The Great Gatsby Impact On Society
One of the very first defining traits of humans can be seen in their ability to connect. Humans have been gifted with speech and the power to write. Their literature is predicted to have begun from the time of Ancient Egypt and the oldest scriptures that still exist today, date back to 2000 BC. Many litterateurs and scholars constantly study these old texts and one may truly wonder why. The answer lies in the impact that literature leaves behind. By studying these texts, a great deal of information can be found on the lifestyle and society of the era that the text was written, and much could be learned from it. This concept also exists with more recent texts that have had great longevity. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that
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With the boom of the twenties the belief that anyone could become successful and wealthy became very popular and the yearning and quest for wealth increased. The people soon became very materialistic and sought the leisures of life. This attitude in the Great Gatsby can be seen with numerous characters and various scenes. Although Jay Gatsby’s end dream was gaining back Daisy, he had to do so by first achieving the American Dream of wealth to meet her expectations. Gatsby worked tirelessly and ended up accumulating the large fortune he wanted, yet he still didn’t achieve his final goal. Other characters such as Nick and George Wilson also chased the dream, as Nick’s initial purpose for coming to New York was to make money from the bond business and Wilson only wished for the rich life. The materialistic yearning of the era was seen in the guests that attended Gatsby’s parties. Many of the guests were wealthy people who were not only not invited, but also only desired the booze and entertainment, not caring about the host. This American Dream turned out to be corrupted, resulting in a gloomy end for those who chased it. Fitzgerald’s famous quote at the end of the novel, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (Fitzgerald 180) describes how dreamchasers work very hard against the barriers in front of them, but it is “ceaseless”, meaning never ending, thus the dream fails them. This failure was one of the most important points of the novel as Gatsby dies at the
With the boom of the twenties the belief that anyone could become successful and wealthy became very popular and the yearning and quest for wealth increased. The people soon became very materialistic and sought the leisures of life. This attitude in the Great Gatsby can be seen with numerous characters and various scenes. Although Jay Gatsby’s end dream was gaining back Daisy, he had to do so by first achieving the American Dream of wealth to meet her expectations. Gatsby worked tirelessly and ended up accumulating the large fortune he wanted, yet he still didn’t achieve his final goal. Other characters such as Nick and George Wilson also chased the dream, as Nick’s initial purpose for coming to New York was to make money from the bond business and Wilson only wished for the rich life. The materialistic yearning of the era was seen in the guests that attended Gatsby’s parties. Many of the guests were wealthy people who were not only not invited, but also only desired the booze and entertainment, not caring about the host. This American Dream turned out to be corrupted, resulting in a gloomy end for those who chased it. Fitzgerald’s famous quote at the end of the novel, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (Fitzgerald 180) describes how dreamchasers work very hard against the barriers in front of them, but it is “ceaseless”, meaning never ending, thus the dream fails them. This failure was one of the most important points of the novel as Gatsby dies at the