THE GREAT GATSBY
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may
themes, however the most salient one relates to the
corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream is
that each person no matter who he or she is can become
successful in life by his or her own hard work. The
dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man,
an entrepreneur making it successful for himself. The
Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American
dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had
been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth. The
American dream is sublime motivation for accomplishing
ones goals and producing achievements, however when
tainted with wealth the dream becomes devoid and hollow.
When the American dream was pure, motivation and
ambition were some key aspects of the pure American
dream. 'He stretched out his arms toward the dark water
in a curious way...and
My American Dream
American Dream (comics)
American Dreamdistinguished nothing except a
single green light'(page.26). It shows how Gatsby was
striving for the his goal and trying to accomplish it.
When the dream was pure, motivation and self-discipline
were present. This quote talks about Gatsby's daily
agenda and how in the earlier days he upheld the pure
American Dream 'No wasting time at Shafters, No more
smoking or chewing, Read one improving book or magazine
per week, Save $3.00 per week, Be better to parents'
(page 181-182). Nick says 'I became aware of the old
island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes-a
fresh green breast of the new world'(page 189). This
quote shows the pristine goals of where the
possibilities were endless and one could accomplish
anything through hard work.
The American dream became corrupted, its main aims
were wealth and power. Gatsby became corrupted because
his main goal was to have Daisy.