization, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness, inspiring new ideological, social, and economic reform.