F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby

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.

The 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 flawlessly. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he not only chronicles a love story, but also uses the opportunity to express his opinion on topics such as moral decay, crass materialism, individual ethics, and the American dream.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the compelling story of the lengths one man goes to in order to try and win back the love of his youth. In order to do so, the titular figure of the novel, Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself from the hardscrabble soldier of his younger years into an enigma of a millionaire; during his time living at West Egg, Gatsby is revered by all, but known by none. Despite the lavish lifestyle which has made him ever so well known, Gatsby is never able to win back Daisy, the girl who has for so long represented the culmination of all of his desires. To convey the complex themes of the novel, Fitzgerald makes use of the literary techniques discussed in How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, especially in his portrayal of the geography of the Eggs and in Gatsby’s quest to win Daisy’s affection. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s desperate struggle to ingratiate himself into Daisy’s life to illustrate how one can never overcome the socio-economic barriers placed upon them at birth.

The American dream is a tacit promise given to all citizens in this country, which states that regardless of social class, any individual can aspire to new heights based upon the ideology of meritocracy. The American dream is a “recurring theme in American literature”(Pearson) and in American society. However, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s critically acclaimed novel, presents the American dream as an illusion which can never be achieved, and according to recent events in America, Fitzgerald is evidently correct. The personification of Daisy as the American Dream, the issue of meritocracy, Myrtle’s death, the image of the green light, as well as the manner in which Gatsby is denied entry into the

Money, commonly associated with happiness and success, is deceiving because it doesn 't necessarily breed enjoyment at all. Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin in the Sun and F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby examine the difference between wealth and appreciation of life. Lorraine Hansberry explains this with Walter, a negro father in a poor family who seeks more money than is realistic to bring happiness into the family. Fitzgerald uses the character Jay Gatsby to show that wealth doesn 't imply success or happiness. Both characters occupy strikingly different roles in their stories, yet decently portray money 's impact on life. In The Great Gatsby and Raisin in the Sun, wealth is made to seem as the key to happiness, but, in essence,

Scott Fitzgerald 's, “The Great Gatsby”, is used to teach us the prime example of the American experience or the American dream. On the other hand, J.D Salinger 's book, “The Catcher in the Rye”, is generally about the story of a young boy, losing innocence and trying to keep children from falling off of this metaphorical cliff, or in reality, losing their innocence. While these two stories may seem drastically different from each other, they both share a deeper meaning. Throughout both of these books, while the plot line and thematic ideas may seem different, both of these characters share the same trait, idealism; they both desire things that they cannot possibly reach or things, or something as simple as fitting in and feeling like

To certain people, Gatsby’s death was a cruel and surprising conclusion to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But there is still some mystery around the cause of Gatsby’s death. Upon meeting Gatsby for the first time, one can tell that he has an obsession centered around Daisy Buchanan, his old love, and was dead set on getting her back. Gatsby’s obsession with repeating the past is responsible for his death and Gatsby’s greed put him in a grave. Further into the novel, it is revealed that Gatsby made his abundant fortune on illegal business and trades that were outlawed in the 1920’s. Gatsby’s death could be caused by either his love for Daisy or from his inner need for more. Roger Lewis makes the

The American Dream in simple terms is the essence of Americanism; it is the belief that social mobility, prosperity, and financial success are attainable by hard work regardless of social class and nationality. The American Dream exemplifies what every immigrant imagines as they walk through Ellis Island or cross the border from Mexico. It is the ethos of America, the defining image of the average upper-middle class family man. This idea of prosperity begins as far back as the founders of the United States. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous Framers in American history, built himself from the ground up. Franklin’s The Autobiography is both his personal regimen for prosperity, but also the

