Austin Abrams
Ms. Wright
English 113
11 March 2013
Gatsby, the American Dream
Think about the idea of “the American Dream,” and notably, Fitzgerald
considered naming his book The American Dream before ultimately deciding on The Great
Gatsby. How does “the American Dream” show up in Gatsby? Focus on only one
character’s dream. Develop a clear thesis and support it.
The American Dream is a term used vastly through aspects of life. There are a variety of versions of what exactly the American Dream actually is. From the looks of it, it seems that the American Dream is based on freedom, equality, and opportunity available to every American citizen. It is also described as a belief of freedom which allows all citizens of the United States to accomplish their goals in life through hard, honest work. It is also believed that the American Dream also is based upon wealth, and a high social class. Throughout time these aspects of the ‘American Dream’ have changed. Since the Jazz era to modern day, the dream has mostly changed in what many people in America wish to achieve.
The author of the story, The Great Gatsby, whom is F. Scott Fitzgerald, considered titling his book, The American Dream. The official title of the book is a much better interpretation of how Gatsby’s life turns out. The major issue would be that in the story the events just reinforced the title “Great”. Gatsby’s life was in fact so boundless that he did deserve the title “Great”. The entire story would be ruined if the title was “The American Dream” or something like “Gatsby, the American Dream” due to the fact that in the book the ‘American Dream’ was never really present. In the setting of the story, which is the Jazz Era, the dream was to become rich, gain wealth, party and have fun instead of the modern day dreams which are mainly equality, opportunity and freedom.
The ‘American Dream’ did show itself within The Great Gatsby. Most of the characters within the story had great wealth and spent their time without any worries and constantly held/went to parties. Even though the ‘American Dream’ was present throughout the story, the real idea there is that Gatsby’s life was great, he was great. By the 1920’s standards, the ‘American Dream’ was reached by many people within the story to a point with it became just another aspect of a character. Every character, except Nick, Myrtle, and Wilson, were just secondary characters that were just seen as very wealthy friends/acquaintances to Nick or Gatsby.
Gatsby’s life from the start was the very beginning of the 1920’s adaptation of the ‘American Dream’. From the start, Jay Gatsby (or James Gats) was a poor farmer with the ‘dream’ to become rich so that he could marry the love of his life. This in the end turned out for the worst because Gats let the past and wealth take over his life, which ended up being the death of him. Yes, Gats was the ideal candidate for an example of the ‘American Dream’. As Gatsby, James had reached the sought after dream.
Ms. Wright
English 113
11 March 2013
Gatsby, the American Dream
Think about the idea of “the American Dream,” and notably, Fitzgerald
considered naming his book The American Dream before ultimately deciding on The Great
Gatsby. How does “the American Dream” show up in Gatsby? Focus on only one
character’s dream. Develop a clear thesis and support it.
The American Dream is a term used vastly through aspects of life. There are a variety of versions of what exactly the American Dream actually is. From the looks of it, it seems that the American Dream is based on freedom, equality, and opportunity available to every American citizen. It is also described as a belief of freedom which allows all citizens of the United States to accomplish their goals in life through hard, honest work. It is also believed that the American Dream also is based upon wealth, and a high social class. Throughout time these aspects of the ‘American Dream’ have changed. Since the Jazz era to modern day, the dream has mostly changed in what many people in America wish to achieve.
The author of the story, The Great Gatsby, whom is F. Scott Fitzgerald, considered titling his book, The American Dream. The official title of the book is a much better interpretation of how Gatsby’s life turns out. The major issue would be that in the story the events just reinforced the title “Great”. Gatsby’s life was in fact so boundless that he did deserve the title “Great”. The entire story would be ruined if the title was “The American Dream” or something like “Gatsby, the American Dream” due to the fact that in the book the ‘American Dream’ was never really present. In the setting of the story, which is the Jazz Era, the dream was to become rich, gain wealth, party and have fun instead of the modern day dreams which are mainly equality, opportunity and freedom.
The ‘American Dream’ did show itself within The Great Gatsby. Most of the characters within the story had great wealth and spent their time without any worries and constantly held/went to parties. Even though the ‘American Dream’ was present throughout the story, the real idea there is that Gatsby’s life was great, he was great. By the 1920’s standards, the ‘American Dream’ was reached by many people within the story to a point with it became just another aspect of a character. Every character, except Nick, Myrtle, and Wilson, were just secondary characters that were just seen as very wealthy friends/acquaintances to Nick or Gatsby.
Gatsby’s life from the start was the very beginning of the 1920’s adaptation of the ‘American Dream’. From the start, Jay Gatsby (or James Gats) was a poor farmer with the ‘dream’ to become rich so that he could marry the love of his life. This in the end turned out for the worst because Gats let the past and wealth take over his life, which ended up being the death of him. Yes, Gats was the ideal candidate for an example of the ‘American Dream’. As Gatsby, James had reached the sought after dream.