Anyone who works hard, and pursues the ultimate goal of happiness, can, and will, live a fulfilling life. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby to critique the idea of the American Dream. He uses Gatsby because, although he is an example of the American Dream, in the way that he went from rags to riches, he also contradicts the American Dream. He got to where he was because of illegal actions, not hard honest work. And yet there are people in the world, represented by Wilson in this book, that do work hard, honest jobs, yet they still suffer.
To Carroway, Tom and Daisy are guilty of using people and he, Nick, George and Myrtle Wilson are all victims of being used by Tom and Daisy. "—they smashed up things and people and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness.” This line states that it was their wealth, their indulgence of money that gave Tom and Daisy this arrogance to trample on people. Tom was powerfully built and
The American Dream is the goal many generations have pursued, but overtime the process on “how” we pursue the dream has evolved. It started out as having a determined, Protestant work ethic then degenerated to a lazy ambition of a work ethic. The “easy way out” or a “get rich quick scheme” has become the mantra of notorious criminals and common thieves. The American Nation was built on the idea of a “self-made” man, encouraged by the 1920’s industrial boom, that wealth and prosperity earned by the sweat of your own brow and that anyone, regardless of gender and ethnicity, could eventually achieve the American Dream. However the pursuit of the American dream touched some individuals to the extreme, causing them to become hell-bent on achieving their goals no matter what.
His dream is never really achieved. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream as something worked hard for yet remains unattainable. Gatsby’s dream is to be accepted as a social elite. He works hard to get up to get to where he wants to be with the advice of a friend and let’s nothing get in his way and
During The Great Gatsby, Gatsby makes a large fortune for him self; he was kind of selfish he can do what he wanted. Gatsby, he created who he is for the sole purpose of gaining daisy's love, therefore, he doesn’t have the class or stile where he from (east egg). He looks great from the outside but on the inside he is an ordinary man, not the theatrical "Great Gatsby." Tom believes himself to be higher than everyone else, which is why he fails to keep his affair with Myrtle more discreet. Tom has no goals or dreams like Gatsby, and also he is an arrogant egotistical and limited man.
Americans tend to live their lives struggling to find happiness, and most believe that happiness is found through wealth, although this idea of happiness is destined to fail. People fight their entire lives to succeed; to reach their ‘ultimate goal’. This goal varies from person to person. These thoughts all come together to be known as the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the concept of fighting for happiness in his writing, particularly in his novel The Great Gatsby.
“ In the affluent professional school, work is creative activity carried out independently. The students are continually asked to express and apply ideas and concepts”. (Anyon 179) It's against the American principle to belong to a social class. Americans have a really hard time talking about the class system, because they really don't want to admit that the class system exists. The Declaration of Independence asserts that “all men are created equal.” Has that ideal ever been realized in the United States?
The story of Gatsby is repeated over and over in the lives of many Americans who strive to make their own identity. America is truly a land of opportunity, but the wealth and resources found in America must be used in accordance with human nature. Just because the opportunity is available for a man to abandon his family and social roots and make his own life on the opposite side of the country, does not mean that this will lead to fulfillment and happiness. Americans must discover their own connectedness to others around them. They must learn that human nature is not something to be fabricated by each individual, but is something common to all men which binds them together.
Esteban was obsessive, destructive, and greedy. He dedicated his life to his business and political calling. Single-minded first to become prosperous and then to become imposing. He owed much of his achievements to the work of the peasants at Tres Marias, the home he constructed, although he by no means regarded them with respect or equality. Esteban was an individual that went from having little assets in life to having dominance and success to finally end lonely.
A once seemingly righteous endeavour suffers a tragic fate, as the growing aspirations of its pursuers overcome its ability to deliver and forces this dream to be fulfilled by material success and careless lifestyles. Jay Gatsby embodies the spirit of the American Dream, yet, ultimately sees its failure because his dream to which he strives is unworthy of the effort he provides. Tom Buchanan is a man of established wealth and extensive social rapport, who aims to keep his American Dream by means of extinguishing the dreams of others. Nick Carraway is a