The American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The American Dream There is no set definition to be found anywhere of the true meaning of The American Dream. Any hope, dream, or goal which was pursued by anyone in the history of America is on an American Dream.In modern times the accepted dream seems to be 2.5 children, a house with a white picket fence, and a perfect spouse. However, as it is shown through out literature from the early days of America to contemporary times the American Dream is not always so simple a concept. America was originally founded on the dream of freedom.People have freedom to pursue what they want.That is the ideal behind the American Dream. Early stories in American literature are about peoples pursuit of the freedom to worship as they pleased. Another version of the American Dream is the hope that immmigrants had of building a better life for their children than they had, as shown in the book My Antonia. Another is the search for acceptance, which is shown in the book Black Boy. Another is simply the hope to survive, as shown in the book Lord of the Flies. Whatever the dream, the most interesting thing that can be read or written about it is the drive of people to attain it.This is best shown in The Great Gatsby. The Pursuit of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby,a novel by F,Scott Fitzgerald,is about the American Dream,and the downfall of the people who try to reach it.The American Dream means something different to different people,but in The Great Gatsby,for Jay Gatsby,the subject of the book,the dream is that through acquiring wealth and power,one can also gain happiness.To reach his idea of what happiness is,Gatsby must go back in time and relive an old dream.To do this,he believes,he must first have wealth and power. Jay Gatsby is a man who does not wish to live in the present because it offers him nothing.He spends the majority of his adult life trying to recapture his past and,eventually,dies in his pursuit of it.The reason he wishes to relive the past is because long ago he had a love affair with the rich Daisy Buchanan,who he fell deeply in love with.However,he knew that they could never get married due to the difference in their economic and social statuses.He wants to marry her,but because of this problem he leaves her to gain wealth and social status in order to reach her standards.