The American Dream in Fitzgerald

7/29/2019 The American Dream in Fitzgerald

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Dima Ana-MariaEngleza-Spaniola, Anul III

The American Dream In Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

"The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of

his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.

The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of

lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national

drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature."( From the backcover of A Cornell Edition of The Great Gatsby . )

At the end of the World War I in 1918, the young Americans who fought in the war had a

dream, on going West to find land and start a family. In The Great Gatsby F itzgerald wants to

show the entire world that a dream of wealth, love and high status can be corrupted because

people are sow easy to be influenced by anything and when it camed to money they wouldve

done anything for it. And I think this is exactly what happened to Jay Gatsby, because he wasnt

ready for the greedy people and the corrupted society that he came in contact with, and bygiving the Saturday night parties, he tried to fit in, like transcending from a common and poor

man to a to a rich one, and the sad thing is that he doesnt even realize that money cant buy

him love or happiness. Even his dream becomes nave and corrupted by the people around him,

the money and the culture, because entering in this world will change even the strongest one,

but the only one who sees him as a good man even thou he knows of his suspicious business

and that he uses him to get close to Daisy, is Nick Carraway, his neighbor and also the narrator

of the story. He is also the only true friend he has, because he doe snt have any interest in hismoney or obtaining it from him, and he is also the last in speaking to him Theyre a rotten

Youre worth the whore damn bunch put togethe r , through this, he expresses his thoughts,

and that he doesnt care what others say a bout him and no mater what, he will be his friend till

the end.


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Gatsby, by achieving his wealth from the suspicious business, witch Fitzgerald keeps from

his reade rs and its reveled by Tom Buchanan, much later. He focuses on the charact er on what

he desires, on his dream by looking at the green light and imagining seeing Daisy on the other

side. I think he did this because he didnt want to port ray Gatsby as a greedy man, he just

wanted him to look mysterious to the outsiders even thou his dream and love has been

corrupted.

Daisy, on the other hand, is undecided at the beginning, her dream was to reunite with her

lost love, Jay Gatsby, but she also ends up corrupted by the money, because when Gatsby

reunites with her I got the feeling, the only thing that moved her was his wealth, in witch he

praised in front of her. But I think she is undecided about Jay Gatsby because of her husband,

Tom and se only admits it because she is confronted by the two of them, and she replies, Oh,

you want to much!I love you now- isnt that enough? I cant help whats pastI did love him

once but I love you too . I think she is very nave and cold on thinking that she could have both

of them, because noting stopped her, at first I thought maybe her daughter but she wa snt a

devoted mother to her child, nor a good wife because she commits adultery without thinking

twice about it, and nothing stopped her to fulfill her long lost love for Gatsby. But the shocking

thing is that Gatsby at hearing this, he doesnt realize how much D aisy has been corrupted by

the cultural world and money. But she becomes even colder at heart when she kills Myrtle

Wilson and lets Gatsby to take the blame, and he ends up killed too, and it doesnt end therebecause the most shocking thing is that, she doesnt show no concern or remorse for his death,

she pretends not to know by pl anning a trip with the whole family. Its like she erased him and

the time she had spend with him, and now we can clearly see she had no intention on leaving

her husband even thou their marriage was full of lies and infidelities, but Nick sees them as they

are in the end of the story, cold and indifferent.

Above all the characters, Nick is an honest man with principles, and we can see it the

beginning of the story in the way he describes himself In my younger days and morevulnerable years my father gave me some advice that Ive been turning over in my mind ever

since, I think this advise from his father is what will help to get close to Gatsby and see the

good in him exactly like his father said Whether you feel like criticizing anyonejust

remember that all the people in this world havent had the advantages that youve had and in


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this part his father talked about how much Nick has been loved and that Gatsby hasnt had the

same fate because of the war and by wanting to earn money, he left his family and lived a hard

life, because his American dream was much more important than himself and the fact that he

lived without affection didnt made him a cold and insensitive pe rson. But from time to time he

couldnt stop himself from opinionating on other especially o n Tom Buchanan like he said Wh y

they came east I dont know. They had spend a year in France for no particular reason, and then

drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together but still

I think he is the only one who is not corrupted by the society and by the money.

Although the story revolves around the four characters Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jay

Gatsby and the narrator Nick Carraway and even if their dreams are different, they come in

contact with one another and Fitzgerald shows through them the degree of the society and

culture. But also that there are some people with moral values left that are not ready to bind

their way of thinking for the sake of money, just like in the case of Nick who remains by

Gatsbys side till the end knowing that he has nothing to gain by doing it and condemns Daisy

by not being there in his place.


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Bibliography:

1. The Great Gatsby: Corruption of The American Dream through materialism .

2. The Great Gatsby by S. Fitzgerald

Documents

The American Dream in Fitzgerald