Great Gatsby Essay Example

Great Gatsby Essay Getting Trapped in Ones Dream In the words of the great rock band, The Beatles, it is said, For I dont care too much for money, for money cant buy me love. For his entire life, Jay Gatsby tried to rise up his social economic status to have the girl of his dreams marry him. The attempt to capture the American dream was the main focus of this novel. Gatsby devoted his whole life trying to achieve his so-called dream but failed to do so at the end. He misunderstood the real meaning of his own dream ssimilar to how many Americans misunderstood the true meaning of the American Dream. We will write a custom essay sample on Great Gatsby specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Great Gatsby specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Great Gatsby specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The American Dream was the belief that everyone had the oopportunity to achieve their goals and become rich if they only worked hard enough. Copious amount of characters in Great Gatsby did not seem to grasp the concept that The American Dream was Just an illusion. They had not comprehended that everyone could not get what they wanted if they only worked hard. It took more than Just working hard enough; it all depended on ones destiny. The fact that they did not understand that concept and everyone was striving to be living in the dream led them to create fantasy lives. The author showed how one could become ruined by anothers focus on acquiring wealth, power and pleasure. The American Dream was sought to bring happiness to an Americans life no matter how rich or poor they were. The book was an example of how people worshiped materials. They cared more about how people viewed them rather than how they actually desired to be. Once again, the term American dream was an idea that suggested that anyone in America could succeed through hard work and had the potential to lead a happy, successful life. Moreover, hard work did not nly mean financially, but also morally and spiritually. In order for one to be happy, they needed to be able to obtain love above all. For, without love we are nothing; without God, we are nothing. Many people have expanded the definition to include things such as fulfillment and meaningful relationships. Americans, who do not have the life of their dream, the life that they always desired, tried to hide it by making up fantasies and pretending that everything was going great in their life. It is said that love can blind us and Gatsby demonstrated that point undoubtedly. For his whole life, he was focused on having money to be able to marry Daisy, for she was his motivation and his sustenance. Gatsby wanted his dream to become true and, in the long run, that led him to becoming very materialistic. He had the money and he thought that materialistic elements such as his house, his car, his parties and his so-called friends, would lure Daisy back to him. A great amount of the characters in Great Gatsby did not fully know the truth on the American Dream. They created illusions for themselves to pretend as if they had all the three things the American Dream promised; wealth, happiness and power. Gatsby, for example, thought that he had a great life with plenty of friends and no problems. In the end, we found out that he did not have the life he had desired. He was unhappy and he had no true friends. Gatsbys personal dream symbolized the American Dream. He had met Daisy many years before he became wealthy and they were not able to get married because of Gatsby low social economic status. His separation from Daisy encouraged nvm to work nara Tor nls wealtn He started Delng In tne Dootlegglng business when it had been illegal and he made a fortune out of it. Gatsby believed that he could rewrite the past by reinventing himself and changing his name after he had become rich. However, later in the book it is viewed that Gatsbys dream was hopeless for he could never win Daisys love back. Gatsby had believed with all his strength that he could have gotten Daisy back but when he took his dream too far, it only became a harmful and unattainable illusion. The numerous amounts of characters who were portrayed in the book all had the same mentality; it was only money that mattered. One character in the book portrays the exact expansion of the American Dream. Myrtle was living with her poor husband in the valley of ashes and was having an affair with Tom Buchanan, Daisys husband. When she got away with Tom to go to the city, she put on this new mask as if she were a totally different person. She bought a puppy, a magazine and perfume and went to her fancy apartment. Only rich women could afford these things and she was trying to show others that she was wealthy. Myrtle wanted to move up her social class but by being married to Wilson she was not able her to do so. The desire of achieving this fantasy led her to having an affair with Tom, she felt like he could give her all she wanted, owever love was not part of the deal. All this made her blind and clueless about how she was Just a toy on the side for Tom, for, she strived for this wish so much. Daisy, on the other hand, was also blinded by the truth. She could not decide who she wanted, Tom or Gatsby? She had a dream of being wealthy and being happy, like the American Dream had portrayed. She was aware of Toms mistress and she was always trying to hide the truth from ever one else when they started to get suspicious. Daisys fantasy made it possible for her to ignore the obvious signs that er mmarriage was falling apart. Surprisingly, even Tom makes up his little fantasy life with Myrtle. He could have had a wonderful mmarriage, with a beautiful wife and daughter but chose to decide that wasnt enough. Those two women in his life did not satisfy him and he wanted