Great Gatsby American Dream Essay - 923 Words

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 the idea that the American dream is unattainable. Wealth is a factor that propels the actions of the characters in the novel. In the Great Gatsby, most of the characters are wealthy and are able to do a lot because of their prosperity. Wealth†¦show more content†¦Daisy is one of the most superficial characters in the novel. She shows her shallow ways by treating her child as is she isn’t even real, crooning â€Å"you absolute dream.† After saying this, she shoos her daughter away to the nurse and doesn’t show any interest in seeing her again. Her superficial attitude reached all the way to her vision of Gatsby. Daisy has the illusion of Gatsby as â€Å"the advertisement of the man.† She lives in a world where nothing is true and there are no consequences. She is unable to be happy because she doesn’t know what real happiness is. She is unable to achieve her dreams because she doesn’t know what to dream. Fitzgerald shows that people of the upper class are superficial and cannot achieve their dreams. This is shown through Gatsby’s acceptance of an insincere invitation to Mr. Sloane’s wife’s house party. Tom Buchanan criticizes Gatsby’s misjudgment and says, â€Å"My God, I believe the man’s coming†¦ doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?† All the characters in the novel have had dreams during some point in their lives. Their dreams were unsucces sful because of their inability to be true and honest to people. To have a life of happiness, people need to be good to others to get something good back. By being superficial in ones attitude and actions, Fitzgerald shows that the American dream cannot be achieved. The characters are people who are delusional to the consequences of the actions and do not takeShow MoreRelated The Great Gatsby - The American Dream Essay767 Words   |  4 Pagesmade by Marius Bewley’s critical essay â€Å"Scott Fitzgerald: The Apprentice Fiction†, â€Å"Fitzgerald’s ultimate subject is the character of the American Dream in which, in their respective ways, his principle heroes are all trapped.†, can be justified through Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and his short story â€Å"Winter Dreams†. In both pieces of literature, Fitzgerald explores and comments upon Americans and their pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green†™s pursuit of theirRead MoreEssay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby933 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Gatsby Essay The Great Gatsby has always been a great book, but have you ever wondered what the meaning of â€Å"The American Dream† is..? 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