The Decay Of The American Dream - 816 Words

The Decay of the American Dream The novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, features the decay of the American dream during the 1920s. It is a critique of human actions and hypocrisy, with the main character being Jay Gatsby, a rich man who pines for his lost love Daisy. During the 1920s, America suffered the great stock market crash, which led to the nation’s despair. Fitzgerald mirrors this event through Gatsby’s great loss. At that time, America was full of distinct social classes and traditions. Fitzgerald portrays this through distinguishing the characters by their wealth, where they live, and where they work. Fitzgerald presents in the novel two different cities with a diverse variety of wealthy people. East Egg possesses the â€Å"old money† type of people, who are the original high class. Conversely, the inhabitants of West Egg are the â€Å"Nouveau riche†, wealthy but have only become rich recently. Inhabitants of West Egg live there because they are not rich enough to live in East Egg. The novel unfolds through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the novel’s narrator, who came from a noble family. Nick said, â€Å"My family has been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations. The Caraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we’re descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch† (Fitzgerald, 2). He seems to be a very genuine character. He tries to revive Gatsby’s and Daisy’s love, and he becomes a true friend of Jay Gatsby.Show MoreRelatedThe Decay of American Dream in The Great Gatsby1289 Words   |  6 PagesThe Decay of American Dream in The Great Gatsby The American Dream is a worldwide known idiom and it emphasizes an ideal of a successful and happy lifestyle which is oftentimes symbolized by the phrase â€Å"from rags-to-riches†. It originated out of the ideal of equality, freedom and opportunity that is held to every American. In the last couple of decades the main idea of the American Dream has shifted to becoming a dream in which materialistic values are of a higher importance and status. TheRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1443 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream has run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images, its dreams, its fantasies. No more. It s over. It supplies the world with its nightmares now - J. G. Ballard In the classic American novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald exposes the harsh realities of the American Dream and its effect on society during a chaotic time in our nation’s history. This tragic but beautiful story takes place during The Jazz Age, just afterRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald992 Words   |  4 Pagesin this a time of boundaryless death, and urban decimation. The Great Gatsby is modeled towards the death of the American dream during the 1920’s. Based on the happening of the 1920’s, this model is certainly reasonable. F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby use the motifs of materialism, carelessness, and decay seen in the 1920’s in order to show a decimation of the American Dream, and the human race. Throughout The Great Gatsby it is very easy to recognize how the time period affected theRead MoreSymbolism And Symbolism Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald993 Words   |  4 Pagestragic tale of the corruption and decay of the American dream in the 20s. Three powerful symbols employed by Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby area green-light, the valley ashes and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg to represent dreams and their unattainability, moral decay and decay of life, and the eyes of god watching us. The green-light is a light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock, the woman Gatsby loves and yearns for and is a symbol for unattainable dreams. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy eccentricRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1318 Words   |  6 Pagesas his dreams, for the future. Because many people strive to become rich in The Great Gatsby, the result is moral and social decay. The valley of ashes represents social and moral decay, and it also represents the predicament of poor because the poor live in the filthy ashes and lose their passion as a result from living in the ashes. Lastly, I believe the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which are a pair of eyes painted on a billboard over the valley of ashes, represent God judging American societyRead MoreWhat Techniques Does Fitzgerald Use to Convey the Main Themes in the Great Gatsby1638 Words   |  7 PagesThe Great Gatsby â€Å"What techniques does Fitzgerald use to convey the central ideas of The Great Gatsby?† The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is primarily a social commentary on the state of American society during the post-war period of unprecedented affluence and prosperity. Fitzgerald depicts 1920’s America as an age of decline in traditional social and moral values; primarily evidenced by the cynicism, greed and the relentless yet empty pursuit of prosperity and pleasure that various charactersRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby1408 Words   |  6 PagesMaxim Sivolella The Great Gatsby Essay Symbolism In The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby written in 1925 by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald follows a young man named Nick Carraway who has just moved to Long Island, New York. As the narrator of the novel, Nick recounts the summer he spent there in 1922 and the events that took place, especially his encounter with the young, rich, mysterious and extravagant Jay Gatsby. As Nick spends more time with Gatsby he learns that Gatsby has a romanticallyRead MoreWhat Is The Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby1311 Words   |  6 Pagesof the characters. The Great Gatsby has an abundance of symbols throughout the entire text, including the Valley of Ashes representing the moral and social decay of society in the 1920s, the green light symbolizing Gatsby s desire to have Daisy as well as the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg representing God piercing down upon and judging the American society of this era. One reoccurring symbol in the The Great Gatsby was the Valley of Ashes, a dull, lifeless and dark place for dumping all the ashRead MoreThe Decay of a Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1582 Words   |  7 PagesThe Decay of a Dream in The Great Gatsby      Ã‚   The central theme of The Great Gatsby is the decay of the American Dream. Through his incisive analysis   and condemnation   of 1920s high society, Fitzgerald (in the person of the novel ¹s narrator, Nick Carraway) argues that the American Dream no longer signifies the noble pursuit of progress; instead, it has become grossly materialistic and corrupt. Fitzgerald ¹s novel is structured as an allegory (a story that conceals another story): the terribleRead MoreThe American Dream is a recurrent theme in American literature, dating back to some of the earliest600 Words   |  3 PagesThe American Dream is a recurrent theme in American literature, dating back to some of the earliest colonial writings. Benjamin Franklin, who is considered to be the epitome of the self-made man once said, â€Å"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself† (Franklin). Furthermore it is the belief that every man, w hatever his origins, may pursue and attain his chosen goals; whether they be political, financial or social. However, the