F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby - 885 Words

Corruption of the American Dream Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power. Gatsby’s American dream roots upon the fallacious assumption that material possessions are compatible with happiness, youth and beauty. For example, his romantic perspective of life towards Daisy justifies his inability to achieve his dream. Gatsby describes her voice as â€Å"full of money –Show MoreRelatedF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby937 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers. Fitzgerald uses the Roaring Twenties as the setting of this novel. The twenties were a time of promiscuity, new money, and a significant amount of illegal alcohol. Fitzgerald was a master of his craft and there was often more to the story than just the basic plot. He could intertwine political messages and a gripping story flawle ssly. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he not only chronicles a love story, butRead More F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Essay1211 Words   |  5 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald’s Portrayal of the Twenties F. Scott Fitzgerald was accurate in his portrayal of the aristocratic flamboyancy and indifference of the 1920s. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores many aspects of indifference and flamboyancy. A large influence on this society was the pursuit of the American Dream. Gangsters played a heavily influential role in the new money aristocracy of the 1920s. The indifference was mainly due to the advent of Prohibition in 1920. One majorRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay913 Words   |  4 Pages The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. â€Å"In the years immediately after the completion of The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald was unable to provide his art with any such endorsement† (Collins). Fitzgerald was unable to get his book published because of insufficient funds. According to Harris, â€Å"F Scott Fitzgerald wrote his greatest novel in France in 1924, having exiled himself in order to get some work done† (Harris). The best novel Fitzgerald has written he wrote when he was in France. AccordingRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay998 Words   |  4 PagesF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby â€Å"So The Great Gatsby house at West Egg glittered with all the lights of the twenties, there were was always Gatsby’s supplicating hand, reaching out to make glamour with what he had lost be cruel chance...of how little Gatsby wanted at bottom-not to understand society, but to ape it†(21-22). The Great Gatsby by F.Read MoreA Review of F Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby851 Words   |  3 PagesThe Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald created a modern masterpiece in his work The Great Gatsby, despite the novels earl ill reception. The work is a complex piece which tries to make sense of a strange concept of modernity within a classical sense of history. In the work, Fitzgerald illustrates the importance of allusion in the creation of character building, but also as a way for Fitzgerald to stray away from previous literary techniques and create motifs and themes that were entirely his ownRead MoreEssay on F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby968 Words   |  4 Pages The 1920s was a time of excess and growth. Economically, it was a time for great financial gain. Largely because of improvements in technology, productivity increased while overall production costs decreased, and the economy grew. Not only was this time filled with prosperity, but corruption as well. People who had previously worked day and night finally acquired leisure time. Some of the most wealthy people made the choice to fill this free time with gluttony and lust. Many authorsRead More F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay1411 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby The greatness of an individual can be defined in terms far beyond tangible accomplishments. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsbys greatness comes from his need to experience success and his will to achieve his dreams. Nick Carraway narrates the story, and his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, is Gatsbys love. Daisy, however, is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy, arrogant womanizer who despises Gatsby. Gatsby feels theRead More F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay1013 Words   |  5 Pages Wealth, Love, and the American Dream nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It has been said that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is about the pursuit of the American dream. It has also been said that the novel is about love, ambition, and obsession. Perhaps both are true. Combined, these themes may be understood in their most basic forms among the relationships within the novel. After all, each character’s reason for belonging to a relationship speaks very strongly of what really makes him tick;Read MoreF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay1009 Words   |  5 Pages In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many of the characters live in an illusory world and only some can see past this. In the novel, West Egg and its residents represent the newly rich, while East Egg represents the old aristocracy. Gatsby seeking the past, Daisy is obsessed with material things, Myrtle wanting Tom to escape her poverty, George believing that T.J. Eckleburg is God, and Tom believing he is untouchable because of his power and wealth are all examples of the illusionRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby954 Words   |  4 PagesJay Gatsby. Gatsby lives in a mansion and has extravagant parties every Saturday. Gatsby’s real name is James Gatz and he was born at a farm in North Dakota. He went to St. Olaf’s University but dropped out two weeks later do to the humiliation of being a janitor. One day he was fishing at Lake Superior and he saw a yacht owned by Dan Cody. He rowed towards the yacht to warn Dan about an approaching storm. Dan was very grateful and took Jay on board. There, Jay introduced himself as Jay Gatsby. Since