how did gatsby achieve the american dream essay

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, best analysis: the american dream in the great gatsby.

Book Guides

The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface, but it's most commonly understood as a pessimistic critique of the American Dream. In the novel, Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and a limited amount of social cache in 1920s NYC, only to be rejected by the "old money" crowd. He then gets killed after being tangled up with them.

Through Gatsby's life, as well as that of the Wilsons', Fitzgerald critiques the idea that America is a meritocracy where anyone can rise to the top with enough hard work. We will explore how this theme plays out in the plot, briefly analyze some key quotes about it, as well as do some character analysis and broader analysis of topics surrounding the American Dream in The Great Gatsby .

What is the American Dream? The American Dream in the Great Gatsby plot Key American Dream quotes Analyzing characters via the American Dream Common discussion and essay topics

Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book.

To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

What Exactly Is "The American Dream"?

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (read: rich) if they just work hard enough. The American Dream thus presents a pretty rosy view of American society that ignores problems like systemic racism and misogyny, xenophobia, tax evasion or state tax avoidance, and income inequality. It also presumes a myth of class equality, when the reality is America has a pretty well-developed class hierarchy.

The 1920s in particular was a pretty tumultuous time due to increased immigration (and the accompanying xenophobia), changing women's roles (spurred by the right to vote, which was won in 1919), and extraordinary income inequality.

The country was also in the midst of an economic boom, which fueled the belief that anyone could "strike it rich" on Wall Street. However, this rapid economic growth was built on a bubble which popped in 1929. The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, well before the crash, but through its wry descriptions of the ultra-wealthy, it seems to somehow predict that the fantastic wealth on display in 1920s New York was just as ephemeral as one of Gatsby's parties.

In any case, the novel, just by being set in the 1920s, is unlikely to present an optimistic view of the American Dream, or at least a version of the dream that's inclusive to all genders, ethnicities, and incomes. With that background in mind, let's jump into the plot!

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

Chapter 1 places us in a particular year—1922—and gives us some background about WWI.  This is relevant, since the 1920s is presented as a time of hollow decadence among the wealthy, as evidenced especially by the parties in Chapters 2 and 3. And as we mentioned above, the 1920s were a particularly tense time in America.

We also meet George and Myrtle Wilson in Chapter 2 , both working class people who are working to improve their lot in life, George through his work, and Myrtle through her affair with Tom Buchanan.

We learn about Gatsby's goal in Chapter 4 : to win Daisy back. Despite everything he owns, including fantastic amounts of money and an over-the-top mansion, for Gatsby, Daisy is the ultimate status symbol. So in Chapter 5 , when Daisy and Gatsby reunite and begin an affair, it seems like Gatsby could, in fact, achieve his goal.

In Chapter 6 , we learn about Gatsby's less-than-wealthy past, which not only makes him look like the star of a rags-to-riches story, it makes Gatsby himself seem like someone in pursuit of the American Dream, and for him the personification of that dream is Daisy.

However, in Chapters 7 and 8 , everything comes crashing down: Daisy refuses to leave Tom, Myrtle is killed, and George breaks down and kills Gatsby and then himself, leaving all of the "strivers" dead and the old money crowd safe. Furthermore, we learn in those last chapters that Gatsby didn't even achieve all his wealth through hard work, like the American Dream would stipulate—instead, he earned his money through crime. (He did work hard and honestly under Dan Cody, but lost Dan Cody's inheritance to his ex-wife.)

In short, things do not turn out well for our dreamers in the novel! Thus, the novel ends with Nick's sad meditation on the lost promise of the American Dream. You can read a detailed analysis of these last lines in our summary of the novel's ending .

Key American Dream Quotes

In this section we analyze some of the most important quotes that relate to the American Dream in the book.

But I didn't call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone--he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. (1.152)

In our first glimpse of Jay Gatsby, we see him reaching towards something far off, something in sight but definitely out of reach. This famous image of the green light is often understood as part of The Great Gatsby 's meditation on The American Dream—the idea that people are always reaching towards something greater than themselves that is just out of reach . You can read more about this in our post all about the green light .

The fact that this yearning image is our introduction to Gatsby foreshadows his unhappy end and also marks him as a dreamer, rather than people like Tom or Daisy who were born with money and don't need to strive for anything so far off.

Over the great bridge, with the sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.

A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds and by more cheerful carriages for friends. The friends looked out at us with the tragic eyes and short upper lips of south-eastern Europe, and I was glad that the sight of Gatsby's splendid car was included in their somber holiday. As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish Negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry.

"Anything can happen now that we've slid over this bridge," I thought; "anything at all. . . ."

Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder. (4.55-8)

Early in the novel, we get this mostly optimistic illustration of the American Dream—we see people of different races and nationalities racing towards NYC, a city of unfathomable possibility. This moment has all the classic elements of the American Dream—economic possibility, racial and religious diversity, a carefree attitude. At this moment, it does feel like "anything can happen," even a happy ending.

However, this rosy view eventually gets undermined by the tragic events later in the novel. And even at this point, Nick's condescension towards the people in the other cars reinforces America's racial hierarchy that disrupts the idea of the American Dream. There is even a little competition at play, a "haughty rivalry" at play between Gatsby's car and the one bearing the "modish Negroes."

Nick "laughs aloud" at this moment, suggesting he thinks it's amusing that the passengers in this other car see them as equals, or even rivals to be bested. In other words, he seems to firmly believe in the racial hierarchy Tom defends in Chapter 1, even if it doesn't admit it honestly.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. (6.134)

This moment explicitly ties Daisy to all of Gatsby's larger dreams for a better life —to his American Dream. This sets the stage for the novel's tragic ending, since Daisy cannot hold up under the weight of the dream Gatsby projects onto her. Instead, she stays with Tom Buchanan, despite her feelings for Gatsby. Thus when Gatsby fails to win over Daisy, he also fails to achieve his version of the American Dream. This is why so many people read the novel as a somber or pessimistic take on the American Dream, rather than an optimistic one.  

...as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes--a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.

And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." (9.151-152)

The closing pages of the novel reflect at length on the American Dream, in an attitude that seems simultaneously mournful, appreciative, and pessimistic. It also ties back to our first glimpse of Gatsby, reaching out over the water towards the Buchanan's green light. Nick notes that Gatsby's dream was "already behind him" then (or in other words, it was impossible to attain). But still, he finds something to admire in how Gatsby still hoped for a better life, and constantly reached out toward that brighter future.

For a full consideration of these last lines and what they could mean, see our analysis of the novel's ending .

Analyzing Characters Through the American Dream

An analysis of the characters in terms of the American Dream usually leads to a pretty cynical take on the American Dream.

Most character analysis centered on the American Dream will necessarily focus on Gatsby, George, or Myrtle (the true strivers in the novel), though as we'll discuss below, the Buchanans can also provide some interesting layers of discussion. For character analysis that incorporates the American Dream, carefully consider your chosen character's motivations and desires, and how the novel does (or doesn't!) provide glimpses of the dream's fulfillment for them.

Gatsby himself is obviously the best candidate for writing about the American Dream—he comes from humble roots (he's the son of poor farmers from North Dakota) and rises to be notoriously wealthy, only for everything to slip away from him in the end. Many people also incorporate Daisy into their analyses as the physical representation of Gatsby's dream.

However, definitely consider the fact that in the traditional American Dream, people achieve their goals through honest hard work, but in Gatsby's case, he very quickly acquires a large amount of money through crime . Gatsby does attempt the hard work approach, through his years of service to Dan Cody, but that doesn't work out since Cody's ex-wife ends up with the entire inheritance. So instead he turns to crime, and only then does he manage to achieve his desired wealth.

So while Gatsby's story arc resembles a traditional rags-to-riches tale, the fact that he gained his money immorally complicates the idea that he is a perfect avatar for the American Dream . Furthermore, his success obviously doesn't last—he still pines for Daisy and loses everything in his attempt to get her back. In other words, Gatsby's huge dreams, all precariously wedded to Daisy  ("He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God" (6.134)) are as flimsy and flight as Daisy herself.

George and Myrtle Wilson

This couple also represents people aiming at the dream— George owns his own shop and is doing his best to get business, though is increasingly worn down by the harsh demands of his life, while Myrtle chases after wealth and status through an affair with Tom.

Both are disempowered due to the lack of money at their own disposal —Myrtle certainly has access to some of the "finer things" through Tom but has to deal with his abuse, while George is unable to leave his current life and move West since he doesn't have the funds available. He even has to make himself servile to Tom in an attempt to get Tom to sell his car, a fact that could even cause him to overlook the evidence of his wife's affair. So neither character is on the upward trajectory that the American Dream promises, at least during the novel.

In the end, everything goes horribly wrong for both George and Myrtle, suggesting that in this world, it's dangerous to strive for more than you're given.

George and Myrtle's deadly fates, along with Gatsby's, help illustrate the novel's pessimistic attitude toward the American Dream. After all, how unfair is it that the couple working to improve their position in society (George and Myrtle) both end up dead, while Tom, who dragged Myrtle into an increasingly dangerous situation, and Daisy, who killed her, don't face any consequences? And on top of that they are fabulously wealthy? The American Dream certainly is not alive and well for the poor Wilsons.

Tom and Daisy as Antagonists to the American Dream

We've talked quite a bit already about Gatsby, George, and Myrtle—the three characters who come from humble roots and try to climb the ranks in 1920s New York. But what about the other major characters, especially the ones born with money? What is their relationship to the American Dream?

