The Great Gatsby, How Is It Related To American History Essay, Research Paper
The Great Gatsby is a very good example of the American way of life during the 1920s. The fatal outlook that pursued the characters of this story is a rather harsh reminder that life often turns out in ways opposite to that which was planned. The author uses irony as a weapon that cuts off dreams, expectations, and lives, leaving nothing but emptiness, foolishness, and senseless people behind. Throughout the essay, ask yourself, Is this all part of the American Dream? All of Gatsby s wealth, influence, parties, and petty aspirations are flabbergasticly presented only to have it all be absolutely meaningless.. With Gatsby s living in the glittering dream world, which seemed secure in his magical wealth, magical signifies illegal, he vanished/died. In clarification, Jay Gatsby s tiny aspirations might be seen as a direct result or reflection of the time in which they were cast, a period characterized by the elusive American Dream and, more notably, a great depression following afterwards. Gatsby rose to wealth, relative fame, and, yet, never achieved the contentment he was seeking. Sadly, it could be said that the boy boarding the millionaire, Dan Cody s yacht was more satisfied in his wistful material goals than the man staring out across the bay towards the green light, reaching towards something he never accomplishes to get. Was Gatsby really a bootlegger? Did he actually deal with dubious stocks? Was he a part of an enormous illicit underground establishment? Of course, there is no doubt. But the spirit of the 1920s, and the author who chose to utilize this spirit, leave the reader blind to this notion. Instead, the Great Gatsby was a product and victim of that romantically materialistic aura ever present throughout the decade, and all thereafter the American Dream. The attempt to capture the American dream is a difficult task in novels. This dream varies for different people, but in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is that through wealth and power, one can attain, and secure happiness. This happiness is something for which he must reach into the past to have and for which he must revive an old dream, in order to make it the present. His ultimate goal is to have a future with the dream. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is one character who longs for the past, to be the present. He devotes most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit.
In the past, Jay had a love for the affluent Daisy although he knew he could not marry her because of the difference in their social backgrounds. (In the 1920s, social status was a very important thing.) Once he acquires his wealth, he moves closer to Daisy. Is this part of the mission to reaching the American Dream? Has he not already reached and is living a part of the dream, and not realizing it? Jay throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance Daisy might show up at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance. What s the meaning of this mysterious act? Clearly, the meaning of it is he is awaiting the return of Daisy s love.
Gatsby s personal dream symbolizes the larger American dream in which we all have the opportunity to get what we want. Jay is convinced that Daisy still loves him, as this is shown when he takes the blame for Myrtle s death and then watches and protects Daisy as she returns home. Jay cannot accept that the past is gone and done with. He is sure that he can capture his dream with his wealth, talk, and influence. Jay believes that he acted advantageous beyond his personal necessity and that this should guarantee success. For example, if I were to pay you to be my friend, you would have to be. Or if I were to buy you a car, you would have to like me, it s a guaranteed success. This is not how it works in reality. In The Great Gatsby the American dream is either in the past or in the future but never in the present. It s never actually happening, it is always about to happen, or has happened, but with flaws. For Jay, his American Dream is not material possessions, although it may seem that way. He only comes into riches so that he can fulfill his true American Dream, his true love, Daisy. Gatsby doesn’t rest until his American Dream is finally fulfilled. However, it never comes about and he ends up paying the ultimate price for it death. The idea of the American Dream still holds true in today’s time, be it wealth, love, fame, popularity, or social status. But one thing never changes about the American Dream; everyone desires something in life, and everyone, somehow, strives to get it. Gatsby is a perfect example of a man pursuing the American Dream, with obsession.