“land of opportunity.” Fueling this vision is the American Dream‚ the belief that someone on a low social or economic level can achieve prosperity or fame through hard work and determination. This dream of success‚ despite gender‚ race or class‚ became extremely prominent in America in the beginning of the twentieth century. The Great Gatsby‚ by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ explores the American Dream and its authenticity. Fitzgerald satirizes the dream and illustrates how the pursuit of wealth could lead
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The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the struggle of achieving the American dream‚ and how much a person is willing to do to reach it. The book’s focus is on the obsession of Gatsby‚ the protagonist‚ and his feelings for Daisy‚ a married woman who he was previously involved with. The novel also focuses on Gatsby’s determination to make her fall in love with him by the glitz of money and power. Fitzgerald uses the symbols of wealth‚ superficiality and irresponsibility to convey
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Robinson‚ “The American Dream‚ the idea of the happy ending‚ is an avoidance of responsibility and commitment” (http://www.brainyquote.com). What Robinson is saying is that a lot of people expect to achieve the American Dream‚ i.e. happiness‚ through the accumulation of external things‚ meanwhile avoiding the true origins of happiness‚ which are internal. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s‚ The Great Gatsby‚ Jay Gatsby’s character also faces this dilemma as he reaches for the American Dream‚ believing that
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A critic once wrote that “the theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American dream.” In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby’s death alludes to the death of the ultimate American dream‚ self-made success. Gatsby’s failure of realizing who Daisy‚ his love‚ really is and the disintegration of his dream of her can also be translated to Fitzgerald’s view of the American dream. In addition to Gatsby’s death and the American dream‚ the “valley of ashes” is another facet‚ through which Fitzgerald
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The American Dream (No matter who you are‚ you can succeed.) is a non-sensical fallacy involving the belief in America and Americans being exempt from human hedonism‚ greed and desire. The idea of the American Dream is explored in depth in “The Great Gatsby”‚ and proves this point. The novel explores the lives of many very different characters‚ such as poor characters like George Wilson‚ characters of vast inherited wealth like Tom Buchanan‚ and characters of vast freshly-made wealth like
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Dreams Do Not Come True The Great Gatsby‚ written by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ is a story about a man who becomes rich just to impress a past love. The novel portrays the American Dream and how it is elusive and cannot be grasped. The 1920s‚ the time the story takes place‚ was a time when lavish objects and people surrounded everyone. People that were poor wanted to become rich and people that were rich wanted to stay rich. In the books case‚ Gatsby‚ the wealthy main character‚ seeks to find his American
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The American Nightmare The idea that anyone‚ regardless of ethnicity‚ religion‚ or socio-economic background can succeed through hard work is what is commonly referred to as the American Dream. This dream‚ regardless of whether it truly exists or not‚ is a pursuit of all Americans‚ and is what brings people from all four corners of the Earth to the United States of America. Most would view the desire to succeed and fulfill the “American Dream” as a valuable and praise worthy endeavor. Fitzgerald
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Although everyone’s idea of the American Dream varies a little bit‚ for Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby the American Dream is all about finding a life less ordinary and reaching the top. Daisy Buchanan: Daisy Buchanan is the love interest of Jay Gatsby. She comes from an aristocratic family and is used to the good life. She marries Tom because he is wealthy and can provide her with the material luxuries she is used to. Daisy shows no compassion for anything including her daughter and often hides
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Tori Cullo American Dream January 6‚ 2013 Period 4 The 1920s and 1930s represent two decades in our country’s history that were very much connected to one another but extremely different in the economy. The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring 20s‚ a time of extravagant parties and attempts at finding happiness after World War I. On the other hand‚ The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the 30s while America is suffering from the Great Depression and people are leaving their homes and
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Pursuit of Happiness." This sentiment can be considered the foundation of the American Dream‚ the dream that everyone has the ability to become what he or she desires to be. While many people work to attain their American dream‚ others believe that the dream is seemingly impossible to reach‚ like F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby examines the "Jazz-Age" generation’s search for the elusive American Dream of wealth and happiness and scrutinizes the consequences of that generation’s
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