Materialism and the Downfall of the American Dream It has been said that "Money is the world's curse!" ... Money leads to materialism and materialism leads to the decline and downfall of the American Dream. ... Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald seems to be saying that materialism and the decline and death of the American dream are interrelated. ... Unbridled materialism can be terrible and can have ghastly and horrid affects on the society, and of course, the American dream. ... Another way the decline of the American Dream is linked with unbridled materialism is that the rich so warp t...

• Word Count: 1299
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

However, in reality he obtained his money in the wrong way, and it appeared that the American dream was about discovery, individualism and the search of happiness, like Gatsby's dream of getting Daisy back in to his life, but in reality his dream is ruined by the hunt for wealth and materialism. ... Finally, the American dream, which appeared to be that America, represented a land of promise and great expectations to the Americans. On the other hand, in reality the pursuit of wealth and materialism along with relaxed social standards have spoiled this dream. ... Moreover, i...

• Word Count: 1313
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Materialism and Idealism in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by F. ... The American dream relates to a desire for inner and material improvement. ... The materialism in the novel is of more importance to the characters than idealism. ... Another way that Gatsby uses materialism to achieve idealism id through his appearance. ... This book is a perfect example of what is needed to achieve the American dream, materialism and idealism....

• Word Count: 1453
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The American Dream is seriously flawed The presentation of the ideal of the American Dream is a mixture of contrast and confusion. ... Miller, their portrayals of the American Dream, its risks and dangers. ... This energy and light symbolise the vibrancy of ambition created by the American Dream. ... Both Miller and Fitzgerald emphasise materialism as an increasingly important part of the Dream, with many people inspiring to be wealthy, owning hoards of possessions. ... Here we begin to question her dream, she represents materialism in comparison to Gatsby's "pure" desire to ...

• Word Count: 3225
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

In The Great Gatsby, God seems to abandon America, leaving behind only Dr. ... The eyes insinuate that the ethical and moral decay of characters in The Great Gatsby is due to the overwhelming desire for the American dream to be fulfilled. In this context, Jay Gatsby is the ultimate example of one willing to achieve the American dream by any means necessary, including immoral or unethical behavior. ... Through his portrayal of Jay Gatsby and the decay in human values resulting from the competition for wealth, Fitzgerald effectively illustrates how dreams are easily destroyed when morality and...

• Word Count: 1091
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The American Dream was essentially a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. ... Instead, Fitzgerald uses them to show the bad qualities of the American Dreams modern face. ... Money is clearly identified as a reason for the death of the American dream. It becomes easily entangled with the idea of hope and success and replaces their positions in the American Dream with materialism. ... The biggest collapse, however, is of the American Dream...

• Word Count: 1312
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The American Dream was essentially a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. ... Instead, Fitzgerald uses them to show the bad qualities of the American Dreams modern face. ... Money is clearly identified as a reason for the death of the American dream. It becomes easily entangled with the idea of hope and success and replaces their positions in the American Dream with materialism. ... The biggest collapse, however, is of the American Dream...

• Word Count: 1307
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is considered by many to be THE novel about the American Dream. On a less grand scale, the book is certainly a representative of 1920s society, a time when the values and morals of the eighteenth and nineteenth century were declining in favor of the materialism and narcissistic attitudes following the First World War. ... The American Dream was up for sale and the new mantra of the masses was to get rich quick. ... The protagonist Gatsby is one of the prime examples of the "new" American Dream. ...

• Word Count: 1325
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The American Dream was essentially a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. ... Instead, Fitzgerald uses them to show the bad qualities of the American Dreams modern face. ... Money is clearly identified as a reason for the death of the American dream. It becomes easily entangled with the idea of hope and success and replaces their positions in the American Dream with materialism. ... The biggest collapse, however, is of the American Dream...

• Word Count: 1310
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

That is the classical American Dream, at least for some. ... Is having the American Dream possible? What is the American Dream? ... Living the American Dream is living in perfection, and that by definition is not possible, thus deflating our precious American Dream. ... The situations in the lives of the characters show the worthlessness of materialism, the futile quest of Myrtle and Gatsby, and how America s moral values had diminished- through the actions of Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby's party guests. ...

• Word Count: 1405
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The setting also is symbiolic of Fritzgerald's satire of 1920s New York lifestyle , most important of all , brings out the themes of American dream , money and romantic love. ... "I've never seen such beautiful shirts before (Daisy)" His parties and house shows the disillusionment of Gatsby , who was corrupted by the American Dream. ... This shows the materialism of the people during 1920s in New York. ... (Tom) "Dollar twenty " (Wilson) " Even though people are poor here , they still believed in the glamour of the American Dream, they believed that if they work hard enough ,...

• Word Count: 1247
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The automobile in The Great Gatsby serves as a metaphor for the effect that the American Dream has on the different classes in society. ... The American Dream and the automobile was what led Myrtle Wilson to her death. ... She left the man she loved because she fell in love with the American Dream, and thought she could attain it through Tom Buchanan. ... Scott Fitzgerald effectively and repeatedly uses the automobile to shape his view of American class and society during the 1920's. Almost a century later, America's materialistic fascination with the automobile continues today. ...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Nick realizes that just as Gatsby's dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness has become a mere pursuit of wealth. This disintegration of the American dream is the main point the film conveys to the viewer. ... He is the most noteworthy character because the breakdown of his dream parallels the breakdown of the American dream. ... Though it takes place in Long Island over a few months during the summer of 1922, "The Great Gatsby- is symbolic of the America of the 1920's as a whole, and in particular the disintegration of the American dr...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Scott Fitzgerald, one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century. ... His novel The Great Gatsby is one of the most popular works in American literature, even though it was a critical and commercial failure at first. ... It explores the themes of social decay, materialism, and idealism, and portrays the Roaring Twenties. ...

• Word Count: 956
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Scott Fitzgerald's classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby's greatness comes from his need to experience success and his will to achieve his dreams. ... Gatsby, in turn, used his materialism and excessive displays of wealth to reunite with his former love. ...

• Word Count: 1340
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

While this metaphor represents Gatsby's tale, it's meaning extends more broadly to American society of that time. According to the American Dream of the 1920s, anything is possible with hard work and perseverance. ... " his insistence to relive the past is an extreme version of American self-determination. ... To Daisy and Tom, love is bounded by wealth and materialism. ... Perhaps our inability to see even the possibility of divorce is reflective of this 'American Dream attitude'. ...

• Word Count: 2763
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School