Specifically, Tom and Daisy have old money, and thus they don't need the American Dream, since they were born with America already at their feet.

Perhaps because of this, they seem to directly antagonize the dream—Daisy by refusing Gatsby, and Tom by helping to drag the Wilsons into tragedy .

This is especially interesting because unlike Gatsby, Myrtle, and George, who actively hope and dream of a better life, Daisy and Tom are described as bored and "careless," and end up instigating a large amount of tragedy through their own recklessness.

In other words, income inequality and the vastly different starts in life the characters have strongly affected their outcomes. The way they choose to live their lives, their morality (or lack thereof), and how much they dream doesn't seem to matter. This, of course, is tragic and antithetical to the idea of the American Dream, which claims that class should be irrelevant and anyone can rise to the top.

Daisy as a Personification of the American Dream

As we discuss in our post on money and materialism in The Great Gatsby , Daisy's voice is explicitly tied to money by Gatsby:

"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.

That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . . (7.105-6)

If Daisy's voice promises money, and the American Dream is explicitly linked to wealth, it's not hard to argue that Daisy herself—along with the green light at the end of her dock —stands in for the American Dream. In fact, as Nick goes on to describe Daisy as "High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl," he also seems to literally describe Daisy as a prize, much like the princess at the end of a fairy tale (or even Princess Peach at the end of a Mario game!).

But Daisy, of course, is only human—flawed, flighty, and ultimately unable to embody the huge fantasy Gatsby projects onto her. So this, in turn, means that the American Dream itself is just a fantasy, a concept too flimsy to actually hold weight, especially in the fast-paced, dog-eat-dog world of 1920s America.

Furthermore, you should definitely consider the tension between the fact that Daisy represents Gatsby's ultimate goal, but at the same time (as we discussed above), her actual life is the opposite of the American Dream : she is born with money and privilege, likely dies with it all intact, and there are no consequences to how she chooses to live her life in between.

Can Female Characters Achieve the American Dream?

Finally, it's interesting to compare and contrast some of the female characters using the lens of the American Dream.

Let's start with Daisy, who is unhappy in her marriage and, despite a brief attempt to leave it, remains with Tom, unwilling to give up the status and security their marriage provides. At first, it may seem like Daisy doesn't dream at all, so of course she ends up unhappy. But consider the fact that Daisy was already born into the highest level of American society. The expectation placed on her, as a wealthy woman, was never to pursue something greater, but simply to maintain her status. She did that by marrying Tom, and it's understandable why she wouldn't risk the uncertainty and loss of status that would come through divorce and marriage to a bootlegger. Again, Daisy seems to typify the "anti-American" dream, in that she was born into a kind of aristocracy and simply has to maintain her position, not fight for something better.

In contrast, Myrtle, aside from Gatsby, seems to be the most ambitiously in pursuit of getting more than she was given in life. She parlays her affair with Tom into an apartment, nice clothes, and parties, and seems to revel in her newfound status. But of course, she is knocked down the hardest, killed for her involvement with the Buchanans, and specifically for wrongfully assuming she had value to them. Considering that Gatsby did have a chance to leave New York and distance himself from the unfolding tragedy, but Myrtle was the first to be killed, you could argue the novel presents an even bleaker view of the American Dream where women are concerned.

Even Jordan Baker , who seems to be living out a kind of dream by playing golf and being relatively independent, is tied to her family's money and insulated from consequences by it , making her a pretty poor representation of the dream. And of course, since her end game also seems to be marriage, she doesn't push the boundaries of women's roles as far as she might wish.

So while the women all push the boundaries of society's expectations of them in certain ways, they either fall in line or are killed, which definitely undermines the rosy of idea that anyone, regardless of gender, can make it in America. The American Dream as shown in Gatsby becomes even more pessimistic through the lens of the female characters.  

Common Essay Questions/Discussion Topics

Now let's work through some of the more frequently brought up subjects for discussion.

#1: Was Gatsby's dream worth it? Was all the work, time, and patience worth it for him?

Like me, you might immediately think "of course it wasn't worth it! Gatsby lost everything, not to mention the Wilsons got caught up in the tragedy and ended up dead!" So if you want to make the more obvious "the dream wasn't worth it" argument, you could point to the unraveling that happens at the end of the novel (including the deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby and George) and how all Gatsby's achievements are for nothing, as evidenced by the sparse attendance of his funeral.

However, you could definitely take the less obvious route and argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, despite the tragic end . First of all, consider Jay's unique characterization in the story: "He was a son of God--a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that--and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty" (6.7). In other words, Gatsby has a larger-than-life persona and he never would have been content to remain in North Dakota to be poor farmers like his parents.

Even if he ends up living a shorter life, he certainly lived a full one full of adventure. His dreams of wealth and status took him all over the world on Dan Cody's yacht, to Louisville where he met and fell in love with Daisy, to the battlefields of WWI, to the halls of Oxford University, and then to the fast-paced world of Manhattan in the early 1920s, when he earned a fortune as a bootlegger. In fact, it seems Jay lived several lives in the space of just half a normal lifespan. In short, to argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, you should point to his larger-than-life conception of himself and the fact that he could have only sought happiness through striving for something greater than himself, even if that ended up being deadly in the end.

#2: In the Langston Hughes poem "A Dream Deferred," Hughes asks questions about what happens to postponed dreams. How does Fitzgerald examine this issue of deferred dreams? What do you think are the effects of postponing our dreams? How can you apply this lesson to your own life?

If you're thinking about "deferred dreams" in The Great Gatsby , the big one is obviously Gatsby's deferred dream for Daisy—nearly five years pass between his initial infatuation and his attempt in the novel to win her back, an attempt that obviously backfires. You can examine various aspects of Gatsby's dream—the flashbacks to his first memories of Daisy in Chapter 8 , the moment when they reunite in Chapter 5 , or the disastrous consequences of the confrontation of Chapter 7 —to illustrate Gatsby's deferred dream.

You could also look at George Wilson's postponed dream of going West, or Myrtle's dream of marrying a wealthy man of "breeding"—George never gets the funds to go West, and is instead mired in the Valley of Ashes, while Myrtle's attempt to achieve her dream after 12 years of marriage through an affair ends in tragedy. Apparently, dreams deferred are dreams doomed to fail.

As Nick Carraway says, "you can't repeat the past"—the novel seems to imply there is a small window for certain dreams, and when the window closes, they can no longer be attained. This is pretty pessimistic, and for the prompt's personal reflection aspect, I wouldn't say you should necessarily "apply this lesson to your own life" straightforwardly. But it is worth noting that certain opportunities are fleeting, and perhaps it's wiser to seek out newer and/or more attainable ones, rather than pining over a lost chance.

Any prompt like this one which has a section of more personal reflection gives you freedom to tie in your own experiences and point of view, so be thoughtful and think of good examples from your own life!

#3: Explain how the novel does or does not demonstrate the death of the American Dream. Is the main theme of Gatsby indeed "the withering American Dream"? What does the novel offer about American identity?

In this prompt, another one that zeroes in on the dead or dying American Dream, you could discuss how the destruction of three lives (Gatsby, George, Myrtle) and the cynical portrayal of the old money crowd illustrates a dead, or dying American Dream . After all, if the characters who dream end up dead, and the ones who were born into life with money and privilege get to keep it without consequence, is there any room at all for the idea that less-privileged people can work their way up?

In terms of what the novel says about American identity, there are a few threads you could pick up—one is Nick's comment in Chapter 9 about the novel really being a story about (mid)westerners trying (and failing) to go East : "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all--Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life" (9.125). This observation suggests an American identity that is determined by birthplace, and that within the American identity there are smaller, inescapable points of identification.

Furthermore, for those in the novel not born into money, the American identity seems to be about striving to end up with more wealth and status. But in terms of the portrayal of the old money set, particularly Daisy, Tom, and Jordan, the novel presents a segment of American society that is essentially aristocratic—you have to be born into it. In that regard, too, the novel presents a fractured American identity, with different lives possible based on how much money you are born with.

In short, I think the novel disrupts the idea of a unified American identity or American dream, by instead presenting a tragic, fractured, and rigid American society, one that is divided based on both geographic location and social class.

#4: Most would consider dreams to be positive motivators to achieve success, but the characters in the novel often take their dreams of ideal lives too far. Explain how characters' American Dreams cause them to have pain when they could have been content with more modest ambitions.

Gatsby is an obvious choice here—his pursuit of money and status, particularly through Daisy, leads him to ruin. There were many points when perhaps Gatsby ;could have been happy with what he achieved (especially after his apparently successful endeavors in the war, if he had remained at Oxford, or even after amassing a great amount of wealth as a bootlegger) but instead he kept striving upward, which ultimately lead to his downfall. You can flesh this argument out with the quotations in Chapters 6 and 8 about Gatsby's past, along with his tragic death.

Myrtle would be another good choice for this type of prompt. In a sense, she seems to be living her ideal life in her affair with Tom—she has a fancy NYC apartment, hosts parties, and gets to act sophisticated—but these pleasures end up gravely hurting George, and of course her association with Tom Buchanan gets her killed.

Nick, too, if he had been happy with his family's respectable fortune and his girlfriend out west, might have avoided the pain of knowing Gatsby and the general sense of despair he was left with.

You might be wondering about George—after all, isn't he someone also dreaming of a better life? However, there aren't many instances of George taking his dreams of an ideal life "too far." In fact, he struggles just to make one car sale so that he can finally move out West with Myrtle. Also, given that his current situation in the Valley of Ashes is quite bleak, it's hard to say that striving upward gave him pain.

