Preview

The Great Gatsby Essay On The American Dream

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
529 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Gatsby Essay On The American Dream
In Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby”, it discusses the American dream and his belief about it. The American Dream is the idea that our country offers everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, opportunity, freedom, and the promise of prosperity; the big dream is a part of the social and cultural history. As time progresses, there has been an argument stating that the dream exist, or never existed. The American dream exists based off of completing certain goals, and the evolution of social expectations. In America, we have shown multiple times that the dream exists by achieving certain goals that makes our country better resulting in balance and freedom. American’s dream to make the country better than it was before. Matthew Warshauer explains this further by placing the founding fathers as …show more content…

As a result, society has changed its viewpoint for people to think of new ways to make America better. An example of the society changing is Lauren Sandler’s article, “The American Nightmare: “We Have Everything the American Dream Prescribed. So Why Aren’t We Happy?” In the article, he makes a statement that shows that society has changed by claiming that “a strong work ethic and the freedom to spend its returns on whatever we please is exactly what has given rise to the best of the American Dream”(Sandler). This means that the image of the American Dream has changed by having society do whatever it pleases. Another example of how the American Dream is being imaged differently is uniquely outlined in former President Barak Obama’s speech that he gave at Knox College in Illinois. He stated that changes in America are going to be made and that “right now, all across America, there are amazing discoveries being made” (Obama). Society will always change as a result of the future discoveries. To emphasize, Everyone will see the American Dream differently as society

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the Book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a topic that always seems to come up, that topic is the American dream. This book makes you wonder whether this dream is actually realistic and achievable, or if it is just some made up thing that most are not able to achieve. It soon becomes clear that F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American dream as something that is unreal and it is pretty much impossible to accomplish. Fitzgerald uses many things to represent the corruption of the American dream, these things include the green light, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, and the geography in general.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout American history, the American Dream has been birthed, evolved, and molded into what the dream is today. So what is the current day American Dream? In the essay, “The Great Gatsby”, Pigeon takes us through a detailed account of the American Dream’s birth and evolution to the current day American Dream. The dream started out with the desperate hope of the Puritans to be in the Elect; a group of people chosen by God to attain eternal life. The Calvinists then extended on this belief by asserting that this group of Elect would be marked with prosper, thus completing the wealth aspect of the American Dream. Then came the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness aspect of the dream, originating with Thomas Jefferson in America’s own Declaration…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (United States Declaration of Independence). In much the same way as the authors of the founding fathers, the American Dream can be defined simply as the pursuit and the achievement of happiness. Clarifications, like not needing to use underhanded means, are not necessary because it is readily apparent that these means do not provide happiness nor liberty. In other words, the American Dream is attainable through hard work, determination, and the fruits of honest labor, even though it is embodied negatively in literary contexts and positively in historical terms.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the course of time, the term “The American Dream” has changed. Although the goal for many who come to America has remained the same. That goal is to make their mark on these great lands and better themselves in away that could not be accomplished in their home land. To live a life that is filled with many opportunities for the user to succeed.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is originally about attaining happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has changed into this want for wealth by whatever means, thinking that money will bring happiness. Fitzgerald does not use the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is obvious that he shows the impossibility of happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates through symbols the impracticality of achieving the American Dream.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream.” - Tommy Hilfiger. For most Americans, the definition of the American Dream is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and a high- class lifestyle for the family and children. This dream is achieved through hard work in a society with some barriers. The American Dream is a desire most people wish to achieve, however, even though this desire is achievable, it can also be easily corrupted. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the theme of the American Dream is clearly present and shown through the wealth, the excessive lifestyle, but more importantly, the downfall of the American Dream. This theme is portrayed by certain characters such as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway and Daisy Buchanan.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though we call the american American, is it really american? In the book The Great Gatsby, many of these characters are not American, but they are still living the American dream. While some characters are living the American others are not and what set them apart will astonish you.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream-an opportunity to start a new life with promising freedom. This idea seems to still go on today, in this century. Many people don’t think about what the aspects of the American Dream is, or what it is completely. Those who think about it, define it as kind of like a fresh start. Today, America still provides access to the American Dream as stated in The Great Gatsby, “The New Colossus,” and “Looking toward the future.”…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One can not depend completely on another person to complete the American dream, even if that person happens to be a part of their goal. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby believes that in order to complete his goal of achieving the American Dream, he needs Daisy’s love, making him completely dependent on her. Gatsby's love for Daisy began at a young age. As Jordan recalls from a memory, “The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.” This quotation informs the reader of Daisy and Gatsby’s past relationship. The quote proves to the fact that Gatsby used to love Daisy and it illustrates that despite the fact that Gatsby has an image of an ideal man (having everything he wants), he lacks the one thing that he truly wants: Daisy’s love. His affection for her…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Dream Ethos

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The set of ideals that make up the American Dream have been discussed and glorified by various American writers throughout history. The phrase “American Dream” was popularized by historian, James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book “Epic of America”. The idea was aided immeasurably by political events from the 1930s through the 1970s.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People have developed the mindset that bigger is better searching for fortune not realizing that their dreams are not realistic and structured enough to survive (Source F).When people develop the idea that the end goal of the “American Dream” is fame and fortune, they lose sight of the idea that these dreams are contributors to the nation (Source A). This, in the end, leads to the economic failure, such as that of 2009, with hundreds of thousands of jobs lost (Source A). During this time, doubt developed for the capabilities of the “American Dream” and overall questioned its role in our nation. As recognized by many though, when people prosper, the nation prospers. Without a personal goal in mind, the nation consequently…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within the bloods of every American flows the undeniable desire to pursuit a better life at limitless opportunities. This force leads many Americans to live up to their American Dream, but what else does the “American Dream” necessarily bring to the table? Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald deflects the idea that the American Dream is the universal dream to succeed a fulfilled life as he portrays it’s causes of corruption and destruction by the pursuit of wealth and materialism, making it hard to see the reality objectively.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many U.S. citizens may believe that the American dream is slowly fading away, when in reality, it has never been more alive. The American dream is the ultimate goal of achieving top success in today’s world. Many Americans pursue this dream, though many feel hopeless in their journey towards victory. As the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson states, “America lives in the heart of every man—everyone who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses.” Any one person can accomplish something that they put their mind to and preserver in.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dorothy Parker

    • 2413 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The basic principles of the American Dream came about at the beginning of the 17th century, where the European colonists settled in America, with hopes for independence and wealth - which are key ideologies of the American dream itself. This carried on throughout the 18th century too as more people immigrated to the country, with high aims to achieve wealth, it seemed that people saw America as being full of opportunities. It wasn’t until 1931, during the great depression, that James Truslow Adams carried out a study and defined the American Dream as what it is known as today. He stated that any citezen of any class could achieve a ‘better, richer and happier life’. This idea is also noted in the second sentence of the declaration of independence which states that ‘All men are created equal’ and have the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. With strong ideologies like this, there is a great deal of critism and conflict that surrounds it, and this was seen following the end of World War I.…

    • 2413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about the American dream- The statue of liberty. Think freely, think big. Right from choosing clothes to a car, they settle for the best. The original idea of the “American Dream” was rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Well, it certainly seems to have not just evolved, but taken a whole new direction and meaning!…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays