The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby
The amoral and unregulated struggles to accumulate wealth and live the perfect life is the ultimate adversary to the achievement of the ideal American dream. The use of unethical and carefree means to obtain wealth and achieve the American dream makes the realization of the dream not worthwhile. The poor who climb the social status through their effort are subject to the “old money” individuals in the higher social class, to either destroy them or build them (Pearson, 641). Therefore, the aristocratic rich who are perceived to live the ideal American dream are hindered and disturbed by the lack of psychological peace while the mostly good hearted low class who raise their standards face are challenged by the aristocratic wealth in all scenarios.
First, the American dream is the utopian illusion of a perfect and prosperous livelihood of the people characterized with advancement in social status and wealth accrual that are allowed to individual hard work. America during the 1920s after the world war was fortunate regarding the growing materialistic wealth and money. The accumulation of the wealth was, on the other hand, unchecked, and social morals were abandoned because of the hypocrisy that would be linked to it considering the carnage caused during the First world war.
The means of achieving the idolized dream was not a primary emphasis rather the level of wealth after the ascension to the top. The name and fame will be based on the person when he is wealthy as seen by all those around him.

But the route and how the wealth was obtained is not always of concern. But everyone did not have same chances, illustrated by “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald, 3) This, therefore, attributes the aspect of achieving this illusion to the personal effort in whatsoever way necessary and not considering the moral standards required.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, portrays the American dream in three progressive ways that shape the final view of it. It starts with the optimistic nature of its achievement by anyone with the necessary combination of hard work and choices illustrated by the different characters from varying social classes that attended Gatsby’s parties. It then proceeds to the skeptical and doubtful level that is highlighted when Fitzgerald talks about the protagonist’s background and how he acquired the wealth he possessed, this tells the reader that the rise is not as smooth and perfect as it seems but leaves some hope on the matter. The quote “Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry” (Fitzgerald, 95) explains this reaction by the reader. The nature that is portrayed in the novel is the pessimistic nature at the end of the movie when the dreams that were passionately invested in led to the tragic death of the Gatsby.
This Utopian illusion is epitomized clearly by the character of Jay Gatsby whose live is described from his tender age where he was poor until his demise as he struggles to achieve the dream from the quote, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . And one fine morning…So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald, 153-154). His driving force it the rekindling of his love for Daisy that requires wealth and a particular social class which he achieves efficaciously although through untrue means. The achievement is otherwise not the last key to winning Daisy, and this love and hope become his death as he covers for Daisy who immediately forgets him after his death and does not even attend his funeral.
In conclusion, the American dream can act as the driving force and the engine for the hard work of an individual to succeed in the end. The negligence of the struggles encountered during the fight is a setback that discouraged the enjoyment and satisfaction obtained. The dream should hence not be pursued with single and deterministic goals that if they fail will cause unhappiness.
Second, the character and the habits of a person are illustrated by their attempts to achieve the American dream as it describes and explains the reasons for individual choices exemplified in this quote, “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald, 65) The characters not fixated or predetermined but are a factor of what surrounds them. Their decisions are therefore influenced by the situations they find themselves in. Some characters are opportunistic and take every chance possible to insulate themselves from different consequences and troubles from actions while others own up, and their admirable personas are built.
Gatsby’s love for Daisy is the driving force and purpose that makes him work harder after the first world war to achieve the wealth necessary to gain back his love. This makes him lie to Daisy concerning his social class and prompts Gatsby to use different illegal means to acquire his property. He is involved in illegal sale of alcohol to both rich and the poor and also him being a bootlegger gave him a platform and opportunity to accrue his wealth. To this effect he manages to lure Daisy into an affair that is exciting and filled with love, he extravagantly spends on her hoping to make her wife (Fitzgerald, 129). In his extravagance the end up in the Valley of Ashes where they fuel and while driving away the hit Myrtle which brings about his death from her husband when Tom Buchanan points Wilson to the owner of the car.
From the struggles in the novel, the characterization of Jay Gatsby as a good-hearted and loyal person is seen in his struggle to achieve the American dream. His love for Daisy is so overwhelming for him that he decides to take the fault for the death of George Wilson’s wife. Despite knowing that Daisy is involved the consequences of that will follow if he owned up, Gatsby selflessly accepts the fate which ultimately leads to his death. This allows the readers to perceive him as a person of good heart.
His catch phrase, “Old sport” is a reason that is breed by the want to achieve the dream and associate himself with the aristocratic class. He adopts this catchphrase which was used by the wealthy during his time and makes it a signature phrase for him. He also claims severally to be an Oxford man to imply that he was learned which was a characteristic of the “old money” rich people. The consequence of these two habits he development was the scrutiny and ridicule from Tom and Jordan Baker. They doubt him and question him to ascertain if he was an Oxford man; this brings hostility and anger between the two of them.
In summary, the utopian illusion of a perfect life often drives people to do unimaginable things that usually end up frustrating or causing distress and sadness if they are built upon false and backgrounds. The fact that social vices were a major factor in Fitzgerald’s novel indicates the definite consequences and aftermaths that eventually surface for every choice or decision made by an individual. This is illustrated by the Gatsby’s statement “Your wife doesn’t love you,” said Gatsby. “She’s never loved you. She loves me.”(Fitzgerald, 238)
Thirdly, surrounding the American dream with wealth is a culture that diminishes the basic happiness and satisfaction it can offer is sought within the accepted social limits. Looking for property and using the acquired wealth as a means to achieve and succeed in the achievement of the dream is a struggle that is perceived to work in the end but has proved to end in sorrow in The Great Gatsby and the film Citizen Kane. Foster Kane talks about how he accumulated his wealth in the phrase, “Six years ago, I looked at picture of the world’s greatest newspaper men. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Well, tonight, six years later, I got my candy. All of it.” (Citizen Kane). Wealth should not be a figure of measure for success, but the personal satisfaction obtained from the simple day to day activities.
Gatsby and Kane are both determined to fill a missing gap in their lives. Despite the difference in the particular thing they want to fulfill they both have the same magnitude regarding meaning in their lives. Gatsby want the love of Daisy to make him complete and happy which he does so using his wealth which proves to be inefficient in enabling him to achieve his dreams. Similarly, Foster Kane yearns for the love of his family that seems to be out of his reach despite the wealth and the power he commands. From his words “You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn’t been very rich, I might have been a really great man” (Citizen Kane), Kane acknowledges that the wealth distances him from the person he would have been if he had been not rich. These two characters are detailed in their failure by their onlooker in Fitzgerald’s novel.
The two character come from poor backgrounds, and they despise those backgrounds, this hate for poverty is, therefore, their propellant in striving to become wealthy. When they achieve the success and in their quest to achieve pleasure and happiness they both use this power and wealth they have obtained to hide their insecurities and weaknesses. This is illustrated by Gatsby’s habit to want to be always in control even with the truth of the matter is otherwise. The lack of personal psychological power is thus the factors that led to the two characters’ downfall. Thompson says “I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a piece in a jigsaw puzzle—a missing piece.” (Citizen Kane) to describe the complex nature of Kane.
Jay Gatsby is aware of what he wants and the purpose of his struggle to obtain wealth from the beginning. To reignite the love between him and Daisy before he went to fight in the world war was the primary reason for the accumulation of his wealth and building of his celebrity persona to climb the ladder of social status. In contrast, Foster Kane is a complicated man who does not obviously display what his intentions are in the different actions he does (Welles, 198). This might be a habit because of his political nature when he also says, “I always gagged on that silver spoon.” (Citizen Kane) at the beginning. This thus separates the two characters who are similar in their stories.
In summary, the Fitzgerald describes the various characters and these in his novel using symbols that have different meanings. He counts on the characters in the story to give meaning to the symbols which are interpreted according to situations and feelings. He brings out the illusion of this American dream through the geographical locational and the split between the poor and the rich signified by the valley of ashes. In conclusion, the negligence of the moral aspects of life while seeking to achieve success in life takes its toll when one has achieved his or her goal and this consequence deprives an individual the happiness that was being sought in the first place. This, therefore, makes the American dream to be an endless maze with complexities and challenges caused by their own choices.
Works Cited
Pearson, Roger L. “Gatsby: False prophet of the American dream.” The English Journal 59.5 (1970): 638-645.
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 42.3 (1996): 374-395.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby.Ware: Wordsworth Classics, 1993. Print
Welles, Orson. “Citizen Kane.” 1941 (1941).

The Outline
The amoral and unregulated struggles to accumulate wealth and live the perfect life is the ultimate adversary to the achievement of the ideal American dream
First, the American dream is the utopian illusion of a perfect and prosperous livelihood of the people characterized with advancement in social status and wealth accrual that are allowed to individual hard work
Second, the character and the habits of a person are illustrated by their attempts to achieve the American dream as it describes and explains the reasons for individual choices
Thirdly, surrounding the American dream with wealth is a culture that diminishes the basic happiness and satisfaction it can offer is sought within the accepted social limits.
In conclusion, the negligence of the moral aspects of life while seeking to achieve success in life takes its toll when one has achieved his or her goal and this consequence deprives an individual the happiness that was being sought in the first place. This, therefore, makes the American dream to be an endless maze with complexities and challenges caused by their own choices.