#5: The Great Gatsby is, among other things, a sobering and even ominous commentary on the dark side of the American dream. Discuss this theme, incorporating the conflicts of East Egg vs. West Egg and old money vs. new money. What does the American dream mean to Gatsby? What did the American Dream mean to Fitzgerald? How does morality fit into achieving the American dream?

This prompt allows you to consider pretty broadly the novel's attitude toward the American Dream, with emphasis on "sobering and even ominous" commentary. Note that Fitzgerald seems to be specifically mocking the stereotypical rags to riches story here—;especially since he draws the Dan Cody narrative almost note for note from the work of someone like Horatio Alger, whose books were almost universally about rich men schooling young, entrepreneurial boys in the ways of the world. In other words, you should discuss how the Great Gatsby seems to turn the idea of the American Dream as described in the quote on its head: Gatsby does achieve a rags-to-riches rise, but it doesn't last.

All of Gatsby's hard work for Dan Cody, after all, didn't pay off since he lost the inheritance. So instead, Gatsby turned to crime after the war to quickly gain a ton of money. Especially since Gatsby finally achieves his great wealth through dubious means, the novel further undermines the classic image of someone working hard and honestly to go from rags to riches.

If you're addressing this prompt or a similar one, make sure to focus on the darker aspects of the American Dream, including the dark conclusion to the novel and Daisy and Tom's protection from any real consequences . (This would also allow you to considering morality, and how morally bankrupt the characters are.)

#6: What is the current state of the American Dream?

This is a more outward-looking prompt, that allows you to consider current events today to either be generally optimistic (the American dream is alive and well) or pessimistic (it's as dead as it is in The Great Gatsby).

You have dozens of potential current events to use as evidence for either argument, but consider especially immigration and immigration reform, mass incarceration, income inequality, education, and health care in America as good potential examples to use as you argue about the current state of the American Dream. Your writing will be especially powerful if you can point to some specific current events to support your argument.

What's Next?

In this post, we discussed how important money is to the novel's version of the American Dream. You can read even more about money and materialism in The Great Gatsby right here .

Want to indulge in a little materialism of your own? Take a look through these 15 must-have items for any Great Gatsby fan .

Get complete guides to Jay Gatsby , George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson to get even more background on the "dreamers" in the novel.

Like we discussed above, the green light is often seen as a stand-in for the idea of the American Dream. Read more about this crucial symbol here .

Need help getting to grips with other literary works? Take a spin through our analyses of The Crucible , The Cask of Amontillado , and " Do not go gentle into this good night " to see analysis in action. You might also find our explanations of point of view , rhetorical devices , imagery , and literary elements and devices helpful.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

The Great Gatsby

F. scott fitzgerald, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The American Dream—that hard work can lead one from rags to riches—has been a core facet of American identity since its inception. Settlers came west to America from Europe seeking wealth and freedom. The pioneers headed west for the same reason. The Great Gatsby shows the tide turning east, as hordes flock to New York City seeking stock market fortunes. The Great Gatsby portrays this shift as a symbol of the American Dream's corruption. It's no longer a vision of building a life; it's just about getting rich.

Gatsby symbolizes both the corrupted Dream and the original uncorrupted Dream. He sees wealth as the solution to his problems, pursues money via shady schemes, and reinvents himself so much that he becomes hollow, disconnected from his past. Yet Gatsby's corrupt dream of wealth is motivated by an incorruptible love for Daisy . Gatsby's failure does not prove the folly of the American Dream—rather it proves the folly of short-cutting that dream by allowing corruption and materialism to prevail over hard work, integrity, and real love. And the dream of love that remains at Gatsby's core condemns nearly every other character in the novel, all of whom are empty beyond just their lust for money.

The American Dream ThemeTracker

The American Dream Quotes in The Great Gatsby

• Science & Math
• Sociology & Philosophy
• Law & Politics

Great Gatsby Essay: The Pursuit of the American Dream

• Great Gatsby Essay: The Pursuit…

A major theme in The Great Gatsby is the pursuit of what can be termed the American dream. Do you agree? By choosing a major character or a situation in Fitzgerald’s novel, discuss how or whether Fitzgerald is successful in exposing the underside of the American dream)

This represents the idea of the American Dream, where qualities of hard work and ambition are shown. The novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies many themes; however, the most significant one relates to the corruption of the American dream.

The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. By having money, a car, a big house, nice clothes, and a happy family symbolizes the American dream. This dream also represents that people, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in life by his or her own work.

The desire to strive for what one wants can be accomplished if they work hard enough. The dream is represented by the idea of a self-sufficient man or woman, who works hard to achieve a goal to become successful. The Great Gatsby is a novel that shows what happened to the American Dream in the 1920’s, which is a time period when the dreams became corrupted for many reasons.

The American dream not only causes corruption but has caused destruction. Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy have all been corrupted and destroyed by the dream.

The desire for a luxurious life is what lures Myrtle into having an affair with Tom. This decision harms her marriage with George, which leads to her death and loss of true happiness. Myrtle has the hope and desire for a perfect, wealthy and famous type of life.  She enjoys reading gossip magazines which represent her hope for the life of “the rich and famous”.

This shows how the one reason she wants to be with Tom, is because he represents the life of “the rich and famous”. When Myrtle first got married to George Wilson, she thought that she was crazy about him and thought that they were happy being together. Myrtle says, “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake.

He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out…” (Fitzgerald, 37) This shows how materialistic Myrtle is, and that she didn’t appreciate how George couldn’t afford his own suit to get married in. She looks at Tom in a different way. She looks at him as someone who can afford to buy their own suit for their own wedding. Myrtle is attracted to not only Tom’s appearance but his money as well.

She believes that Tom is the ideal picture-perfect man that represents the advertisement of the American Dream. Myrtle is considered to be lower class, as she doesn’t have a lot of money. Myrtle sleeps with Tom to inch her way to an upper-class status. People who are upper class are the ones that have money, drive fancy cars, and have nice big houses. Myrtle isn’t one of those people but desires to be one of them. This, later on, causes destruction and destroys Myrtle.

It was later found that Daisy was the one that hit Myrtle with her car which resulted in the death of Myrtle. It is ironic that Daisy was the one that killed her, since Myrtle was having an affair with her husband, Tom. This shows how the desire for a luxurious life and having the American dream, only caused destruction in this novel and destroyed someone’s life.

The hope for happiness is something that Daisy hoped to have, but finding out she married the wrong man changed who she is and her outlook on life. Early on in the novel, Daisy finds out a secret that Tom is hiding from her. Jordan says, “She might have the decency not to telephone him a dinner time.

Don’t you think?” (Fitzgerald, 20) Tom got a call from some women at dinner time, and Jordan claims that the woman is Tom’s, suggesting that he is sleeping with someone else. You learn throughout the novel that Tom and Daisy’s relationship is not to most ideal, happy relationship. Tom seems to be abusive towards her and rather does not seem to care much about her. Daisy thinks she has everything, wealth, love, and happiness which all tie into the American dream, but then she discovers that she has nothing and that she has been corrupted by this specific dream.

She thought she has all she desired but truly realized she had nothing. She has a child, who does not seem important to her at all. The child is never around, which shows a lot about Daisy. When her child was born, Daisy said “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful fool.” (Fitzgerald, 22)

Daisy basically explained that there are limited possibilities for women, and she would have rather had a boy. The baby has to be a beautiful fool in order to be happy and successful. Woman back in the 1920’s all married for money, and not necessarily love. Daisy thought she had loved when she married Tom, but truly in the long run, only came out with money.

With Gatsby, Daisy realized something that broke her heart. When reunited with Gatsby, who she has not seen in about five years Daisy breaks down and starts to cry. “They’re such beautiful shirts, it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.” (Fitzgerald, 89) At this time Daisy realizes that she did marry for money and not for love.

She figures out that she could have married for money with Gatsby but would have had love too. The chase for the American dream and the ideal man to be with destroyed Daisy’s happiness.

The ambition for something has thrown Gatsby over the edge. His love and chase for Daisy have taken over his whole life. He feels that he has to live up to the American dream to accomplish what he truly dreams for, which is Daisy. While Gatsby was away fighting in the war, Daisy met Tom and married him.

Daisy had always been rich and Gatsby thought that in order to get Daisy back, he needs to have money so that he would be able to give Daisy anything she wanted. There was a green light where Daisy lived that Gatsby would always look out for.

The green light is of great significance in this novel. It becomes evident that this green light is not Daisy, but a symbol representing Gatsby’s dream of having Daisy. The fact that Daisy falls short of Gatsby’s expectations is obvious. Knowing this, one can see that no matter how hard Gatsby tries to live his fantasy, he will never be able to achieve it.

Through close examination of the green light, one may learn that the force that empowers Gatsby to follow his lifelong aspiration is that of the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses the green light as a symbol of hope, money, and jealousy.  Gatsby looks up to the American dream and follows it so he can be the picture-perfect man that every girl desires.

Gatsby cares a lot about how people see him, and his appearance towards others. He wants everything to look perfect for Daisy, as he wants Daisy to view him as a perfect man. “We both looked down at the grass – there was a sharp line where my ragged lawn ended and the darker, well-kept expanse of his began. I suspected he meant my grass.” (Fitzgerald, 80)

This presents the theme of appearance vs. reality and how Gatsby wants everything to look nice and presentable when he meets up with Daisy for the first time in five years. Gatsby becomes corrupted because his main goal is to have Daisy. He needs to have an enormous mansion so he could feel confident enough to try and get Daisy. Gatsby was blinded by the American dream and as a result of this, cause the destruction of Gatsby himself. He didn’t end up getting what he wanted because the American dream took over who he truly was.

