In this context, Tom is actually the one who lives his life in idleness, without giving it any meaning. Moreover, Daisy's superficiality makes of her an exponent of the consumerist world as well. Daisy makes a choice between the ideal, represented by Gatsby and the conventional stability offered by Tom, symbolizing materialism in general: "She wanted her life shaped now, immediately -- and the decision must be made by some force -- of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality -- that was close at hand."(Fitzgerald, 89) the woman is indeed charming, but at the same time she seems artificial at some point, suggesting the shift from true idealism to mere superficiality and ornament: "For Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes."(Fitzgerald, 78) Her wantonness and her lack of vividness perfectly express the slow and dead rhythm of her life. The fact that the Buchanan couple has spent a lot of time merely traveling pointlessly is also significant: they are aimless, compared to Gatsby who is a professed idealist and who tries to give shape and meaning to his life. As Fitzgerald emphasizes, the Buchanan family travels around randomly, even staying in Paris for an entire year without any particular reason. They simply go "wherever people played polo and were rich together"(Fitzgerald, 15). Also, Daisy's artificial manner is significant. Her particular statement at one point that she is "p-paralyzed with happiness" is also symbolic: the couple actually lives in a sort of state spiritual paralysis, in which they are literally trapped. Gatsby is thus the one that is the true believer in the American Dream. As the comic episode in Gatsby's library suggests, the host is actually inclined to "realism," that is to a search of the truth that is more real than the artificiality in Tom and Daisy's life....
The gentleman in the library hilariously notes that the books that Gatsby hold are indeed real and not painted: "See!' he cried triumphantly. 'It's a bona fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. it's a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop too -- didn't cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?'"(Fitzgerald, 28) in this comic episode, as in the other descriptions of Gatsby's parties, Fitzgerald suggests that the guests are actually the ones who are superficial and do not understand the greatness of their host. The smile of Gatsby that provided absolute understanding, confidence and belief is also a perfect representation of the American Dream: "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced -- or seemed to face -- the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself[...]"(Fitzgerald, 36) the optimism reflected in this smile betrays Gatsby's endless Romantic aspiration.
Great Gatsby -- the American Dream The Great Gatsby is a novel that uses the theme of the American Dream in a number of ways, and it is not a stretch to explain that F. Scott Fitzgerald was showing the dark side of the elusive American Dream. The themes used in The Great Gatsby revolve around those issues in the Roaring Twenties that were linked to the newly wealthy people; and
With enough wealth amassed and an impressive mansion right across the Sound from hers, Jay Gatsby feels certain that he can "repeat the past" when Daisy had loved him. The American Dream is different for other characters in the novel. For Daisy, it appears to be maintaining the status quo by marrying someone in her social set. Tom Buchanan probably feels the same way. For Nick Carraway, the saddened narrator
Great Gatsby and the American Dream In many ways, the first portions of the biography of Jay Gatsby embodies the American Dream: Jay Gatsby was born to unspeakable poverty and was able to climb out of it through hard work, discipline and dogged determination. This was at least how it appeared in the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. However, over the course of the book Fitzgerald demonstrates that the American
That is a lot of responsibility for Rocky to bear, because the family is pinning all their hopes on him, and he has to deliver. The author makes Rocky sympathetic - he is not a bully even though he wields power, but there is something about him that seems like she disapproves of him somehow, too. She kills him in a nasty way, and she makes him seem cold
To Gatsby, this was the biggest failure and he was not willing to accept defeat. Though he finally realizes that Daisy's enticing voice-that "low, thrilling" siren's voice with its "singing compulsion" (p.14) that "couldn't be over dreamed" (p. 101) was actually nothing "full of money." (p. 127). The dreams of his future were the dreams that sustained Gatsby. "For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Illusion of the American Dream in 'The Great Gatsby': Explore the portrayal of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' and how the relentless pursuit of wealth and status leads to downfall and disillusionment, focusing on characters like Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. 2. Symbolism and Imagery in 'The Great Gatsby': Analyze the use of symbols such as the green light, the
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