Great Gatsby Failure of the American Dream
The Great Gatsby written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1920's illustrates the failure in striving for the American Dream. What he failed to understand was that Daisy and he lived in two different worlds, which because of social circumstance was never allowed to intermingle. Daisy was a rich southern belle, who became involved with Gatsby when they were still young and later rejected him, because he was too poor to marry her and in his place married Tom Buchanan, a rich abusive man who ended up cheating on her. From the start they took him for a fraud and that's all that he ended up being, because he never understood the true meaning of the American Dream. He mistook the meaning of success for being wealthy and as a result he died having lived like one of the East Eggers, whom he despised. Like the idle rich of East Egg he too accomplished nothing. His evolution as a man amounted to nothing more than a faded dream, because he never did accomplish what he had set out to do, which was to win back the heart of his one true love, Daisy. The prize for his success is similar to one who has made a deal with the devil in the sense that the reward is not worth the sacrifices made to attain it.Gatsby is a man whose delusions of achieving the
The pursuit of Daisy's love shows Gatsby's determination toward a certain ideal. Working hard towards a goal usually produces favorable results. In the case of Gatsby, where social class plays a major role in him being rejected by Daisy his ignorance of social class distinction is best displayed. The same mentality he used to become rich was the same one he used to try to win her back. Gatsby, the main character in this story, is by all respects a very ambitious, hard working dreamer whose spirit becomes crushed when his dreams meet reality. During the story, Nick realizes that Gatsby is too is driven by his overwhelming obsession to recapture Daisy. Progressively, Nick begins to side with Gatsby in his quest for Daisy's heart. Gatsby's whole efforts in this book are focused on trying to bring him and Daisy back to the point of time before he joined the army except this time he has enough money for her. Gatsby says it himself on [page 111], '"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" The notion that one can attain something once lost can only be described as childish. During the transition from childhood to adulthood brings with such life changing moments as puberty and love loss. These were made to mature us physically, mentally, emotionally, and to make one capable of dealing with the outside world. Gatsby has shown he is a child when it comes to love and that is the why his relationship with Daisy was bound to fail. From the onset of the story they are two different places in their life mentally and emotionally. She already had come to terms with the fact that show will never be able to rekindle the same love which once burned hot for Gatsby and now goals to strengthen her relationship with Tom. These childish characteristics, which Gatsby exhibits adds to his likeability and vulnerability. The ideal that love can with stand any type of pressure to live on is a pipedream, which Gatsby paid dearly for. American Dream is corrupted by the basis on which he strives for it. American Dream consists of becoming rich through hard work and determination through legal means. Gatsby's poor background didn't afford him to take the straight and narrow path through life, so instead he chose to make his money by working for the mob. After leaving the Army he met this rich drunk named Cody who employed him as a worker on his boat. He ended up befriending Cody in hopes of inheriting his fortune. He never inherited his fortune, but instead from this experience he learned that drinking could ruin a man's dream of success. From this point in his history he becomes clouded in an air of mys
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1753
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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