The American dream is a powerful dream that was significant in the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. It was evident that this dream only truly caused corruption and destruction. The desire for something sometimes causes people to be someone they are not and this usually does not result in a positive outcome.

The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Most characters in the novel The Great Gatsby all wanted money, wealth, and happiness and would do anything in their power to get this.

The Great Gatsby is a novel that shows what happened to the American Dream in the 1920s, which is a time period when the dreams became corrupted. The American dream not only causes corruption but has caused destruction.

Myrtle, Gatsby, and Daisy have all been corrupted and destroyed by the dream and it was clear to be true. Money cannot buy you happiness which is something that the three characters in the novel The Great Gatsby truly did not realize.

Related Posts

• Great Gatsby: Chapter Eight Analysis & Summary
• Marxist Theory in Great Gatsby
• The Great Gatsby Essay: Lies And Deception
• The Great Gatsby: Jay Gatsby Character Analysis
• The Great Gatsby: Corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s

16 Comments

THANK YOU SO MUCH SAVED MY LIFE

you are a life saver

could you please give information for an MLA citation?

Hi. Please see the Author box.

thank you for leaving how to cite this

Your parenthetical references are incorrect and but the key points were helpful

WOW it really helped me on my essay. Thanks!!!

Hello Can I please get the authors name who wrote this and the date of when they wrote it,

REALLY HELPFUL!!!

@bill simpson

can teachers find this with there plagiarising finder websites?

I just saw your comment…5 years after you wrote it

2 years after…yeah turnitin prob will catch that

Ich habe diese Webseite meinen Lesezeichen hinzugefügt – gekonnt und umfassend geschildert – spitzen. So könnt ihr weitermachen – ich möchte mehr davon verschlingen!

Great explaination (:

WOW, this is amazing. Thank you so much. You saved my life, and a lot of work and time for me. Thanks.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post comment

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

• Issue number seven  
• Issue number six  
• The Exotic, The Gothic and The Romantic; Incredulity towards Metanarratives
• How Does Webster Reframe Concepts of Gender?
• Nature and the Romantic Poet
• Freedom and Identity in Nineteenth Century American Women's Fiction

The 'American Dream' in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Ernest Hemingway's The Sun also Rises

• 'I wrote a poem last night. Woke up and I hate it. [For Nial]'
• Dissertation: A Lacanian Approach to the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
• Issue number four  
• Issue number three  
• Issue number two  
• Issue number one  
• About / Contact us  
• Submission details  

Rebecca Poulter

In his critical work, The American Novel and Its Tradition, Richard Chase contends that “the best American novels achieve their very being, their energy and their form, from the perception and acceptance not of unities but of radical disunities.” [1] This conviction is supported perhaps most potently in the literature of the 1920s, which documents social and economic revolution in light of the financially prosperous decade, which preceded the “spectacular death” [2] of October 1929’s Wall Street Crash. Published between times of warfare, also,   1920s texts expose the tensions of the ‘lost generation’, of which many young people were distrustful of their native country’s moral superiority after seeing many of their peers killed in action during 1917-8. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), documents these social ‘disunities’ in one’s navigation of the skirmish of ‘Old Money’ versus ‘New Money’, most notably how a character’s wealth and historical background informs his sense of identity in America’s modern setting. Meanwhile Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1927) portrays the experience of an American expatriate of the ‘lost generation’, mediating his dual sense of cultural identity and reconciling himself as a transcendental being in the absence of the oppressive “nature of American culture that he is expected to make his own”. [3] In this essay, I will argue that both of my selected texts challenge the archetypal American Dream and present alternative methods of lifestyle which unify the individual with a greater sense of autonomy.

In The Great Gatsby , the eponymous character embodies the model American construct of the self-made man. Satisfying the American Dream’s devotion to the possibility that “anyone, no matter how lowly his origins, could rise and become a success”, [4] Gatsby accomplishes wealth and prestige in a society traditionally dominated by the inheritors of ‘Old Money’. Fitzgerald first reflects this image of the self-made man onto Gatsby through the depiction of the character’s humble beginnings. The author discloses that Gatsby’s parents were “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people”, [5] however the young man possessed "An instinct toward his future glory”. [6] This ambitious inclination inspires Gatsby’s resolution to surrender the roots which define his social standing and realise his own American Dream of (initially) position and prosperity. Gatsby’s elevation through America’s economic divisions indicates a conviction of Richard Chase:

“Jay Gatsby is in origin an archetype of European legend… it is fascinating to observe how, in Fitzgerald’s hands, this legend is modified and in some ways fundamentally changed in accordance with American ideas.” [7]

Indeed, the character’s “enormous sense of his own destiny” [8] motivates a pursuit of success not unlike the Pips and Dick Whittingtons of the traditional English novel – each character seeking their fortune and renewed sense of identity against the prestigious backdrop of The City. Gatsby’s embodiment of the self-made, All-American Man however transforms this traditional persona into modernity. The character’s combined acquisition of a “splendid” [9] Rolls-Royce motorcar, for example, the “colossal affair” [10] of his mansion, and his collection of “such beautiful shirts” [11] illustrate Fitzgerald’s manipulation of the traditionally European legend, and his ability to attach this modernised American idyll to the hero of his novel. Through the allusion to Gatsby’s self-making, then, Fitzgerald subverts a traditional novelistic form, thus Gatsby personifies the 1920s American fable of attaining fortune in spite of ‘lowly’ origins.

Fitzgerald’s presentation of Gatsby’s enterprising nature reflects the emergent fashion of similar characters within the real society of the time. As Henry Dan Piper summarises:

“Almost every Sunday the society columns and rotogravure sections of the New York newspapers carried accounts of the wealthy young Mid-westerners like the Buchanans… The financial sections of the same papers almost as regularly reported the mysterious appearance of Gatsby-like figures who had suddenly emerged from the West with millions of dollars at their command.” [12]

The Great Gatsby is thus testament to the manner in which traditional class boundaries were reformed, or often completely severed in response to the creation of new money to rival hereditary fortune. Without an established class structure where, as Ruth Prigozy suggests, “the idea of a privileged class comes from British models”, [13] many of the social tensions of the Gatsby decade focus upon the individual’s mediation of the changing economy. This “new wave of instant millionaires”, [14] such as the likes of the novel’s hero thus threatened the dominance of the wealthy, by ascending the social echelons and prompting from the financially established an inevitable condemnation. An example of this in the text is Tom Buchanan’s remark that “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.” [15] Fitzgerald’s choice of vocabulary here implies Buchanan’s conviction that new money is inferior to the old as it is absent of prestige – characters such as Gatsby are therefore unworthy of familiarity and indeed relationships with the upper-classes. Moreover, Daisy is similarly “appalled” to consider herself as sharing her social standing with the traditionally less affluent inhabitants of West Egg. Fitzgerald describes Daisy as revolted by the location’s “raw vigor” and by the “too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short cut from nothing to nothing.” [16] The image of being transported from a lower social standing to apparently ‘nothing’ further reflects this notion that the success which America’s “newly rich people” [17] discover is in fact hollow. The prosperity of those who attain this American Dream of affluence is rendered meaningless in the absence of prestigious historical background.

Chase explains how Gatsby’s motivation for an accumulation of wealth separates him from his similarly affluent counterparts. So far as the hero knows them, “society and its ways… are not ends but means to a transcendent ideal.” [18] Indeed, the purpose for Gatsby’s social elevation is not simply the product of his pursuit of fortune, but that it signifies the ‘means’ by which he can realise his dream that is represented by Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby has “literally patched himself together out of popular ideas” [19] , of what the wealthy, All-American man should embody, in order to imply his worth and consequently secure Daisy as his own. This is evident in Fitzgerald’s novel, as the hero’s efforts are interpreted by Nick as “like skimming hastily through a dozen magazines”. [20] Indeed, Gatsby’s “elaborate formality of speech”, and the “strong impression that he was picking his words with care”, [21] all construct the image supposedly deemed worthy of his maiden. This self-characterisation leads Daisy to comment towards Gatsby that “You resemble the advertisement of the man” [22] – ‘the man’, being an indiscriminate metaphor for the fashionable All-American male. Having already embarked on a doomed relationship with Daisy, however, Gatsby’s hamartia is his foolhardy idealism: his adamant refusal to confront the reality of passing time. In a dream world “where past, present and future are all one”, [23] Gatsby believes that “of course” one can “repeat” [24] exact past events and consequently yield a better outcome. It becomes clear, however, throughout the novel that Gatsby’s infatuation is focused not on Daisy specifically, but on the image which she represents; “like a card house”, [25] the dream collapses at the slightest indication of Daisy’s non-fulfilment of the promise she personifies:

“There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything.” [26]

Evidently, Gatsby’s ambition usurps the reality of Daisy’s character. There is no evidence of a sexual passion shared between the couple (although Baz Lurhmann’s 2013 adaptation disputes this), thus Gatsby’s adoration appears misinformed; he “does not see her as she is… He sees her merely as beauty and innocence.” [27]   The promise of Daisy draws allusion to the image of a beautiful flower growing natively on the “fresh green breast of the new world”. [28] Gatsby’s dream can therefore be interpreted as a romantic sense of possibility – akin to that of America’s first settlers – which “resides in the unattainable woman who symbolizes the beauty which wealth preserves and protects”. [29] The promise of Daisy is not only Gatsby’s ideal, but indicated the American Dream as a whole; it embodies the “possibilities of this life and eternal life”. [30] Fitzgerald’’s characterisation of Gatsby evidently evokes elements of tragicomedy, as the ridiculousness of the romantic hero’s vision provokes his downfall and ultimate death. The flaw of Gatsby’s aspiration is described by Henry Dan Piper as:

