From Freedom and Equality to Materialism and Merit:.
The Demoralization of the American Dream.
The American Dream during the time of our forefathers was for one to be free, equal, and entirely self-made. During the "roaring twenties," however, an economic boom triggered a frenzy of capitalism that adulterated this dream into being wholly based on materialism and social merit. Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the author lives the corruption of this dream through Tom and Daisy (the inheritors of success), Gatsby (the achiever of success), and Myrtle (the seeker of success). These individuals are observed by Nick Caraway, the unbiased narrator and sole human being unconcerned with living a life of extravagance. Despite first appearance, all individuals in pursuit of wealth and merit are demoralized either mentally, physically, or both. .
Tom Buchanan, powerfully built and of a prestigious family, is an "East Egger." The East Egg is known as residence to the traditional money, and because Tom lives there, it is obvious that he is experiencing the American Dream to its fullest. He is biased, hypocritical, and dead to the world. Tom converses about the book The Rise of the Coloured Empires: "Well, it's a fine book and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don't look out, the white race will be - will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved (17)." This passage shows how Tom is numbed from the "life of Riley." He does not understand the world because he has isolated himself from it. He has always been above the masses and therefore oblivious to how things are below. Tom, in other words, is an egotistical snob. Because he is both very strong and wealthy, Tom is only able to have it his way. When he later realizes that his most showy possession (his wife) is in jeopardy, he jumps to her rescue although he shares no care for her character but merely for his own social standing as head honcho.
The Great Gatsby- Essay The novel "The Great Gatsby" is a story about mistaken identity. ... "The Great Gatsby" is a man who threw great parties and lived in a mansion. ... In Gatsby's attempt to win Daisy back, he bought a great mansion with the millions that he inherited. ... This created a whole new look to Gatsby's identity. ... Later Jay Gatsby is killed by Mr. ...
The entire spectrum of social classes during the 1920's is represented in The Great Gatsby. ... The Great Gatsby accurately portrays the rich during the booming 1920's. ... In the first two chapters of The Great Gatsby, its title character is quite mysterious - an enormously wealthy, fun-loving local celebrity with a suspicious past who throws lavish weekly parties. ... As the novel progresses, we see that the myth of "the Great Gatsby" was created by Gatsby himself. ... In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of Ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of deso...
Deeper Thought: the symbolism of "The Great Gatsby" It is understood that in language, each word has a specific understood meaning, and each combination of words has a compiled meaning. ... Fitgerald used amazing symbolism throughout the book "The Great Gatsby", and it forces the reader to consider each word for more than face value. Because of the great quantity of underlying symbolism within the story, it is difficult to select just two aspects to focus on. ... Gatsby views Daisy as embodied perfection, and his longing for her is so great that the green light is like seeing true ...
Nick Carraway the narrator of The Great Gatsby has qualities, which are the complete opposite of those of Tom Buchanan, his cousin-in-law. ... Gatz said something that Nick disagreed with, Nick still hesitantly, agreed with him, as to not hurt an old man's feelings; as apparent by the following quote: "If he lived, he would have been a great man. ... Willison, to Gatsby. ... What if I did tell him (Gatsby)? ... In The Great Gatsby, there are three illicit relationships: Gatsby and Daisy, Nick and Jordan, and Tom and Myrtle. ...
The Great Gatsby The novel The Great Gatsby was written by F. ... I think that the movie "The Great Gatsby" is sucessful in capturing the work of the author on screen. I think the movie we watched in class does a nice job at capturing the mood of The Great Gatsby. One example of the movie showing the mood described in the book were Gatsby's partys. ... One thing that bothered me were the changes made to the movie "The Great Gatsby" from the book. ...
The Great Gatsby Is his novel the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character who becomes great. ... Even Gatsby's father knew when he said, "If he'd lived, he'd of been a great man." (169) Little did his father know that Gatsby was already great. ... Nick saw the greatness in Gatsby. ... Gatsby truly was a great man. ...
How is The Great Gatsby a portrait of the times? The book Great Gatsby explains in a clear way how life was during the 1920's in America. ... In "The Great Gatsby", life is portrayed during the 20's. ... When Gatsby and Daisy first met, Gatsby was in the war and was very poor. ... Gatsby's money is what is known as "new money." ...
The film "The Great Gatsby- begins its story with the introduction of Nick Caraway, a native of Minnesota. ... On the surface "The Great Gatsby- is a story of ill-fated love between a man and a woman. ... 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 dream in an era of prosperity and materialism. ... The recklessness that led to parties and wild jazz music "represented in "The Great Gatsby- by the parties that Gatsby thro...
In the book, "The Great Gatsby," Daisy Buchanan is Tom Buchanan's wife, and Nick Carraway's second cousin. ... While Gatsby is off to war, Daisy meets a man named Tom Buchanan. ... Becoming involved with some illegal business deals, he makes a great deal of money. ... He also has many great parties in hope that Daisy would notice him. ... (This is a great example of Daisy's materialistic attitude.) ...
The Great Gatsby died? Yes, The Great Gatsby died, alone with no true friends, without love. ... The endings in the novel, "The Great Gatsby", can be changed dramatically. In the novel, "The Great Gatsby", I think Gatsby should have killed Tom, thinking that he would have Daisy all to himself. ... An ending in this book that would make Gatsby happy would be that, Tom and Jordan are flirting and dancing and having fun all night at one of Gatsby's parties. ...
