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The Great Gatsby - Corruption of the American Dream

            
             The Corruption Of The American Dream.
             "The Great Gatsby" is a novel written by F. The novel was completed by 1925 and published in 1926. Fitzgerald lived in a community similar to that of careless and materialistic ways of West Egg, so he had the opportunity to witness the homes and lifestyles of the rich, although he himself did not exactly have the "perfect" lifestyle, this making me relate to the story and making it have a deep influence on me. .
             The main themes of the novel are materialism, corruption and The American Dream.
             The American Dream started out as more than just materialistic desire, it also had foundations in spirituality in relation to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". This spiritual aspect of the Dream was soon ditched for the more attainable and quicker materialistic aspect of the Dream. .
             I am going to show how effective Fitzgerald is at portraying the materialism in the American society throughout his novel "The great Gatsby".
             Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the dream through his portrayal of the characters lives and relationships with each other. The main characters in Fitzgerald's novel are symbols of some aspects of the American Dream.
             This is a first person narrative; due to this a more intensifying atmosphere is created; there is also a much greater feeling of immediacy conveyed throughout the novel; also allows the reader to relate more accurately to the plot. It is narrated by Nick Carraway, his morality and neutrality causes the reader to be more sympathetic to his views.
             The structure of the story relates to the characters reaching for the American Dream and how they climb towards their goals. One the Dream is reached, the corruption of the dream is most apparent.
             The Great Gatsby was set in the 1920s "The Jazz Age", in the very rich areas of West and East Egg- these two adjacent egg shaped land formations, contrast each other. Both Eggs are rich communities although the way this manifests itself is very different.


Essays Related to The Great Gatsby - Corruption of the American Dream

1. The Great Gatsby

... Fitzgerald wrote what was considered to be his greatest work. The Great Gatsby is considered to be the "great American novel" by many because the main character of the story is said to "embody the innocence of the American dream." (Shute 3.) The novel ultimately manifests the failure of this American dream, as Gatsby is unsuccessful and his ultimate goal of gaining love becomes unattainable. "America's origins are based in the political ideals of freedom and democracy, but Fitzgerald demonstrates how this ideal has ... these things leads to material possessions; it more often than not l...

  • Word Count: 2165
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Failures Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

... parts of the social spectrum, where most of the Dream lives on. During the discussion of the lower classes, Fitzgerald connects them ultimately with failure, telling us morbid tales of the "American Nightmare-. In The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses the lower class characters and their failures to prove that the conceptual American Dream is a belief that doesn't truly function. Fitzgerald uses the character of Jay Gatsby to show the overworking of the American Dream, leading to its failure. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of the American Dream pursuer, yet the ideal American Dream ...

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3. The Great Gatsby American drea

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's highly accomplished novel, The American Dream, he portrays the longing for the American Dream as a significant part of ones life, very familiar to society as a corrupted essence of reality and ideals that the characters, especially Jay Gatsby, truly represent. The question saunters, what truly is the corruption of the American Dream? In The Great Gatsby, the longing for the real American Dream---a simple white picket fence, a perfect family, a true love, and security---is not uncommon, but the corruption is characterized by greed and overpowered by ... than be happy w...

  • Word Count: 1397
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. The Great Gatsby

... and effort. The dream was embodied in the ideal of the self-made man, The Great Gatsby is a novel about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth. The corruption of the American dream in the 1920's era is shown in The Great Gatsby through symbolism, materialism, and romantic dreams and hopes. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses many clear symbols to help portray the corruption of the American dream. On a billboard are the luminous blue ... eyes of Dr. T. J. Ecklberg ...

  • Word Count: 1016
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5. The Great American Dream - The Great Gatsby

... , and indeed I did strive, to attain the dream we may only do so through corruption, deceit and lies. After all, how can you achieve the illusion if you yourself are not an illusion? Also while in the East I made my acquaintance with a man by the name of Gatsby, some of you may have attended his glamorous parties. I often refer to him as the Great Gatsby because he came from nowhere to achieved ... certainly have achieved their goals. Surely teams like the White Sox have achieved the dream in all its purity. Of course we know this not to be the case. They too corrupt the American Dream, ...

  • Word Count: 1974
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6. The American Dream in the Great Gatsby

... by working hard. The 1920's were a time of corruption and degradation of moral values in society. World War One was over and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as newly mass-produced commodities like motorcars and radios. The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is an exploration of the American Dream, as it existed during a corrupt period in history. The Great Gatsby is a description of the decay of the American Dream and the desire for money ... . The Great Gatsby is a great portrayal of the corruption of society and the fall of the Amer...

  • Word Count: 1611
  • Approx Pages: 6
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  • Grade Level: High School

7. The American Dream Portrayed in The Great Gatsby

... to repeat the past. When Nick and Gatsby were talking about Daisy after she left the party, Gatsby wanted her to tell Tom that she did not love him anymore. Nick responded, "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!," was the response he received from Gatsby. As one can see, the corruption of the American Dream plays an important role in The Great Gatsby. Tom and Daisy show that the American Dream does not ... bring happiness along. On the other hand, it brought happiness to Gatsby hoping that it Was going to make his ... ...

  • Word Count: 370
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8. Great Gatsby-Corruption

... corruption occurring from within the individual. In the case if The Great Gatsby and it's protagonist's fate, Fizgerald shows both factors at work. The moral climate of the Roaring Twenties, Daisy Fay Buchanan's pernicious hold on him, and Jay Gatsby's own nature all contribute to his tragic demise. First, the loose morality of Dan Cody, Gatsby's unfortunate role model, and superficial people who flock to Gatsby's parties contribute to Gatsby's downfall. Their examples encourages Gatsby's interpretation of The American Dream ... uses to achieve his goal pervert his sacred dream. He pref...

  • Word Count: 518
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9. The Great Gatesby

In the history of the United States of America the 1920s will always be marked as a time of great wealth, prosperity and corruption. This is easily shown to us in the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. The two main themes in this highly symbolic novel reflect on the disintegration of the traditional "American Dream" through the shallowness and corruption of the upper class. Throughout the story Fitzgerald uses many symbols such as the Green light seen at the end of Daisy's dock, the wild and illustrious parties ... thrown by Gatsby, and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckelburg. Fitzgerald...

  • Word Count: 619
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

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