The Great Gatsby And The Undoing Of The American Dream

Father Rella Eng 204 19 April 2015 The Great Gatsby and the Undoing of the American Dream A large colonial house with shutters and white picket fence in the suburbs, mom putting a warm apple pie on the windowsill to cool as dad gets home from a long day at work. This is the image that usually comes to mind when I think of the â€Å"American Dream†. The American dream is a theme seen throughout American literature. The â€Å"dreamer† usually desires to rise from rags to riches while gaining power, love and high status. Throughout different time periods there have been many different variations of the dream although the principles of freedom, the desire for something greater and self-sufficiencies have been a constant. Two of the ways the dream can be obtained are through one’s self-actualizations or money and materialistic means. The modern day focuses on material items and monetary values are symbols of being successful in achieving the American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsbyâ€℠¢s money provided him the company of people. Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who came from no money. He had a plan to achieve his dream of being successful, and succeeded. He becomes so blinded by extravagant possessions that he becomes blinded to the fact that money cannot buy happiness or true love. In the book Fitzgerald shows how ones focus on power, wealth and materialistic things can ultimately corrupt ones dream. The book starts out with Nick Carraway moving to West Egg from Minnesota inShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay1158 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"It is the elusive Gatsby, the cynical idealist, who embodies America in all of its messy glory.† Clearly as Adam Cohen asserts in his New York Times article â€Å"Jay Gatsby, Dreamer, Criminal, Jazz Age Rogue, Is a Man for Our Times†, this phenomenon is indeed true in that the American Dream is presented in F. 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