His sense of over-entitlement led him to be easily manipulated into killing his good friend and leader King Duncan. Duddy likely inherited his love of wealth from members of his family. He even shows movies he dislikes as a result of his desire for money, seen in the quote "Duddy didn't say a word all through the screening but afterwards he was sick to his stomach." (159) While his father does not place a large importance on wealth, his extremely wealthy uncle proves to have a lasting effect on his development as Duddy is instilled with a desire for wealth. Likewise, Macbeth is easily tempted into killing and manipulating many simply due to the desire for power and social praise.
People have lost their own ability to determine what they want and have succumbed to society’s great pressure that money is the answer to everything. As a result, citizens became willing to do anything to chase wealth. Gatsby chases the same dream for too long, becoming an illegal bootlegger who hides behind a façade along the way, while similarly, the general public fails to realize a whole life of hard work does not guarantee wealth and happiness. The corrupt American Dream is just an illusion that the people of the 1920s are victims of because it is impossible to achieve. In the end, both Gatsby and the American people of the 1920s wear themselves out pursuing false hopes that they thought were
| Roderigo | A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Young, rich, and foolish, Roderigo is convinced that if he gives Iago all of his money, Iago will help him win Desdemona’s hand. | Michael Cassio | Othello’s lieutenant, or second-in-command. Cassio is highly educated but young and inexperienced in battle. Iago resents Cassio’s high position and dismisses him as a bookkeeper.
Through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor. As Nick admires Gatsby throughout the novel, it gives him heads up for future reference. As to all the lies and betrayal he was surrounded by, he sees the way Gatsby deals with the situation and gives him his name “the great Gatsby” because of that. The admiration he gets from Gatsby shows his respect for Gatsby and how he looks up to him. Nick reflects that just as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic twentieth-century story of Jay Gatsby's quest for Daisy Buchanan, examines and critiques Gatsby's particular vision of the 1920's American Dream. Written in 1925, the novel serves as a bridge between World War I and the Great Depression of the early 1930's. Although Fitzgerald was an avid participant in the stereotypical "Roaring Twenties" lifestyle of wild partying and bootleg liquor, he was also an astute critic of his time period. The Great Gatsby certainly serves more to detail society's failure to fulfill its potential than it does to glamorize Fitzgerald's "Jazz Age." Fitzgerald's social insight in The Great Gatsby focuses on a select group: priviliged young people between the ages of 20 and 30.
In the Great Gatsby, when Nick goes with Tom to New York and the book that Tom is reading are both perfect example of why this decade will forever be known as the Lost Generation. Tom, a character from the famous Great Gatsby, is a person who falls into the category of being “lost”. Many of his actions depicted prove why that statement would be considered true. For example, the way he spends most of him time getting wasted and cheating on his wife openly. He shows no remorse for his actions and is inconsiderate of how Daisy might feel.
Because of his unhappiness Gatsby was blinded by his burning desire to have Daisy, whom was not rightfully his, making him yearn for more. American society exemplifies and glorifies the necessity of money. Americans are a meretricious lot, incapable of looking into the soul of a person and choose to rely on the judgments of their first outward appearance. They say Americans aim too high but if there were any other way to aim, we do not know it. The character James Gatsby is the perfect representation of this.
Key Quotes: Gatsby Quote | Analysis | ‘Foul dust that floated in the wake of his dreams’ Ch1 (pg4) | Gatsby has been destroyed/ruined because of the foul dust that followed his American dream. Possibly referring to people who took advantage of his money or used their power to try and destroy him. Achieving the American Dream doesn’t always result in happiness. | ‘He stretched out his arms towards the dark water’ Ch1 (pg16) | Gatsby truly loved Daisy. This happens when Gatsby thinks no one is watching him therefore we are able to assume it is not part of his image.
Roo in “The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll.”) Fitzgerald makes it very clear to us that Tom is “A hulking man” by how the other characters in the book refer to him. One could note that Daisy Buchanan (Tom’s wife) several times claims Tom to be “A hulk”, “A brute”, etc. Tom is also shown by Fitzgerald to be a very abusive, short tempered man. Some undeniable evidence of this is when he backhands Myrtle Wilson (his mistress) across the face, breaking her nose in the process. Fitzgerald also reveals bruises on
It also belongs to the common man—in this case the “low man,” as in Willy Loman. Willy’s tragic flaw stems from the fact that he has misinterpreted the American Dream, the belief that one can rise from rags to riches. For Willy, the success of that dream hinges on appearance rather than on substance, on wearing a white collar rather than a blue one. It is this snobbery, combined with a lack of practical knowledge, that leads to his downfall. Indeed, much of the lasting popularity of Death of a Salesman both in the world of the theater and in the canon of English literature, lies in its treatment of multiple themes.