Classic English Literature
The classic American novel, "The Great Gatsby", written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, portrays the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideal's conflict with the actual social conditions that exist.
The idea of equality among people constitutes American democracy, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes can not be overcome. The American dream also represents the desire for spiritual and material improvement to achieve inner happiness.
In his novel, Fitzgerald criticises the American dream by describing its negative characteristics: class struggles between rich and the poor, superficiality of the rich and the false relationship between money and happiness.
Through his novel, Fitzgerald consistently portrays the dismissal of the idea of equality, where American society would be free from class distinction.
The novel reflects a divided society with reference to the "valley of the ashes", a "dismal" and "desolate" wasteland.
United States
The Great Gatsby
The Great GatsbyThe "valley of the ashes" is described as a symbolism of those who have failed the American dream, it was a "fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens... of ash grey men".
In contrast, there was Long Island which was divided into East Egg, home to the "old rich" where "white palaces glittered along the water" and West Egg, "the less fashionable of the two".
This division among classes emphasizes the deterioration of an American dream and reinforces the significance of materialism in a society obsessed with wealth and status.
Fizgerald emphasizes that society has become superficial with this preoccupation with wealth and possessions with reference to the novel's main characters, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanon.
Daisy's rendering of the American dream was based on fun, comfortable living with money and influence. Her marriage...