He implied that the Americans have been wasting too many resources. However, after a few years, he became one of the victims of affluenza. He has vowed for raising the economy without thinking if it is a good thing to the Americans. The idea of article pursuit for more money or goods has been set deeply in Americans’ minds. It has caused us and our next generations loose the balance of the value in our lives.
They lack morals and are filled with emptiness that resulted from the constant money chase throughout their lives. The new rich are also represented through the ashes. They shower themselves in selfish pleasures and have no care for others in life. These ashes also represent the poor who additionally lack morals as they live in silent agony. Not only do the ashes have a symbolic meaning in the book but also embody the hollowness of people in the world today.
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
So, what else was there to do other than spend money and live the life of the “rich and famous”, even if they were not the “rich and famous”? By time the decade had ended and the stock market crashed, many of those same people who lived the grandiose life were wishing they had answered that question with “saving money”. With the Great Depression came a distinct lack of funds. This meant that the lavish parties and the purchase of expensive artwork came to a halt. People began to save every penny while attempting to make extra money wherever they could just so they could survive through the week.
He tells his detailed observation of the valley. The description of the valley reveals the hopelessness, both of the valley’s condition, and the people within it. People call the place “the valley of ashes.” This name is quite ironic, since fertile land, not ash, is usually associated with a valley. In general the description of the valley is negative. Fitzgerald calls this place a “certain desolate area of land,” and describes it as a grim place in which even “the motor road [hurriedly] joins the rail road, so as to shrink away” from it.
The valley of the ashes represents the moral and social decay that results from unreached pursuit of wealth. George and Myrtle Wilson live on this land, and they represent the difficulties of the poor. The results of unreached goals is what is reflected when one thinks of this horrid place. It is dusty, clogging up car engines, perhaps also representing the numerous regrets of not reaching personal and financial goals. The valley of the ashes connects with Gatsby’s failure in obtaining the American Dream because it is obviously is the root of a lack of success.
This interpretation of “living the dream,” has begun to fade away, making “The American Dream” unattainable for many. The American Dream is fading, as higher education has left many students lost and in debt, income inequality is expanding, and economic fairness is dwindling. In today’s America, the struggle with income inequality has grown into more of an issue. Due to the struggle with income inequality, the gap between the rich and the poor is significantly expanding, causing the dream to travel further out of reach for many. In his article, “Keeping the Dream Alive,” Meacham mentions this issue in today’s economy.
In The Myth of Sisyphus -Sisyphus stole the gods secrets and he was punished for this action. It was said that realizing that he was close to death that he wanted to see how much his wife really loved him, and he was granted that but fell for the scene of life and wanted to stay there. “But when he had seen again the face of this world, enjoyed water and sun, warm stones and the sea, he no longer wanted to go back to the infernal darkness.” (Camus The Myth of Sisyphus). This is somewhat similar to the emotions
This gift does not come free though, he asks for each of them to tell him how much they love him. “Tell me, my daughters … Which of you shall we say doth love us most? / That we our largest bounty may extend / Where nature doth with merit challenge” (I.i.49-54). This shows that he will give the daughter with the best answer the most land, which is pure greed on his behalf, to base a big decision like that on who loves him the most. Also, once Edgar runs away, Gloucester gives the title that Edgar once had to Edmund.
Gatsby’s good qualities, loyal and love, lead to his death. There was a lot of greed and empty pursuit of pleasure in the 1920’s. The people who attended Gatsby’s parties were greedy. The parties resulted in the corruption of the American Dream, as desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. The stock market rised.