This is probably the best essay about the American Dream/Great Gatsby. Email me if you are using the paper, I would just like to know if anyone uses these esssay, thanks. Enjoy.
The American Dream can be interpreted by many people to mean many different things. Even with various definitions, to the majority of people, it is to be happy, wealthy and successful in life. Assumptions are often made that money always leads to happiness -- this is wrong. When you have an unlimited amount of money, you can always buy the things that satisfy your taste. These items will make you happy but only for a short amount of time; after that, the consumer becomes bored with having everything that he could possibly want. This is just one of the ways the characters in the novel are swallowed up by these misleading representations of the American Dream. The true meaning of the American Dream is lost by the characters in The Great Gatsby, and leads .
them to the downfall of their life trying to obtain it's illusionary goals. .
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For Jay, in The Great Gatsby, the interpretation of the dream is that through .
wealth and power, one can acquire happiness. To get this happiness, Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream; to do this he must have wealth and power. Through the status that wealth is associated with, he can live the lavish life he feels is necessary to win the love of Daisy. He is so intent on getting Daisy it seems he will doing anything to win her love; including doing illegal things to get money. When Gatsby meets Nick at one of his famous parties, Nick agrees to set up a meeting, "He wants to know.if you'll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over" (83). Gatsby's personal dream symbolizes the larger American Dream where everyone has the opportunity to get what they want. Characters, including his close friend Nick, do not see why Gatsby is chasing the past.