“Gatsby… wants it both ways. He must be a Grail Knight as well as a Wall Street tycoon. He expects Daisy to be the innocent maiden in distress waiting stoically for her knight errant. At the same time, he insists that she be a typical ‘popular’ girl – rich, pretty and consequently self-centred and unadventurous. Confused by these conflicting aims and goals, the vulnerable Gatsby is easily betrayed and destroyed.” [31]

Indeed, a prominent motif throughout the novel is that of death – most persistent is the setting of the Valley of Ashes and the “foul dust” that “floated in the wake of Gatsby’s dreams”. [32] Similarly, Tom’s accusation that Gatsby “threw dust in [Nick’s] eyes just like he did Daisy’s” [33] illustrates the collateral suffered in ‘the wake’ of the hero’s fatal romantic delusion. In spite of this however, it is the character’s capacity to possess and strive to accomplish his “incorruptible dream” [34] which “affirms the unique value as well as the limitations of the philosophy of individualism.” [35] Nick’s ultimate faithfulness to Gatsby’s dream transcends the fact that he “disapproved of him from beginning to end”; [36] the dream calls to Nick’s mind the ideal meaning of America itself. The promise of the New World’s power to inspire “a transitory enchanted moment” [37] presents an elusive magic “between two worlds, the one scarcely dead, the other driven by raw energy yet inexorably drifting towards death”, [38] accessible only to those who dare to dream. Gatsby’s pursuit of the ‘green light’ “invokes the poetic appeal of the frontier” [39] and represents the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”. [40] It is a metaphor of the American dream itself and acts symbolically as a bulwark against the “rapacity that fuelled the nation’s expansion, destroying the gifts of nature in the process.” [41] Gatsby’s ideal bears no claim on reality, conversely it is the mere reality of having a dream which is both the flaw and redeeming quality of Gatsby’s persona:

“That’s the whole burden of this novel – the loss of those illusions that give such colour to the world that you don’t care whether things are true or false as long as they take part in the magical glory.” [42]

  As Fitzgerald himself summarises, it is this capacity to pursue these ‘illusions’ – the way in which we admire those who entertain their own American Dreams – which occupies the moral heart of his novel, The Great Gatsby . Nick’s comment that Gatsby is “worth the whole damn bunch put together” [43] thus carries significance as it illustrates the hero’s ultimate eclipse of traditional American values in place of his own Romantic ideal.

Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises , documents the experience of American expatriates living in Paris. The novel discusses the theme of identity – how it is constructed and manipulated in terms of the “dual allegiance of the American, who in his intellectual culture belongs to the Old World and the New”. [44] Hemingway’s characterisation of Robert Cohn is the first evidence within the text of this discussion, as Cohn embodies the typical American man, conditioned by his native culture. The protagonist, Jake, observes, “I never heard him make one remark that would, in any way detach him from other people”, [45] thus Cohn is emblematic of the stereotypically American preoccupation with democracy and social unity. This is further reflected in the detail that “If he were in a crowd nothing he said stood out”. [46] In his book, Civilisation and its Discontents, it is Freud who suggests that the American democracy inhibits the development of exceptional individuals; its nature specifically inspires society to “identify with one another rather than cultivate their individual sense of life”. [47] Moreover, Hemingway’s crafting of Cohn’s “funny sort of undergraduate quality”, matched with his “Princeton” appearance [48] and proclivity for polo shirts depicts the character as markedly American. Cohn is thus continuously shunned by his compatriots in Europe, who claim that he makes them “sick”, [49] and demand of him: “Don’t you know you’re not wanted?” [50] This scorn derives from the simple fact that Cohn represents the “pressure for conformity that was possibly the most oppressive feature of American life”. [51] Illustrating Cohn in this manner therefore serves as a subtle means by which the author may confront “the values which were most dear to the self-consciously American hearts of his parents”, [52] and celebrate the birth of individualism in the new frontier that is Europe.

Harold T. McCarthy contends that The Sun Also Rises transcends the definition of “an anti-war tract or a breast-beating for the disenchanted”. Instead the novel is “an exaltation of the masculine principle… and of a people’s spiritual community”. [53] There is no theme more appropriate to exemplify this, as the image of the bullfight and the theme of death which it signifies. Hemingway’s protagonist documents the manner in which the matador confronts fatal threat – dances with it – in order to reflect his own inevitable mortality yet meanwhile assert the autonomy of himself:

“Romero’s bullfighting gave real emotion, because he kept the absolutely purity of line in his movements and always quietly and calmly let the horns pass him close each time. He did not have to emphasize their closeness… he dominated the bull by making him realize he was unattainable.” [54]

The matador’s choice to encounter the fatal possibilities of the bullring indicates a confidence in his own autonomy which is denied through the democratic mass of American culture. McCarthy interprets the bullfight in Hemingway’s novel as an “affirmation of the human spirit”, for it entertains primitive instincts such as courage, grace, and sexuality, which became symbolic for Hemingway as it illustrates “man’s capacity to shape his own existence”. [55] Indeed, acknowledging death is a means by which one can accomplish a sense of his own individuality. In an America which celebrates power en masse, death is obscured, thus the bullfights of Europe present opportunity for Jake and Hemingway alike to indulge their primitive energies and regain a sense of individuality.

Hemingway’s characterisation of the ‘aficionado’ reinforces this theme of rekindled identity, as the bullfight becomes a passion by which man can reacquaint himself with his transcendental being. As Jake summarises, “It was simply the pleasure of discovering what we each felt” [56] which spiritually connects him with similar aficionados and bestows him with a sentiment of illumination impossible to achieve in American society. Indeed, the character of Montoya “smiled as though bullfighting were a very special secret”, [57] meanwhile “it amused [other aficionados] that [Jake] should be American”. [58] Clearly, the passionate experience of the bullfight is typically un-American, as is the notion of having a profound interest in a hobby outside of the status quo. Able to maintain his own sense of individuality away from American culture then, the character of Jake testifies Hemingway's conviction that;

“If you serve time for society, democracy, and other things quite young, and declining any further enlistment make yourself responsible only to yourself, you exchange the pleasant, comforting stench of comrades for something you can never feel other way than by yourself.” [59]

Jake’s status as aficionado is thus his salvation, in a world in which he has supposedly “given more than [his] life”. [60] The novel itself conveys Hemingway’s aspiration to convey “the sense of men’s lives as islands in a stream” as it documents “moments in the process of being” [61] – a notion apparent to the novel’s protagonist through his aficion. Jake consequently appreciates himself as an infinite, eternal being through Hemingway’s deconstruction of American ideals of democracy, unity and death, and consequently he is able to navigate a lifestyle in Europe which spiritually transcends the burden of his horrific physical wounding.

To conclude, both Fitzgerald and Hemingway’s thematic content of their novels demonstrate the tensions experienced within the American society of the 1920s – both on native soil and abroad. The Great Gatsby is seen as a “conscious indictment of the American Dream of success”, [62] as Fitzgerald – through his characterisation of Gatsby’s self-made nature and romantic aspiration – criticises the American upper-middle class’ preoccupation with established wealth. Moreover, Jake of The Sun Also Rises denotes Hemingway’s concerns of a democratic society; smothering dreams of individuality and denying unorthodox passions. It is clear then that both novelists believe that the American Dream is subverted from the original romance of the frontier into something poisonous, reinforcing the notion that “all is vanity except those actions which bring a sense of oneness with natural things”. [63] Gatsby and Jake are thus equivocally portrayed as both the victims and the victors of a society which closes in a “united front” [64] against the social outcast, ultimately providing a challenge of the revered American Dream and what it signifies to the individual of 1920s – and modern day – society.

[1] Richard Chase, ‘The Broken Circuit: A Culture of Contradictions’ in The American Novel and Its Tradition , (Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press, 1980) p.6-7

[2] F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘Echoes of the Jazz Age’ in The Crack Up, < http://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/anglo/ScottFitzgeraldEchoesOfTheJazzAge.pdf>   [accessed 21 st May 2014]

[3] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’ in The Expatriate Perspective: American Novelists and the Idea of America , (Cranbury, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1974) p.143

[4] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Hero’ in F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Critical Portrait , (London: The Bodley Head Press, 1966) p.123

[5] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) p.78

[6] Ibid.p.79

[7] Richard Chase, ‘Three Novels of Manners: The Great Gatsby’ in The American Novel and Its Tradition, p.162-3

[8] Ibid. p.163

[9] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, p.55

[10] Ibid. p.8

[11] Ibid. p.74

[12] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Hero’, p.114

[13] Ruth Prigozy, ‘Introduction’ in The Great Gatsby, xxxiii

[14] Ibid. xix

[15] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, p.103

[16] Ibid. p.86

[17] Ibid. p.103

[18] Richard Chase, ‘Three Novels of Manners: The Great Gatsby’, p.165

[19] Ruth Prigozy, ‘Introduction’, xxvii

[20] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.53

[21] Ibid. p.40

[22] Ibid. p.95

[23] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Form’, p.148

[24] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.88

[25] Ibid. p.90

[26] Ibid. p.76

[27] Richard Chase, ‘Three Novels of Manners: The Great Gatsby’, p.165

[28] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.143

[29] Ruth Prigozy, ‘Introduction’, xxii-iii

[31] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Hero’, p.124

[32] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.6

[33] Ibid. p.142

[34] Ibid. p.123

[35] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Hero’, p.125

[36] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.122

[37] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.143

[38] Ruth Prigozy, ‘Introduction’, xxxiv

[39] Richard Chase, ‘Three Novels of Manners: The Great Gatsby’, p.164

[40] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.144

[41] Ruth Prigozy, ‘Introduction’, xxii-iii

[42] F. Scott Fitzgerald, Letter to Ludlow Fowler, August 1924; Correspondence of F. Scott Fitzgerald, 145.

