Table of contents:-
Personal Information
Assignment Details
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Overview of the Novel
Defending the American Dream
Aspects of American Dream in Great Gatsby
Conclusion
References
Personal Information:-
Name:- Divya Bharatbhai Jadav
Batch :- M.A.sem 2 ( 2023- 2025)
Email Address:- divyajadav5563@gmail. com
Roll number:- 7
Assignment Details:-
Topic:- ‘American Dream’ in F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
Paper:-106: The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to World War II
Subject code:- 22399
Submitted to:- Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar
Date of Submission:- 26 April 2024
About Assignment:- In this assignment I will try to define’ American Dream' in the Fitzgerald famous novel Great Gatsby.
Abstract:-
This writing is mainly intended to reveal the aspects of American dreams in Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. The stressed aspects. are Pursuit of happiness, Persistence, Self-reliance, Individualistic, and The way to wealth. This is qualitative research. This tries to describe the aspects of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by using a sociological approach. This study is started by an assumption that the collapse of American society is caused by the condition as shown in the novel The Great Gatsby. So then, where is the American Dream? This question leads this writing in studying the values of American Dream as reflected in The Great Gatsby The result of this analysis shows that, The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald reflect the aspects of American Dream such as pursuit of happiness, persistence, self-reliance, the way to wealth, and individualistic
Keywords: The aspects of the American Dream, The Great Gatsby, Pursuit of Happiness, The way to wealth, Persistency, Individualistic, Self Reliance
Introduction:-
American society is one of the more significant themes in America. Literature. They have several items that they believe such as freedom, individualism, self-reliance, competition, hard work, equality of opportunity and wealth.
The story of America is an exciting one, filled with evolution and armazing energy unprecedented in world history. The provocative reputation of America is the celebrated ideal of the American Dream, the fantasy of complete independence and self-reliance mixed with opportunity to attain wealth through one's labours. On the other hand, this case seems almost enchanted, offering people the unprecedented prospect of achieving success. The American Dream is exactly what appears to be the ceaseless opportunity. temptation of pleasure.F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is an immortal illustration of the American Dream.
Overview of the Novel:-
The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a layered exploration of the American Dream and the Jazz Age society of the 1920s. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest who moves to New York to work in the bond business. He rents a house in the affluent West Egg neighbourhood of Long Island, next door to the mysterious and extravagant Jay Gatsby.Gatsby is known for his lavish parties, but his past is shrouded in mystery. Through Nick's eyes, we learn that Gatsby is deeply in love with Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin and the wife of the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Gatsby's relentless pursuit of Daisy is the driving force of the novel.As the story unfolds, we learn about Gatsby's humble origins, his rise to wealth through shady dealings, and his belief in the power of wealth to win back Daisy.
The novel exposes the emptiness and moral decay of the wealthy elite, as well as the corruption and disillusionment of the American Dream.Fitzgerald uses rich symbolism and vivid imagery to depict the excesses of the era, from Gatsby's opulent mansion to the decadent parties and reckless behaviour of the characters. The novel explores themes of love, ambition, social class, and the fleeting nature of happiness.Ultimately, "The Great Gatsby" is a tragic tale of unfulfilled dreams and the impossibility of recapturing the past. Gatsby's obsession with Daisy leads to his downfall, as he becomes a victim of his own illusions and the corrupt society in which he lives. Through Nick's reflections, the novel offers a poignant commentary on the fragility of the American Dream and the enduring allure of the past.
Defending the American Dream
The American Dream has been for more than 200 years the most compelling and the most desired dreams of all times. It started almost 400 years ago with Puritans immigrating to America to become after that the driving engine of a whole nation. The movement of religious immigrants to America had started as early as the beginning of the 17th century, but it was only in 1630 that 700 Puritans led by John Winthrop would settle the American shore with the belief that New England was a chosen land from God, distinguished and exceptional. They were among the firsts to set the values of a belief that for a long time would be the idol of every person on earth.