a third, Myrtle Wilson. Tom wanted to have power over everyone and since Myrtle was in a lower class than he was, she was perfect. He had always wanted to have more than every one else. Every character in the book wanted to have a happy and successful life and by wanting that they acted as if all their roblems were not a minor or some were nothing at all. The Great Gatsby portrays the broken American Dream. Though many peoples dream chattered into millions of pieces, the idea of the American Dream is still true. Everyone desires something in life and everyone somehow strives for it. Every single persons fantasies all contribute to that of the American Dream. People were striving so much to have a successful and happy life, ended up making up fantasies and lying to themselves. Many did not learn that dreaming too far could have led to the destruction of all ones hard work, which happened to everyone. Great Gatsby Essay Example Great Gatsby Essay ‘The novel paints a world of desolation and despair. ’ How far and in what ways do you agree with this view of The Great Gatsby? I completely agree with this view everyone is in despair at some stage in the novel and everyone is depressed even if they don’t show it. Myrtle and Wilson are an unhappily married couple, they live in a small rundown town. Myrtle is Wilson’s everything, he loves her so much and everything he does is to please her. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Wilson does not know about this. Tom treats Myrtle very differently to how he treats Daisy, he treats Myrtle with no respect.Even though he lavishes her with gifts Myrtle is still not happy. Myrtle is in despair because she wants the life Daisy has, permanently. She will never be happy if her and Tom are only an affair. Yes when he looks after her she has a good life, but when they’re not together she goes back to Wilson and her life is dull again. â€Å"Myrtle Wilso n’s face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror† This is when the Buchanan’s, Gatsby, Nick and Jordan all drive into town for the day.Myrtle sees Jordan in the car with Tom and instantaneously assumes that she is Daisy. I feel that this shows because she is extremely jealous. â€Å"Wide with jealous terror† I think that she is feeling that she is loosing Tom and seeing â€Å"Daisy† makes her jealousy grow. She then despairs over these thoughts while she is locked in her little room. With Daisy and Gatsby now having an affair Tom gets paranoid about whether she will leave him or not. When Tom sees how the act around each other Tom starts to worry more about whether Daisy will leave him and go and live with Gatsby.If she did, then he would have lost the main part of his life. â€Å"The immediate contingency overtook him, pulled him back from the edge of theoretical abyss† The â€Å"theor etical abyss† was the thought of Daisy and Gatsby having an affair. But then Tom, who had made some investigations into who Gatsby was, realised who Gatsby was and what he did and reassured himself that Daisy wouldn’t leave him. This thought still put him in despair because just the slight possibility of losing his wife made him feels that way. Even though Tom and Myrtle is just an affair he really does care about her.This shows that deep down Tom does have a heart and he does care about his actions. â€Å"I heard a low husky sob, and saw that the tears were overflowing down his face† Tom is crying because he has lost Myrtle. I feel that this shows that he really did care for her, otherwise he would be unaffected by the death. The use of the adjective â€Å"overflowing† gives you a better idea of how much he were crying. I think that a small part of the tears could be tears of joy, because now he doesn’t have to have an affair anymore and he can be faithful to Daisy.Wilson is in complete despair when Myrtle is hit by the yellow car and murdered; he out of all the characters is at most despair. He doesn’t have money or popularity to fall back on; the only good thing in his life was Myrtle. â€Å"Then would have collapsed to his knees had not Tom held him upright† Wilson is in despair at the death of Myrtle, she was the one good thing in his life and he lost her. Wilson is weak, â€Å"collapsed†, due to the fact that Myrtle is dead. He is depressed and sad.The way Fitzgerald writes this paints a picture in your head of how Wilson must look at this point. In the novel Nick is probably the character that is in the least despair, he is living with and witnessing all the events that are taking place but he is not living them. This makes it easier for him to be happy, but he is alone. He has Jordan for a short while but he seemed to push her away. â€Å"I’d had enough of all of them for one day† . N ick is in despair with all the other characters, because of their displays of selfishness and shallowness.I feel that Nick is the only character who isn’t obsessed with what others think of them or how they are seen in society. I can relate to how he is feeling at this time. This is another point in the novel where Wilson is in despair. This is where he is worse off and it shows the consequences of the characters. He almost has to deal with everyone’s wrong doing and he is warily affected, along with Gatsby. â€Å"Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete† This is another quote that shows Wilson’s despair.Fitzgerald uses â€Å"holocaust† which signifies a great destruction resulting in loss of life. When he says this I think he could be referring to the whole novel. Nothing good has come from anything; everything has only resulted in despair and desolation. I conclude that the Novel Great Gatsby paints a wor ld of desolation and despair. Everyone is in despair at one point in the novel. Some are more than others; I think that even though they can all be in a room together they are still all alone in life.