[43] F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , p.122

[44] Richard Chase, ‘The Broken Circuit: A Culture of Contradictions’ in The American Novel and Its Tradition, p.11

[45] Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises , (London: Vintage, 2000), p.39

[47] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’, p.151--2

[48] Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises , p.39

[49] Ibid. p.90

[50] Ibid. p.124

[51] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’, p.147

[52] Ibid. p.139

[53] Ibid p.147

[54] Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises , p.145-6

[55] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’, p.137

[56] Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, p.115

[57] Ibid. p.114

[58] Ibid. p.115

[59] Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1935), p.148-50

[60] Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, p.27

[61] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’, p.138

[62] Henry Dan Piper, ‘The Great Gatsby: Finding a Hero’, p.124

[63] Harold T. McCarthy, ‘Hemingway and Life as Play’, p.152

[64] Richard Chase, ‘Three Novels of Manners: The Great Gatsby’, p.114

brightONLINE student literary journal

18 nov 2014 .

• Editor area
• Faculty of Arts home
• About the Faculty of Arts site
• © University of Brighton Faculty of Arts - Powered by MySource Matrix
• Contact the brightONLINE student journal team
• Find out more about study and research in literature at the University of Brighton

“The Great Gatsby”: Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream

This essay about “The Great Gatsby” analyzes the core themes and narrative structure of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. It centers on Jay Gatsby, a symbol of the self-made American man, and his obsession with the elusive Daisy Buchanan, reflecting the broader societal decay and the hollowness of the American Dream during the Jazz Age. Through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, the story dissects the moral and social layers of 1920s America, contrasting Gatsby’s lavish parties with the bleak valley of ashes. The novel’s rich symbolism, particularly the green light on Daisy’s dock, underscores the perpetual quest for unattainable desires. The essay argues that Fitzgerald’s work is a critical examination of American idealism, material excess, and the inherent flaws in the pursuit of happiness through wealth.

How it works

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” written in 1925, is a deep dive into American dreams and disappointments during the Jazz Age. Through its tight story and rich characters, Fitzgerald paints a colorful picture of societal decay, shattered idealism, and the destructive power of obsession. Let’s explore the main themes and elements that make this novel so powerful.

At the center of the story is Jay Gatsby, a man who changes from a poor Midwestern boy to a rich New York socialite, symbolizing the self-made American man.

But Gatsby’s wealth isn’t just for show; it’s his way of trying to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. The sad irony of Gatsby’s life is that he achieves great wealth and social status, only to find them empty without Daisy. Daisy, married and part of the old-money class, becomes a symbol of Gatsby’s dreams and his ultimate downfall.

Fitzgerald uses the setting—both time and place—to highlight the novel’s themes. The roaring twenties, marked by a post-war economic boom and moral decline, provide the backdrop. Gatsby’s grand parties on West Egg, full of the era’s excesses, sharply contrast with the bleak valley of ashes, a dumping ground between the city and the suburbs that symbolizes the decay beneath society’s shiny surface. This stark contrast shows the disparities in American society and the illusion of the American Dream.

The narrator, Nick Carraway, offers a unique perspective on the story. As Gatsby’s neighbor and Daisy’s cousin, Nick is both a participant and an observer, often showing disillusionment with the hollow luxury he sees. His Midwestern values and moral judgments shape the narrative, offering a critique of the American upper class as he wrestles with his own place within or outside this world.

“The Great Gatsby” also subtly critiques the elusive nature of the American Dream. Gatsby’s tragic flaw isn’t just his obsession with Daisy but his belief that he can achieve his ideal through hard work and wealth. Fitzgerald suggests that Gatsby’s dream is flawed from the start, tainted by his shady business dealings and the shallowness of his social circle. The novel questions whether the American Dream is real or just an illusion leading to ruin, as seen in Gatsby’s fate.

Moreover, the narrative structure and symbolism—like the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock that Gatsby reaches for—enrich the novel’s themes. This green light symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future, serving as a powerful image of longing that drives the story and deepens its commentary on desire and the American experience.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” isn’t just a love story or a critique of the Jazz Age. It’s a profound exploration of the American spirit—its aspirations, its failures, and its endless restlessness. Fitzgerald captures the essence of an era and its lasting impact on American culture, making “The Great Gatsby” a timeless reflection on chasing dreams and the cost of living in pursuit of a goal that might always be out of reach. Through his elegant prose and poignant themes, Fitzgerald invites readers to ponder ambition and happiness in a world that might ultimately be beyond our control.

Cite this page

"The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream. (2024, Jun 28). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/

""The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream." PapersOwl.com , 28 Jun 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). "The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/ [Accessed: 2 Jul. 2024]

""The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream." PapersOwl.com, Jun 28, 2024. Accessed July 2, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/

""The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream," PapersOwl.com , 28-Jun-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/. [Accessed: 2-Jul-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). "The Great Gatsby": Themes of Desire, Decay, and the American Dream . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-great-gatsby-themes-of-desire-decay-and-the-american-dream/ [Accessed: 2-Jul-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

what is the american dream? how does gatsby represent this dream? does the novel praise or condemn gatsby's dream? has the american dream changed since gatsby's time?

The American Dream is the idea that anyone, regardless of their background, can be successful and achieve wealth, happiness, and success through hard work and determination.

In The Great Gatsby , Gatsby represents the American Dream, as he strives to achieve a lifestyle of wealth and luxury, believing that money can buy him happiness. The novel neither praises nor condemns Gatsby's dream, but rather presents it as a shallow and ultimately unfulfilling pursuit .

Since Gatsby's time, the American Dream has changed in several ways. The emphasis today is on achieving success through education and hard work, rather than simply acquiring wealth . The American Dream has also evolved to include greater diversity, as people of all backgrounds and ethnicities are now able to pursue their goals.

Additionally, the idea of a "good life" has become more individualized , with people of different backgrounds having different visions of what success looks like.

For more questions like American Dream click the link below:

https://brainly.com/question/10027798

Related Questions

during a speech, jo emphasizes a point by pounding a fist on the lectern while speaking. which function of physical delivery is this serving?

During a speech, jo emphasizes a point by pounding a fist on the lectern while speaking emphasizing function of physical delivery is this serving.

The authors or presenters use a number of verbal or nonverbal communication tactics to effectively communicate their intended notion. According to the description, "beating his fist on the podium" indicates that the speaker (minister) wants to underline the idea of "sin" and "evil" and effectively communicate.

Lecterns are tall reading desks with a sliding top for holding a book or notes.Therefore, reading notes while standing up and resting your hands on the lectern when not making movements during a speech is the greatest approach to use the lectern. Presidents frequently utilise a lectern when giving speeches as an illustration of this.

To know more about emphasizing visit:

https://brainly.com/question/14392344

the practical grammar rules that any language uses are called what? question 28 options: connotative rules symbolic interaction rules sapir-whorf rules syntactic rules

The practical grammar rules that any language uses regulative rules are normative rules that specify the proper way to carry out a speech act. The correct option is connotative rules.

Connotative rules specify which linguistic expressions qualify as instances of a particular speech act type.The norms of politeness are an example of regulative rules, whereas the rules of chess or sports are instances of constitutive rules.This is the phrase used to describe how people can communicate in a specific location.

It is the method by which they gather and share information from those around them.The individuals who live there may speak a particular language that is specific to that region. It might be picked up by other people or it might spread between civilizations that are close to one another. Language is the solution, therefore.

To know more about language visit:

https://brainly.com/question/28133054

Which text feature would best clarify the information in this part of Javier’s paper?

Avier's paper is discussing the effects of global warming on the environment. In order to clarify the information in Javier’s paper, the best text feature to use would be a table.

A table can be used to divide information into different categories and make it easier to compare and contrast the different effects of global warming on the environment . A table can also be used to organize complex information in a visually appealing way, making it easier to understand.

For example, Javier could create a table to compare the effects of global warming on different habitats , such as forests, oceans, and deserts. The table could include columns for each habitat, and the rows could include the different effects of global warming on the environment, such as changes in temperature, plant and animal populations, and water levels. The table could also include an additional column for a description of each effect and its potential consequences. This would make it easier for readers to quickly understand the different effects of global warming on the environment.

Learn more about global warming at :https://brainly.com/question/12908180

I’m writing an argumentative essay about the question “is the experience of being an outsider universal?” And I said yes my three reasons being because of you self-esteem, or because your an introvert, or just because you have different interests but I need help with my conclusion paragraph so can someone please help me

The best conclusion will include a synthesis, not just a summary—instead of a mere list of your major points, the best conclusion will draw those points together and relate them to one another so that your reader can apply the information given in the essay.

What is an argument?

An argument is a statement or series of statements, called premises, designed to determine the degree of truthfulness or acceptability of another statement, called a conclusion. Arguments can be examined from three main perspectives: logical, dialectical, and rhetorical.