The American Dream can be defined as the belief that anyone that works hard to achieve success in America can achieve it. This belief is consistent to everyone and no race, class, gender or nationality distinction makes the difference. For ten score years, this has been the prevailing idea of Americanism and most of the other nation's citizens sought to reach this.
The first to mention the term American Dream is James Truslow Adams who was an historian and writer. He defines it as "the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.Terms such as social, gender, religious inequality, racism, xenophobia etc. become invaluable while facing the values of the American Dream.
Aspects of American Dream in Great Gatsby :-
The Great Gatsby is a mere description of the culture of the 1920s and the impact this culture had in the failure of the so-called American Dream. In this section the culture of consumerism, being an epitome of "going from rags to riches", luxury, parties, attempts to become an "old money' ' will be discussed. All these factors and the replacement of the old Protestant values of work ethic and pursuit of happiness of the Declaration of Independence with leisure and pursuit of wealth supply the demise of a dream that has been the driving force of a whole nation.
Pursuit of Happiness
In the United States several factors have long served to inhibit full realisation of the traditional ideal of equal opportunity, not the least of these factors is membership in a particular group or cohort. Many members of such. groups are categorically denied the right to fulfil their own potentialities in the "pursuit of happiness".
Pursuit of Happiness in the novel The Great Gatsby, can be seen through the character of Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Tom and Daisy were married and even had a child, but they both still committed adultery. Like Daisy was having an affair with Gatsby.
The Way To Wealth
The way to wealth in The Great Gatsby is the same as how to get Gatsby's success in his life. Actually James Gatz is the first name of Jay Gatsby. He had changed his name at the age of seventeen at the specific moment that the beginning of his career, why Gatsby changed his name.
"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. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end."
Persistency in this novel can be seen through Gatsby who works hard for the love of Daisy, because Gatsby is still that poor delivery boy of many years before. The story begins when Gatsby knew a woman. That woman is a young virgin.
Unfortunately the woman's family didn't like him because he was a poor man,Gatsby was revolted. After five years of extremely focused labour, Gatsbywas finally in the position to achieve his success. He had the money, the house,the social connection; everything was in place for him to finally realise his aspirations. To attract the attention of Daisy, Gatsby always celebrated a big party. in order for Daisy to come to his party. But in his party he does not drink, he does not dance and he is only an observer. Gatsby invited Nick to his party but Nick had never seen the host.
Individualistic
The individual concept emphasises the superiority of the individual. This concept relies much on the individualism performance. The individualism. phenomena can be found growing well in urban people. It is obvious in an urban area. people have a tendency to consider that life must go on individual effort. To reach the best achievement we need perseverance and courage. We do not have toexpect aid from the other.
In The Great Gatsby, the individualistic can be seen in Tom Buchanan characters. He was a wealthy man and supported Wilson's garage and helped him. Beside that he disbelieved about Gatsby as an Oxford man. He suspects Gatsby lies about his past.
Self-Reliance in this story has several points. The first is the beginning of the story when Nick comes into the East and learns the bond business. His father. advice to him, as follows:
"Whenever you feel like criticising anyone, he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had”
Conclusion:-
In conclusion, the central moral dilemma of American life that Fitzgerald illustrated in the novel The Great Gatsby was an illustration of contemporary life of human beings. He describes the possibilities of life among the wealth, the lack among the rich, and among the poor.
In our lives, we often find people who are very sensitive to the promises of life and they may think that money is a necessary ingredient. The last may be called the people who are materialistic. Besides, many people in our lives are corrupted by the pursuit of wealth and others may be corrupted by easy access to inherited wealth.
Therefore, The Great Gatsby is not only a great story, but it is the story of real life during the "Roaring Twenties' ', and it has a permanent place in American literature as well as referring to the problems of American wealth. The Great Gatsby shows us the way people will fall into hands of money, greed and power and get involved in illegal activities to get where they want and what they want. This story is a perfect example of the fall of the American Dream in the1920s.
References :-
Callahan, John F. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Evolving American Dream: The ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ in Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and The Last Tycoon.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 42, no. 3, 1996, pp. 374–95. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/441769. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327679603_American_Dream_of_Scott_Fitzgerlad
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