The failure of the American dream : The Great Gatsby

Abstract

American Dream has distinctive implications for diverse individuals. To some, it implies that one can accomplish whatever one wants through living this dream which will take one to his/her desired objectives. To others, it is an open door that everybody wishes to enter through and in the event that they get the open door, at exactly that point would they be able to taste the delight of the American Dream. The Americans of the post world war era were so enthusiastic about achieving their cravings that they got to be uncontrollably vigorous about accomplishing a specific social position or an extravagant way of life. They considered bliss to be wrapped up inside the American Dream and that without that life would be without any pleasure and thus meaningless. Fitzgerald has provided for us a sight of the individuals living in the roaring 1920s, where the people chase the American Dream under the materialistic influence of high society and put stock in piling up riches. Fitzgerald presents the genuine elements of American Dream alongside its advanced face to demonstrate that what individuals really think about this fantasy and which is lost perpetually to the American individuals. The thesis looks at a particular group of characters who were occupied with perusing written work and all that much mindful of the evolving circumstances around them. So in a manner these individuals were the most acute sufferers; on the grounds that they could understand that how the social structure was changing and the how the greater part of the pure individuals were getting influenced with such progressions. These individuals were lost, on the grounds that they ended up being social oddballs in this new world. Women, who had begun to work outside, did not find it easy to adapt to the new world, as they were confronted with another social environment, new individuals and issues through which they needed to be acknowledged. They needed to adopt an alternate way with respect to their physical appearance and conduct and thus chose not to take after the set codes of female behaviour. They felt that everything relied on upon individuals and an individual himself ought to choose what he wants to pick or not. So fundamentally we can say that they could not fit into the post-war society and these people were called the Lost Generation. The thesis explores the manner in which F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights the failure of the American Dream through the lives of his characters. Gatsby’s dream is to win Daisy back and so he relentlessly pursues what he did not have, namely material wealth. In the process he loses himself and fails to attain his dream. This thesis is divided into four chapters, where several aspects have been discussed from different perspective. The novel The Great Gatsby is the primary source and I have used different articles and several writers’ thoughts for writing this paper.