How does Fitzgerald portray the corruption of the American Dream in the ‘Great Gatsby?’ In Fitzgerald’s ‘Great Gatsby’ he has portrayed how the original American Dream created by the Dutch sailors clashes inevitably with the idea of materialism and greed to fuel the our desires in life, destroying our dreams along the process. The original American Dream is that if you work hard, you could succeed in life. However, our wants are the things that blind us to what is more important throughout our lives. The author has based his novels on parties; in every chapter, there is a party, using parties. Fitzgerald introduces many characters in the novel, and further shows their character to the reader.
If America would stop trying to control everything for one-minute we could take a step back and regain our dignity, respect, and values that we have always strived for. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the rapid changes that America is going through. It also brings to light the complex feelings that people, especially Margaret Atwood, have towards these changes. Margaret Atwood talks about her disconnection with the American world. She remembers the joy and excitement of American pop culture in the days of “the Andrews Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, the Platters, and Elvis."
On the outside, The Great Gatsby seems to be a story about a twisted love affair and nothing else. In reality, though, Fitzgerald is subliminally showing the many changes happening during the 1920s socially, and how it affected the idea of the “American Dream.” In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the strives for wealth and status, which defined the American Dream during the roaring 20s, and which continues to be defined as a desire for wealth, success, and status today. The Great Gatsby was written soon after World War II. After World War II, there was a great economic boom which left many people suddenly rich, people referred to as “new money.” There quickly came to be a distinct difference between the “new money” group of people and people who were previously wealthy. What used to be “the pursuit of happiness” turned into a pursuit of money and greed.
Each of the locations in the novel, including West Egg, East Egg, the valley of ashes, and New York City, corresponds to a particular theme or type of character encountered in the story. West Egg is like Gatsby, garish and extravagant, who symbolizes the emergence of the new rich in the 1920s. East Egg is like Tom and Daisy, whom are wealthy and have social status, which symbolizes the old aristocracy. The valley of ashes is like George Wilson, desolate, and without hope, symbolizing the moral decay of American society. And then there is New York City, which is chaos, and in which Nick sees the “quality of distortion” that he frequently speaks of (Great Books: The Great Gatsby.
Even in the nation that prided itself on the migratory nature of its settlers and founding fathers, the people of the Great Depression were oppressed in their own land of birth. The Great Depression and the United States economy breakdown happened under the presidency of Herbert Hoover. When it came time for President Hoover to run for presidency again he wouldn’t run, so Franklin D. Roosevelt ran and won by a landslide. He changed many things in his term such as not letting banks reopen until they were stabilized and he then established the New Deal. The New Deal was a bunch of established programs which helped to curb the unemployment by hiring people for various projects.
The “ … tragedies that clouded the last quarter of … “ Twain’s “ … life--bankruptcy, the death of two daughters and his wife--blackened his vision … “ but it did not stop him from achieving stardom (Jones). Mark Twain suffered many misfortunes in the later years of his life. He lost pretty much everything that he had held dearest to him. For example he lost his wife Livy and two of his daughters, Clary and Jean. Along with these losses he also suffered many financial failings.
The Corruption of Fitzgerald’s American Dream Through reading The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald compares much of the cultural and economic features of the 1920s in his writing. The 1920s was a decade full of new changes in technology, fashion, social life, politics and the way money was spent. Fitzgerald identifies many topics through this book, but the most significant were on materialism and corruption. His message to readers is that America is so attached to the American Dream that they are becoming more and more of a materialist nation that is leading to selfishness and individualism. What is the American Dream?
This segment was the urban business districts that benevolently fed off of the new beginnings of materialistic consumerism. Social standards were changing, the idea of forever peace had overcome a previously war torn planet, and all of the domestic reforms of the Progressive Era helped usher in one of the most celebrated decades in American history. However extravagant, rural America didn’t always agree with the new Metropolitan ideas. In Ronald Allen Goldberg’s book, “America in the Twenties,” he carefully detailed what really took place during this novel and stimulating time period. America after World War I was in for a drastic make over.
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).
The Loss of Hope in the American Dream In the 1920’s people were living an extravagant lifestyle, full of parties, dancing, and music. Society craved more money and a way into a carefree living. Many books by F. Scott Fitzgerald were written with a setting during this time period. In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the valley of ashes and the green light represent the American dream-the search for love and a better life, and the result when those dreams never come true. The valley of ashes was a desolate place.