Be The Epitome Of The American Dream And Its Failure Essay, Research Paper
The Great Gatsby is a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is set in
the nineteen twenties in the unique narrative style which is that he is writing
about a fictional character called Nick Carraway writing a book about a man
called Jay Gatsby who he feels was a man ? who represented everything for which
I have an unaffected scorn.Gatsby is a very rich yet contradictory character, He is portrayed
throughout the novel as being heroic person because during the war her received
a medal from ?every allied country? the medal symbolizes some of the best and
most noble traits of human nature such as valour, honor and bravery but in an
extreme case of dramatic irony such a heroic man he cannot raise the courage to
engage Daisy. Another side of Gatsby?s contradictory nature is the idealistic
way he chases Daisy as well as the fulfillment of his dream yet he is extremely
reckless in the way he confronts Tom and lets Tom release the figurative ghosts
that are Gatsby?s past life especially his criminal activities. Maybe
Fitzgerald designed Nick?s view of Gatsby in such a way that he is mocking him
and the American dream.Many critics don?t view Gatsby in this way; they see him as a criminal
who obtained wealth through crime and contacts more commonly associated with
the gangster era in the 1960?s. Even though he is very wealthy he is always
seen as number two to Mayor Wolfshiem and this adds to the sinister undertones
in the novel yet Gatsby appears to be very European importing fine clothes and
cars as well as living in a mansion based on a French model maybe this is used
to add a touch of class to this criminal element of his life.My personal view of Gatsby is that he is ?the epitome? of the American
dream, he is very noble, courageous and a ?self made man? but he is naÏve in
believing that hard work and perseverance is all you need to achieve everything
you want. He also has a large attachment to the past and he believes he can
change it ?Can?t repeat the past? he said incredulously? ?of course you can? as well as this he has a
large picture of Dan Cody the man who made him what he. This could be linked
back to my early comment in that Gatsby is trying to replicate the so-called
?old style aristocrats? which supposedly had everything that wanted. I think Gatsby acts in this way because before he achieved his fortune
and was with daisy he believed they truly happy and the fact he attempts to
commit suicide during the war lends itself to this. The basis of the American
dream is wealth, happiness and freedom and by the American constitution every
citizen is entitled to this. Another irony is that Gatsby has always had two of
these ideals but never the third one to make him truly complete and he believes
Daisy is the key.Nicks view of Gatsby is very important as he is the narrator and he
appears to be one of the few people that actually likes and respects Gatsby as
a person and not for what he owns. Nick uses very figurative language to
describes Gatsby?s personality and character by saying ?If personality is an
unbroken series of successful gestures then there was something gorgeous about
him,? Gatsby appears to be a man who genuinely cares and has this the
reoccurring ?smile? which appears to be very assuring to the other characters
especially Nick. I believe Gatsby is a very confused person who does have some
?heightened sensitivity to the promise of life? where as some people critics
perceive this and Gatsby?s whole image is a show, which hides his true persona
that, which is that of a criminal. This is also backed by Fitzgerald?s
foreshadowing Gatsby?s dark secret, which is why he is never shown in sunlight
but this could be interpreted as a way of hiding for the gh
Gatsby. ? Gatsby is outwardly an ideal candidate for the American dream; at the
time he would have been considered a true gentleman due to his supposed
upbringing and wealth. He started from nothing but constantly strived to
improve himself as the extract from Gatsby?s diary shows yet no matter how hard
he tries he can truly enter the world of the aristocracy this relates to Nicks
view that he had ?a platonic conception? of himself this is a brilliant
comparison to Gatsby as Plato said that the nobility had a soul of gold and the
working class had a soul of bronze and that no matter how hard you tried you
could never move to another class.Beneath this flash exterior, he has a very different persona, he is a
shy and lonely which is the main reason he holds these lavish party?s to hide
this and it is a brilliant use of dramatic irony to show that Gatsby is a
unhappy man These factors aren?t really the reason Gatsby fails to achieve his
dreams. The more important factors of Gatsby?s failure are his, naivety,
loyalty, Tom and Daisy.His wealth and loyalty are two qualities that escalated his failure,
Firstly his great wealth isolated him from society, although he held these
parties he was never a part of them because of his loyalty and love towards
Daisy, Gatsby is so enthralled by this women he can even recall the date the
last meet ?five years in November? like a love sick puppy but this could also
been seen as a role reversal as usually it is the women who remember such
things and the men who forget.Daisy, Nicks cousin is portrayed as being a well educated women married
to a rich man called Tom Buchanan. Daisy is always shown or being described as
white or silver these are associated with innocence and purity and this is
reflected in her character and the fact that she can?t decide between Tom or
Gatsby and it was decision that brought about the failure of his dream and as
Nick says it ?Must have seem so close he could he could hardly fail to grasp
it.? Gatsby unshakable belief that you can change the past and some say his
will to live but it was Tom Buchanan?s Very nature and arrogance that ended
Gatsby?s life. At the time Gatsby would have been seen as ?New money? and
therefore alienated from the aristocrats who had inherited their money from
there parents. Fitzgerald was often referred to as the laureate of the jazz age
his book to symbolize ?The roaring twenties,? and during this time as with
today money is power and power is a supposed to be a major aphrodisiac for
women and I think that is the main reason behind him driving Gatsby car as well
as trying to show off.?Perhaps Tom had not taken
Gatsby?s car so he enhance his image, Myrtle would not have run towards the car
and who she thought was Tom. The accident itself may still have happened but Gatsby
would not be involved and may have won the girl after all. My personal opinion
is that Gatsby and Myrtle are quite similar they both wish to gain happiness
and power through marriage although these appear in different forms and it is
this desire that leads to both there deathsGatsby lived for and breathed for the American dream and some critics
say that when he lost Daisy he was essentially a corpse waiting to die but
would he have recovered from this blow like he did during war. Although some
critics believe that there was no inner meaning to this novel I think that it
shows us that money cannot buy use happiness not even in the Land of hope and
glory.The Great Gatsby is considered to be Fitzgerald?s greatest work because
of it simplicity where as his other works such as ?tales of the jazz age? were
fatally flawed. The books its self was Fitzgerald reflection on the his era and
I believe it is and deserves the title of a ?literary classic. ??