The attempt to decipher the complex societal ascension and cultural machine that is “social class” and “social standing” is a motif seen all throughout American literature with no absence from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Although at times overshadowed by the blatant themes of love, hope, and loss, Fitzgerald addresses the concept of social mobility, social standing, and social precedent continuously throughout his novel beginning as early as the first chapter. However, what separates The Great Gatsby from other novels addressing the perceptions of social class is the wide variety of social standing presented by Fitzgerald. Unlike pieces similar to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening or Stephen Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the

In the early 1920’2 there was a dream that everyone yearned to reach. A dream of wealth, prosperity, and fame. This dream became the sole focus of many generations, leading them down a path of corruption and self-destruction. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, you witness the steady destruction of three individuals as they spend their lives pursuing the American dream. This dream has caused depression, adultery and even the death of the Great Gatsby himself.

The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 and is one of Fitzgerald 's best published books. It was written during the summer and fall near St. Raphael. When he first published it, the sales of The Great Gatsby were horrible. It received a critical praise, but the book did not bring him any profit. The Great Gatsby was published in the Jazz Age and became well received. It was an improvement in Fitzgerald 's technique and structure in writing. The Great Gatsby was a portrait of The Roaring Twenties and was one of the greatest novels published at the time. The Great Gatsby has two lovers, Jay Gatsby and Daisy, who cannot be together because Daisy already has a husband. Jay Gatsby is determined

“Life is essentially a cheat, and its conditions are those of defeat; the redeeming features are not those of happiness and pleasure, but the deeper satisfactions that come out of a struggle.”

The iconic novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, utilizes multiple songs throughout the story. “Fitzgerald’s wok has become automatically identified with an American decade: The Jazz Age (which he named) or the Roaring Twenties or The Boom.” (Fitzgerald, IX). The Twenties was a time full of exploration of alcohol and music and the move from small farms into large cities. “Since The Great Gatsby is the defining novel of the Twenties, which have become trivialized and vulgarized by people… it was necessary and useful to provide a corrective assessment of that era and Fitzgerald’s response to it” (XI). I personally believe Fitzgerald did just that. The development of Jay Gatsby’s character is all about rebirth and reinvigorating yourself; even if these developments are canards. Nonetheless, the tale of revival is a parallel belief echoed throughout the 1920s and the novel. The Roaring Twenties were a period “of possibilities and aspirations” (X) which is an influential theme in The Great Gatsby. “In ‘Echoes of the Jazz Age’ he wrote: ‘It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire’” (X). During a stage of such metamorphosis, one element survives Jay’s coherent love for Daisy. This American classic of romantic literature collaborates beautifully with a playlist of Jazz songs. Also, Fitzgerald regularly mentions songs in the book. F.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is known to be one of the most influential writers of America. He is known to have perfectly captured the essence of the “Jazz Age” and written one of the greatest novels, also known as The Great Gatsby. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24, 1896 where he attended St. Paul’s academy. There, he published his first composed piece on the school newsprint. Later, he attended Princeton, where he wrote musicals; due to struggling with his grades, Fitzgerald dropped out and joined the army. Fitzgerald moved to New York in 1919 and released his novel a year later. Immediately, his novel was a bestseller, from which he rose to fame. In 1957, he moved to Paris for inspiration, where he published The Great Gatsby. As

Ever since Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and introduced Europeans to the Americas, people have flocked to the United States in order to fulfill the “American Dream.” Each person has their own interpretation of the American Dream, but to most, it simply means rising from humble beginnings to great success through hard work and determination. Benjamin Franklin, a great American leader, pursued the American Dream through the creation of his “13 Moral Virtues.” Like Benjamin Franklin, Jay Gatsby, the main character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, created his own list of virtues as a child that he believed would make him successful if done correctly. This list contains items that overlap many of the ideas Benjamin Franklin considered necessary to accomplish the American Dream. However, did Gatsby follow this list strictly enough to have accomplished the American Dream? Gatsby fell short and missed the mark of Benjamin Franklin’s idea of successfully accomplishing the “American Dream” because he did not follow the basic virtues of frugality, moderation, tranquility and chastity.