He set himself up for failure in dedicating his life to achieving an unreachable goal. Gatsby suspected in brevity when he first reunited with Daisy that she "tumbled short of his dreams", though "not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion"(101). He suspected his image of her may have become disproportionate with reality over the years. However, the uncompromising, obstinate nature of his pursuit refused to let Gatsby surrender Daisy when he "seemed so very near to her"(98). This fabricated image "had gone beyond her, beyond everything"(101).
The American Dream all the characters are chasing is ruined by reality of life. Gatsby dream involves him falling in love with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby feared that Daisy did not wait for him because he was not rich. That’s why Gatsby did crime to get rich. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan.
However his parties would have an abundance of alcohol. Gatsby would pay the police enough to look the other way. There isn’t really any equal opportunity if the only way that Gatsby could achieve wealth would be through illegal business. Although Gatsby did achieve The American Dream, he wasn’t happy, because he didn’t have love, which for him was Daisy. Gatsby achieved the American Dream but he ended up dead.
He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. The author argues that the common, and false, perception of the American Dream is that wealth, happiness, and a trouble-free life go hand-in-hand. However, through diction, foreshadowing, and irony, Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth, power, and love. From the very beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald creates the illusion in Gatsby’s mind that wealth automatically generates happiness. When Fitzgerald envisions, “however glorious might be his future… he was at present a penniless young man without a past…” (149).
Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins (Austen) marriage proposal was quite unorthodox. Mr. Collins proposal was socially acceptable; he would provide Elizabeth with a home, security, and financial stability. However, she expresses in a letter of “My dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man” (Austen). Mr. Collins was less than desirable, self centered, close-minded and Elizabeth knew that she couldn’t love such a man. Rejecting a man whom a woman did not love was rebellious and unheard of during this time.
The immoral attitudes practiced by the aristocratic society show that the achievement of the dream only leads to bad moral values. The aristocrats’ purposeless lives show that reaching the top of the American Dream only leads to an aftermath of meaningless lives. Gatsby’s attempt and failure of entering the elite upper-class questions the validity of the dream which clearly states of anyone becoming anything in life. The American Dream’s promise of ultimate enrichment and prosperity is contradicted through The Great Gatsby as it questions and establishes the dream as a mere delusion. These elements portrayed within the novel resemble how unattainable the aspiration is and reveal the essential boundaries around it.
She Loves Him, She Loves Him Not One’s natural ability is to love things that are beautiful, whether it is a car, a house, or a person. However even something as beautiful and delicate as a rose can be hurtful in the end. Even though Fitzgerald makes Daisy a character worthy of Gatsby’s attention and love, in the end she shows her true colors. She is merely a selfish, shallow, and a hurtful woman. This makes her the most destructive character in The Great Gatsby.
Vivian Nghiem Mrs. Brothwell English 3 23 May 2012 Ruin Vale Imagine a land where dreams fade to dust, where hopes ride on falling ashes, where skeletons of extravagance pile higher and higher on an increasingly confining wasteland, and where God stares eternally down from faded boards hammered into the sky. Within The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a land forgotten by a lavish society baited on extravagance. Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s chosen narrator of The Great Gatsby, refers to this gray, pass-through acreage as the valley of ashes. It is in this desolate wasteland that the ideal of God is mocked with a faded billboard depicting a long passed optometric practice, that people cling onto dreams already ripped from their
However his parties would have an abundance of alcohol. Gatsby would pay the police enough to look the other way. There isn’t really any equal opportunity if the only way that Gatsby could achieve wealth would be through illegal business. Although Gatsby did achieve The American Dream, he wasn’t happy, because he didn’t have love, which for him was Daisy. Gatsby achieved the American Dream but he ended up dead.
He tries to win over Daisy’s heart by repeating what they did in the past because he thought that’s when everything was perfect. Gatsby is too hard headed to realize that Daisy is a different person now and the circumstances are completely different. What Gatsby didn’t realize was that it was never destined for him to win over Daisy because then the pain and misery he suffered from losing her before would last much longer this time around. Jay Gatsby fails at achieving the American Dream because his mind set of trying to achieve love by repeating past actions is the reason he doesn’t win over Daisy. Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, he uses his wealth, the wealth that he never has when he first met Daisy.