In logic, arguments are usually expressed in symbolic formal language rather than in natural language, and can be defined as any group of propositions. premise for the conclusion. This logical reasoning perspective is relevant to scientific disciplines such as mathematics and computer science. Logic is the study of argumentative forms and the development of standards and criteria for evaluating arguments. Deductive arguments can be valid, and valid arguments can be valid. In a valid argument, one or more of the premises is false, and the premises require a conclusion, even if the conclusion is false. In any reasonable argument, true premises require true conclusions.

To know more about argument, visit:

https://brainly.com/question/3775579

which step is not part of monroe's motivated sequence pattern of organization for persuasive speeches?

The step that is not part of Monroe's motivated sequence pattern of organization for persuasive speeches is Contentment. (Option D)

Monroe's motivated sequence pattern developed by Alan H. Monroe is a motivated sequence which is a commonly used speech format used effectively to organize persuasive messages . The pattern comprises of five basic stages : attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. In the attention stage, a speaker established the audience’s attention and imagination of the listener is intrigued. In the need stage, the speaker demonstrated that the problem, or need for the plan. In the satisfaction stage, the speaker shows how their persuasive proposal could satisfy the need. The visualization stage shows how the future could be if the persuasive proposal is or is not adopted. Lastly, in the action stage the speaker urges the audience to take some kind of action to help enact the speaker’s persuasive proposal. Hence, contentment is not a step in the sequence.

Note: The question is incomplete as it is missing options are A) Need B) Attention C) Visualization D) Contentment.

Learn more about Monroe's motivated sequence pattern :

https://brainly.com/question/28269028

1. Why do the villagers shun Long Arrow at the beginning of the story?

Long Arrow is shunned by the people at the start of the story because he keeps a dog with him.

these words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. what is the connotative meaning of the word heart as it is used in this sentence?

Connotative meaning refers to the associations that are connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word .

Connotation is the use of a word to imply a different association from its denotative, or literal, meaning. For instance, the phrase "She's feeling blue" refers to a state of grief as well as the color blue.

Connotations may be neutral, negative, or positive. Connotations are frequently used by writers to add additional levels of meaning to a word, phrase, or piece . Consider the following example: "The dog is slim." It is merely a statement of truth, thus it carries neutral connotations . The identical statement, when recast as "The dog is emaciated," has negative implications since the word " emaciated " suggests that the dog's owner is careless.

Learn more about connotative here:

https://brainly.com/question/14394685

in this data, a mother is speaking to her child, who is a spanish-english bilingual. some of the child's utterances include words in spanish, which are underlined. there is a translation provided in quotation marks underneath each line that includes spanish. what does this codeswitch behavior likely indicate?

A mother is speaking to her child is a spanish-english bilingual.Southern arizona is home to a large number of astronomical observatories due to the state's open terrain and high altitudes.

Which are ideal for making observations.Manners classes have historically been offered in schools and homes in the Spanish-speaking world because people there believe that a child who is taught manners will grow up to be a better person. Among the advantages of bilingual education.

The advantage of full-immersion schools is that every student will be able to communicate with one another.because the south of Arizona is quite open and has a lot of space, both of which are crucial for setting up observatories because Spanish speakers believe that a polite child will grow up to be a polite adult.

To know more about Spanish -en g l i s h visit:

https://brainly.com/question/2235747

How is the authors description of the fourth amendment different from that described in the district court dismissal of aclu v. clapper

The complaint contends that the trawl disregards the right to security safeguarded by the Fourth Amendment as well as the freedoms of discourse and affiliation safeguarded by the Principal Amendment.

The complaint additionally charges that the program surpasses the power that Congress gave in Segment 215 of the Patriot Act. In May 2015, the Court of Allures for the Subsequent Circuit decided that the call-records program abuses Area 215 of the Patriot Act. Weeks after the fact, on June 1, 2015, Area 215 momentarily terminated interestingly since the entry of the Patriot Act in 2001. The following day, Congress passed the USA Freedom Act , which altered Segment 215 to preclude the mass assortment of Americans' call records. On June 5, 2013, The Gatekeeper uncovered subtleties of the NSA's homegrown spying activities, including a mystery request from the Unfamiliar Knowledge Reconnaissance Court (FISC) to Verizon Business Organization Services. The request expected the organization to turn over "a continuous consistent schedule" call subtleties including whom calls are put to and from, when those calls are made, and the way long they last. This data, known as metadata, can uncover cozy insights regarding our confidential lives. On June 11, the ACLU and NYCLU, the two of which are current or late Verizon Business clients, documenting the claim to end the public authority's call-following project and have each of the gathered information erased. In December 2013, a bureaucratic adjudicator conceded the public authority's movement to excuse, and we effectively pursued it.

To learn more about law and order,

https://brainly.com/question/29455194

Hello do anyone know anything about this book called The House on Mango Street????

The house on mango street is a wonderful story written by author Sandra Cisneros that depicts a young girl named Esperanza that moves to Chicago around the age of 12 and is faced with many difficult challenges such as puberty, sexual assault and the death of family members. But trough all these tragic experiences she grows from a lady into a woman. It is a coming of age story the author chooses a very venerable time in a young woman life where everything is changing and they have to learn to adapt to it and grow from it and I believe that is why so many people relate and enjoy this story because they've experienced the what the main protagonist has and feel a connection to them. I really enjoyed this novel even if I'm not a woman I could relate to the story in other ways a big part of the story is that Esperanza's family is a different ethnicity and live in a oppressed community growing up for most of my life my family lived in a tough neighborhood and were at times harassed for their ethnicity luckily I haven't had to face this problem myself because of light skin completion but I have seen my parents go trough and would never wish it upon my worst enemy. I really enjoyed the book would have enjoyed it a little more if there was male version dealing with the problems guys have going into puberty. But overall I would really recommend this book to anyone that's is coming of age or that is relatively young I do believe they will enjoy it.

Explanation:

Which bet decribe a theme of the Time of the Butterflie? a. The Mirabal iter are the mot important people from the Dominican Republic. B. Freedom and Imprionment. It' hard for iter to be friend becaue they are too competitive. D. Family tick together, no matter what the cot

The following options best encapsulate a Time of the Butterflies theme : (D) Family stick together, no matter what the cost.

The topic of family sticking together in the face of difficulties is a powerful one in the tale Time of the Butterflies. The premise of the story makes it clear that the Trujillo dictatorship at the time opposed the Mirabal sisters strongly. They were nonetheless able to stay friends and have their thoughts heard in society in spite of this.

A story's theme is its overarching point or thesis. The importance of familial ties is one of the story's primary meanings. The sister was able to keep a close friendship despite the difficulties they had in their personal life and in their relationships with their partners.

To know more about themes refer to this link:

brainly.com/question/25336781

Which line from the play exhibits the archetype of the hero having a special quality?BARRINGTON: I realize that the visitations to the child prodigy are scheduled to conclude at two but I imagine you might spare a few moments for me. (line 16)BARRINGTON: Because, Madam, I believe your son may have a brilliant future. Possibly more brilliant than any of us can imagine. (line 44)ANNA MARIA: I understand. I understand that Wolfgang no longer matters to you. (line 50)LEOPOLD: What’s this? You are the one who was always so impressed by the glitter of the court. (line 59)

The line that exhibits the archetype of the hero having a special quality is: "BARRINGTON: Because, Madam, I believe your son may have a brilliant future. Possibly more brilliant than any of us can imagine ." (line 44)

This line suggests that Barrington sees Wolfgang as having exceptional potential and a bright future, which is a characteristic often associated with heroes in literature.

The phrase "more brilliant than any of us can imagine" suggests that Wolfgang's potential is extraordinary and may even surpass the limits of what is currently known or comprehended .

This line suggests that Barrington sees Wolfgang as having heroic qualities and sees him as someone who has the potential to achieve great things. Learn more about exhibits the archetype of the hero: https://brainly.com/question/29696146 #SPJ4

Imagine you are writing a reearch paper on how extracurricular influence college tudent’ ucce. Decide if the following example are primary, econdary, or tertiary ource

Consider the example : An article from a university newspaper.The correct answer would be Secondary Source .

A primary source is a source of information that has not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. Examples of primary sources include interviews, diaries, letters, original documents, photographs, and objects from the past.

A secondary source is a source of information that provides an analysis or interpretation of primary sources. Secondary sources may include books, articles, and other materials that draw on primary sources and offer a different perspective . Examples of secondary sources include biographies, histories, critical analyses, and encyclopedias.

A tertiary source is a source of information that is based on secondary sources. Examples of tertiary sources include bibliographies , indexes, abstracts, and other reference materials.

In this case, an article from a university newspaper would be considered a secondary source. The article provides an analysis or interpretation of primary sources, such as interviews, diaries, and other materials. As such, it is not a primary source nor is it a tertiary source.

Learn more about bibliography at :https://brainly.com/question/28145501

Julie seems to be happy playing with the 2 barbie dolls she got for christmas until she goes to school the next week. She notices that several of her friends received not only barbie dolls, but barbie playhouses too. Suddenly julie feels short-changed by her parents

Answer: bahaha that sounds like a her problem

why is reverend parris reluctant to tell people that someone in his house may be bewitched?

Reverend Parris is hesitant to inform people that he may have a charmed person living in his home because he fears that his adversaries would ruin his reputation.

Parris first refused to consider the possibility of bewitching or witchcraft taking on in his own home. However, Tituba, the Parris' slave, is suspected of witchcraft and fabricates a story about it in an effort to protect herself. She also claims that there are other witches in the neighborhood.

