The American Dream
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a major theme is the American Dream versus Gatsby's dream, the ideal dream, and the corruption and destruction of the dream. Fitzgerald reveals that the American Dream was transformed from a pure idea of security into a scheme of materialistic power. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald showed the perseverance and hope the founding fathers had. Though the American Dream was corrupted, Gatsby's was not. It was the "foul dust" who were corrupted that ended Gatsby and his dream. Gatsby was living the dream purely, but the corrupted people in his life, like Tom and Daisy Buchanan, destroyed Gatsby's dream. The American Dream, which arose during the Colonial Period, developed in the 19th century. The dream was based on the assumption that each person, no matter his or her origin, could succeed on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. Gatsby lived the dream purely. He had the determination, creativity, inspiration, and the passion to achieve his goal. Even when he was poor, Gatsby saw himself as a rich, sophisticate and successful man. Gatsby's burning desire for Daisy's love symbolized the basis of the old dream: the ethereal goal and the never- ending search for t
The ideal dream was to make money through skill and effort. The founding fathers believed the dream to be pure. They believed it would be able to withstand time and not be corrupted by money. The dream was a belief in self- reliance and hard work. In his "Hopalong Cassidy" book, Gatsby wrote his dreams and aspirations. When his father, Jay Gatz, showed Nick Caraway the book he said, " Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he's got about improving his mind? He was always great for that." Here, Fitzgerald compared the young James Gatz to the young Benjamin Franklin to prove that the dream was able to survive the corrupted society. After a meeting with Daisy, Gatsby had said, " Her voice is full of money." Nick thought of this as true. " That was it. I'd never understood it before. It was full of money - that was the inexhaustible charm that rises and falls in it, the jungle of it, the cymbals' of it... High in a white palace, the king's daughter, the golden girl..." When Gatsby realized Daisy's voice was full of money, he also realized he was not pursuing love, but cold hard wealth, hidden behind the disguise of a human face, Daisy's. The 1920's was a period when old values gave substance to the American Dream. The dream was corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. The characters were Mid- Westerners who came east in pursuit of wealth, power, glamour, and excitement. Nick
Some common words found in the essay are:
Colonial Period, American Dream, Mid- Westerners, Daisy Gatsby, George Wilson, Depression Money, Nick Caraway, Benjamin Franklin, american dream, Hopalong Cassidy, Gatsby Fitzgerald, gatsby's dream, gatsby living dream, dream gatsby, living dream, dream purely, ideal dream, gatsby living, dream corrupted, founding fathers, dream money,
Approximate Word count = 974
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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