In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man who started out with no money, and after years of hard work finally achieved a fraction of his dream which was to become wealthy. By maintaining his high status, he is blinded by the truth that money can’t buy love or happiness. This leads to the other half of his dream, which is to get the girl of his dreams, Daisy, alongside him. Because of Gatsby’s wealth, he is unable to tell who his true friends are because people only pretend to be his friend so that they will get invited to his huge parties and use his luxurious belongings. “But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby’s hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him” (Fitzgerald 61).
Amber Baskett Mrs. Vincent AP Lang/ Comp (6) 29 October 2013 “The Seemingly “Great” Gatsby” The American Dream is not what it seems. In the 1920’s, the American Dream was nothing but an idea of materialistic wealth and objective pleasures. The desire for the American Dream represented the demise of America, where hard work and good ethics were abandoned for wealth and the good life. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who started out with no money— only a plan for achieving is dream. He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness.
West Egg, although also home to the rich, is the "new money," meaning people whose wealth was recently earned, as well as to working class people such as Nick. The East is the home of careless aristocrats like Tom and Daisy who spend time manipulating people to meet their wishes and who care little about the damage they leave behind. On the other hand, the West is associated with effort and success (due to working hard and achieving the new money) and the West Eggers fight their way up the ladder of social class to win their own share of money and fame. An issue with social class is the fact that the
This is most evident in the character of Gatsby and his hunt for wealth. Gatsby had dreamed of being rich since he was young, considering his parents “shiftless and unsuccessful”(98) because they were not wealthy. “A world of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain…”(99) and he was determined to bring this extravagance to his reality. His own father notes, “’Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something’”(173).
The Great Gatsby is centered around a character trying to reach his american dream by evolving his lower class title into a social elite. In the novel, Jay Gatsby becomes rich, however, is still not accepted by the high social classes. Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby to convey the inability to break through classes. Gatsby’s American Dream is to be accepted by those around him as something more than just new money. His dream is never really achieved.
When he was young, he ran away from his family with a dream to become different of what he was. He wanted to become rich and had a generous life like every successful men in the U.S. Here are some evidence that proved Jay Gatsby is generous. As a successful man, he had achieved his childhood dreams and he is the most generous person in this novel and one of a few in this life. Why so?
Most millionaires live well below their means. That is precisely why they are millionaires. Most people who earn high incomes are not rich, and they fail to accumulate any lasting wealth. They spend their money as fast as they earn it. In order to accumulate wealth, the authors suggest that people need to play “good offense.” You must budget, budget, and budget.
Both protagonists are blinded by their illusions of success, and both of their experiences are akin to one another. Willy's experience with achieving the American Dream is similar to Troy's will to survive because Troy tries to be on the same level as Whites by overcoming racial barriers. Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, believes that one must be well-liked in order to achieve the American dream. However, Willy does not realize that the value of hard work and devotion plays the most important role in achieving success. Willy tries to teach his falsified ideology of the American dream to his sons, Biff and Happy.
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.
After meeting Cody, he learns how being wealthy feels like and desires to pursue a life as a “nouveau rich.” Gatsby moves further from home and his old, unwanted life by joining the military during World War I. At this point in his life, Gatsby finds further desire to become wealthy; Gatsby meets Daisy with whom he falls in love with. Because Daisy originates from an affluent family, Gatsby seems obligated to win her over with wealth that he does not have. Jay Gatsby’s motives for becoming rich were clear and selfish as well; he believes in order to change his life, he must be accepted by members of the “old money folk” and transform into someone that he was never meant to be. As much as he yearns for Daisy, he also craves the lifestyle of the rich.