In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters to demonstrate the corruption and degradation of the American Dream. He even uses the characters, namely Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, to demonstrate the demise of those who are brave enough to attempt to attain its illusionary goals. There are different types of wealth represented in this novel. The Buchanans are wealthy people. Jay Gatsby is also wealthy but would rather simply be affluent.
The Great Gatsby’s failure to answer the questions of whether or not Tom knew of Daisy’s involvement in Myrtle’s death and what the exact meaning of Nick’s assertion at the end of the book meant reflect the ongoing themes that are based upon the harsh reality that the American dream brings, the confused disillusionment of the time, and the synthetic moral and societal values of the United Sates during the nineteen twenties. In the final chapter of The Great Gatsby, Nick claims that the American dream was originally based on pure and optimistic desires, such as individuality and the idea of producing one’s own gladness, but it was then clouded by the growing greed of man and the progressively weak ethical standards created during this period. Nick’s visions of the West as having a more honest and moral based culture indirectly imitate Gatsby’s romanticized feelings towards the future he hoped for with Daisy. The “real snow” (Fitzgerald, 175) that he refers to helps to drive this idea into a more directly formed opinion. All in all, his romanticized feelings towards the west compared to the growing phoniness of the east help to create the image of the dream of America moving from a state of bright development to a point of tainted existence.
In this quote when Gatsby asks “Do you like it” its almost like he asking “You like it right, its big enough?”, which shows that he thinks that all Daisy wants is money, so her goals are corrupted. “He’s the man who fixes the World Series back in 1919”(73). This quotes shows that Meyer’s goals are so focused on money that he throws all his morals against cheating away. The result of the Corruption of the American Dream is that motivation to get someone’s dream is gone and they’re just left with empty goals. This is shown when Daisy says “ Do you always watch for the longest day of the year… I always watch… and miss it”(11).
Using powerful language, Jack Solomon stresses that advertisers do not persuade us, but they manipulate us into buying what they're offering. They don't offer us product information, but they exercise "behavior modification" : "Pleasing to our subconscious emotions, rather than our conscious intelligences, ads are designed to exploit the discontentments by the American dream, and also the constant desire for social success and the material rewards that accompany it” page 530. Advertisements say a lot about different people and what ideas are important at the time. In America, society is obsessed with status. Therefore, status symbols are very important.
He was wrong. While his wealth led him closer to Daisy, he never won her back. He wants “too much” (132). His desire to have it all, the money, class, power, and Daisy, no matter the cost, has corrupted his spirit. His past is filled with illegal activity and cheating, and there is nothing he can do to erase it.
Gatsby lived his American dream and in the end found his heart flooded with the power of love and its remarkable betrayal. In time, the clothes we decide to wear, or the objects we put faith into are but beautiful masks covering broken creatures. The desires Gatsby longs for, force him to remember the past in the hope of strengthening the dimming light of Daisy’s love. Gatsby’s life gives way to circumstances that connect two separate ideas in ways least expected. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the morals of people are challenged through the use of flashbacks, symbolism, irony, syntax, and diction in order to depict the dissimilarities of the social classes.
Scott Fitzgerald offers a unique and creative perspective about dreams, wealth and time and how they were perceived and valued in the 1920's. The book personifies the lack of moral values of society and how that lack can lead to increased greed and obsession. Dreams, though they may seem bold and beautiful, are not reliable and do have an expiration date. In addition, time and wealth are not things to be played with as they can do more harm than good. Finally, Fitzgerald's novel shows the reader how even the most heroic and "great" characters can suffer a tragic and unsettling demise if they are not
The Great Gatsby Money can’t buy love, but it can make you act differently and lie to your loved ones. In the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald there were many themes but the two biggest ones that I noticed that could be compared to each other were lies and deceit, and money changes the way people act. These two things were a big part of the 1920’s and it is the same way to this day. The first theme that stood out to me was lies and deceit. In the novel couples cheat on each other and lie about it.
Karma comes back to deal with all the immoral people and their actions. Tom lost his mistress, George Wilson lost his temper, and Gatsby is paid the ultimate price, his life. Gatsby’s American dream was attained the immoral way and he was only living for pleasure and in the moment. His dream of high social status, wealth, and his past love ultimately leads to his
Tom Walker is specifically an American antihero as he is selfish and only wants money, unfaithful in his marriage and deals, and is trying to fight back when he realizes consequences of his deal. * Page 2 * In colonial times, when this story takes place, the British use the colonies in America to get natural resources. These resources are used to make money, but the colonies do not benefit from the deals with the British. This relates to the story as Irving describes Tom as a selfish person throughout the story. When the devil offers Tom a deal he would have accepted “However Tom might have felt disposed to sell himself to the