The Great Gatsby and the tainted American Dream Essay -- essays resear

Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, American Dream during the early infancy of our country, proposing this daydream as, That pastime of a better existence and a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion. While this may be what many of the characters in The Great Gatsby believe (Jay Gatsby in particular), one critical ideal is discarded in Fitzgeralds twisted refinement of Franklins definition morality. It is apparent that Jay Gatsby achieves his wealth and social status through illegal and immoral room, such as bootlegging alcohol. The irony becomes remarkably stunning when one realizes that the section of Franklins autobiography, which outlines his regularity for achieving this dream, is entitled Moral Perfection. Fitzgerald presents a dark satire by portraying the immoral Jay Gatsby as an icon for the decay of the dream Franklin proposed and promoted so avidly. Fitzgerald masterfully allows the reader watch the evolution of Franklins American drea m from its fertilization in the ambition of James Gatz to its dominance over Gatzs life, eventually spawning Jay Gatsby (Gatz-bye) a self-destructive man holding on to a dream that can never become a reality. In addition to Gatsbys delusional pursuit of happiness, Nick Carr out-of-door, our narrator, suffers from the same addiction to a dream, which, if made true, will never live up to its expectations. It is obvious that Nick envies Gatsby, hence the title of the falsehood. Nick is in awe of Gatsbys wealth, social power and moreover, and most of all, the carefree lifestyle it allows. Nick, at the same time he is completely unaware of the illicit means by which Gatsby has gained his wealth. Following Gatsbys death at the end of the novel, Fitzgerald shows Nicks awakening from his dream to persuade the reader to walk away from his novel understanding the lesson that Nick learns from Gatsbys folly. Fitzgerald strives to expose a striking realization that the American dream that Frank lin proposed will never be able to deliver its bargain of a better existence in a society where morality is tossed aside so casually. Fitzgerald litters the novel with a cast of characters who are struggling to pass over either emotionless dreams or impossible ones. All of these other characters suffer from this plague of disillusionment that has come to be known as a secure in modernist writing. Morality... ...ended up had he followed Gatsby and taken that job offer. Tom and Daisy both suffer from the sins of gluttony and avarice that dominate their dreams of happiness, they cant get away from thinking that the more they own the happier theyll be. This can be seen in the way Tom mourns little for myrtle, but only worries about himself when George comes to see him after Myrtles death. If he feels a little hurt its because hell have to go out and find another mistress, and we cant adduce for sure whether or not he will. Fitzgerald is bent on making sure the readers take away one message, there is no more American dream. He doesnt stop there though, he goes on to warn his readers that if you dont believe him and decide chase your personal American dream and shoot too high or too low, you will end up miserable, possibly for the rest of your life. Lastly, there is no doubt that this novels message about the decay of the American dream is solely focused on an audience facing some of the most vastly changing quantify in our civilizations history and a warning that just like Jay Gatsby found out, there is no way to reclaim the past, that American dream, Franklins American dream is gone.