Parris is concerned, despite Putnam's attempts to convince him that he should declare the existence of witchcraft. He is aware that some residents of Salem wish to have him expelled, and a family-related witchcraft scandal would give them the authority to do so.

To learn more about reverend Parris Visit : brainly.com/question/25748009

sending an email to a victim while impersonating a legitimate company is called what?

Answer: Phishing

Heredity is described as the passage of genetic instructions from one generation to the next generation. select two of the examples which are a result of heredity.

A biological process called heredity involves the transmission of genetic material from parents to their children commensalism,traits,phenotype are the example of heredity.

Genes, which are a form of genetic information, are passed from parents to their children through both asexual and sexual reproduction . The fundamental structural and operational unit of heredity is the gene. The genetic instructions, or sequences of nucleotides and bases.

Required to produce a given protein are found in genes.Therefore, genes are expressed as proteins to create genotypic and phenotypic features in a child that are identical to those of a parent. This demonstrates that genetic instructions are passed from one generation to the following through inheritance.

To know more about Heredity visit:

https://brainly.com/question/11644250

satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but i am solitary and abhorred.

Frankenstein is one of my favorite books! Do you need a question answered or were you just sharing a cool quote?

PLEASE HELP and give explanation if you can. ILL MARK YOU BRAINLIST

If you are ever in Washington

Explanation: It's perky, and reading the paragraph seems somewhat like an AD for the city.

the interpretation of the language and symbols sent by the source through a channel is called .

The interpretation of the language and symbols sent by the source through a channel is called decoding.

Decoding is the process of interpreting the meaning of symbols, words, and phrases that are sent through a communication channel . It is the act of translating information from a communication source, such as a sender or encoder, into a form that can be understood by a receiver or decoder. This process can be applied to various forms of communication, such as verbal, non-verbal, written, or visual.

For instance, when speaking to someone verbally, the sender encrypts their message using words and tone of voice. The communication is then decoded by the recipient by analyzing the words and voice tone to determine what it is saying. Similar to this, when someone sends a written communication, the sender encrypts it using words, syntax, and punctuation; the recipient decodes it by deciphering the words, syntax, and punctuation to determine the message's meaning.

Because it enables the sender and receiver to effectively interact with one another and comprehend one another's messages, decoding is a crucial component of communication. Communication would not be feasible without decoding. In order to correctly decode the signals, it is crucial for both the sender and the recipient to comprehend the language and symbols used in communication.

To read more about decoding, ref:

https://brainly.com/question/4038724?referrer=searchResults

Which of these is a fact? A. Culinary therapy is an improvement over traditional therapies. B. Culinary therapy makes the chore of cooking much more enjoyable. C. Culinary therapy is the most useful form of therapy. D. Culinary therapy uses cooking to help people relax and concentrate.

D. Culinary therapy uses cooking to help people relax and

concentrate.

Culinary therapy is a form of therapy that involves using cooking and food as a means to address physical, emotional, and mental health issues. It is believed that the process of cooking and preparing food can have a therapeutic effect, helping people to relax and focus on the task at hand. While culinary therapy may be beneficial for some people, it is not necessarily superior to other forms of therapy and should not be considered the most useful form of therapy for all individuals. It is also not intended to make the chore of cooking more enjoyable, but rather to use cooking as a means of addressing specific therapeutic goals.

A speaker that introduces a presentation by telling a numerous story is

It is called a false start,

Explanation: It attention grabbing, and creates an atmosphere of suspense.

What is the purpose of a interview

To get to know you and your skills and qualifications before your hired

Hope this helps

In the land of Lilliput, what caued the ancient temple to be viewed a "profane?"

I think Swift was trying to convey to us his opinion of the Lilliputians ' religious disputes by having them lock Gulliver up in a temple .

Being at a temple is not actually all that significant for Gulliver. What matters is the reason Gulliver can live in the temple.

The temple is deserted because the populace thinks a murder has desecrated it. This, in my opinion, is intended to highlight the Lilliputians' fervour for their religion. Swift observes that the Lilliputians' disputes over religion are a major contributor to many of their issues. They fight about their religion because they are so fervent about it.

This temple is deserted because of their intense religious conflict. Swift makes a point of this by having Gulliver placed in a deserted temple.

learn more about " Gulliver travels " here https://brainly.com/question/2967363

read this excerpt from the body paragraph of an argumentative essay. the secret service guards government, how could this excerpt be improved as the writer revise the essay? the writer could focus on a different federal agency

This excerpt from " the secret service guards government " can be improved as the writer revise the essay as the writer could include more details and factual support.

The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that needs the scholar to analyze a subject, collect, generate, and value proof, and establish a grip on the subject during a curt manner. Argumentative essay assignments usually necessitate in depth analysis of literature or antecedently revealed material.

Degree of factual support ,' because the name. suggests, may be a functor. It measures a relation between a hypothesis and its. evidence. Specifically we are going to contemplate the hypothesis and also the proof as declared.

To learn more about argumentative essay here

brainly.com/question/27807626

The team _____ won is my favorite team.a) whichb) thatc) who d) whom

The next day, Kelly ak Tamara about her firt day eating healthier food. Write the converation between Kelly and Tamara. How wa Tamara' firt day on her new diet? Doe Kelly have any more advice for Tamara?

There are seven critical elements for a balanced diet : carbs, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water.

They had a conversation about eating healthier food which involves certain steps that are discussed as follows:

Maintain a healthful frame weight. Eat at the least 5 servings of sparkling culmination and greens every day. Reduce the quantity of sugar you devour and drink. Eat mild quantities of healthful fat and restriction dangerous fat. Get half-hour of bodily pastime each day. Manage your stress . Eat not less than three balanced food in step with day. Eat 7 servings of fruit and greens in step with day. Eat your fruit do not drink it.

To learn more about balanced diet check the link below:

https://brainly.com/question/25596307

Frequently, critics use the word motif interchangeably with

Frequently, critics use the word motif interchangeably with theme and leit-motif.

A motif is a recurring pattern, an image, sound, word, or symbol that appears repeatedly throughout a certain story. It is a dominant idea or main theme as in the arts.

An example of a motif in literature is "death." The word "death" need not always be used when expressing the motif. For example, he might write "funeral," "grave," or "dead."

The terms motif, theme, and leit-motif are frequently used synonymously in criticism . a caustic humorous attack on or critique of any folly or vice, or a criticism of what the author views as harmful religious, political, moral, or social standards.

Learn more on motif here: https://brainly.com/question/10751106

Preplan your 5 paragraph essay. Take your chosen quote, explain the quote, discuss themes and characters in texts you've read that relate to your quote. These topics need to examine how those themes and characters demonstrate the meaning of the quote. Compare/contrast the qualities of your chosen text to the quote. Jot down notes or fill out a traditional outline to plan out the list of topics to cover. You will also want to keep a list of sources handy to create your 3 citations and works cited page. << Read Less

Introduction:

Introduce the quote and provide context for its significance

Provide an overview of the themes and characters that will be discussed in the essay

Paragraph 1:

Discuss the first theme or character that relates to the quote

Provide specific examples from the text to illustrate how this theme or character demonstrates the meaning of the quote

Paragraph 2:

Discuss the second theme or character that relates to the quote

Paragraph 3:

Compare and contrast the qualities of the text to the quote

Discuss how the text's themes and characters reinforce or challenge the meaning of the quote

Conclusion:

Summarize the main points of the essay

Explain the significance of the quote and its relationship to the text

End with a final thought or reflection on the quote's meaning

Citations and Works Cited:

Include 3 citations in the essay using the appropriate citation style (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago)

Create a works cited page listing all of the sources used in the essay, formatted according to the chosen citation style.

Daughter of invention commonlit answers 1-11?

'' Daughter of invention '' is a story that tells us success may result from pursuing someone's failure.

Learn more about Daughter of Invention story refer to :

https://brainly.com/question/20874160

Home — Q&A — Literature — The Great Gatsby — Why Did Gatsby Fail To Achieve The American Dream?

Why Did Gatsby Fail To Achieve The American Dream?

Jay Gatsby spent his whole life earning the wealth and reputation that he thought would win Daisy over, and get the connection they had before he went to war back. “He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it”, was a quote spoken by Nick Carraway in the book. It portrays the impression that although Gatsby was rich and could afford anything, he would never be able to get the thing he wanted the most, Daisy. Daisy is the final puzzle piece to his grand vision – attaining Daisy will open the door towards his joining the aristocratic class, something his wealth alone doesn't allow. Daisy will give him status, Daisy will bring back the past, Daisy will give his counterfeit life authenticity, Daisy will make him happy. Daisy is Gatsby's idea of the American Dream. However, Daisy never wanted to admit to her husband, Tom, that she had feelings for Gatsby, no matter how much money Gatsby had, which meant he never got his happiness. This situation shows that money doesn’t bring happiness, as Jay could buy anything he wanted, except for the person he wanted. Connections and relationships with people bring happiness, and they are not something you can buy. Gatsby died unhappy with no friends or family because of his money. The Great Gatsby is a novel that demonstrates the failure of the American Dream in post-war America because of people’s misunderstanding of it and their materialistic view of modern life. The early twentieth century saw the corruption of the American Dream which was interpreted by people of a search for an easy, materialistic, often immoral and spiritually quite decadent life.

• Foreshadowing in The Great Gatsby
• Dust in The Great Gatsby: Symbolism and Societal Decay
• Disillusionment in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
• Differences Between Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby
• Deception in The Great Gatsby: Illusions and Realities
• Vices in The Great Gatsby

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free