Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
The Death Of Americas Ideal Th - Online Term Paper

The Death Of Americas Ideal Th

The 1920's, although often represented as a time of irresponsibility, was more accurately a decade of bingeing on hopes, dreams, and aspirations. The illusionary ambitions of Americans, however, led them to many a downfall. The American Dream varied from person to person, but ultimately, its quest resulted in a personal dissolution. The fallacies of the American Dream are evident throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Jay Gatsby, the novel's protagonist, begins as a generic success story of the 1920's. He invented a more appealing identity for himself as a means of rising above his Midwestern farming heritage, "...and to this conception he was faithful to the end." Once ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

preserves." He wanted happiness. His dream was that money and power could buy him happiness. Obviously, he didn't understand society, and that was his downfall.
But he was a believer, and he kept to the idea that he could be happy now that he was "somebody." His true happiness would only come via Daisy, his love from long ago. His dream was kindled nightly, when the green light at the end of her dock was turned on. This was his light at the end of the tunnel, symbolizing the last stage in his plight for gratification. He believed that "...if he could once again return to a certain place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was..." This castle in the air ultimately proved to be an inanity. Instead of a light signaling the end of the tunnel, it was the light on a train headed his way.
Gatsby's character best portrayed the fallout of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby's lifestyle, social status, and even his name changed. But his dream ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

The Death Of Americas Ideal Th. (2008, December 3). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Death-Of-Americas-Ideal-Th/94068

"The Death Of Americas Ideal Th." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 3 Dec. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Death-Of-Americas-Ideal-Th/94068>

"The Death Of Americas Ideal Th." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2008. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Death-Of-Americas-Ideal-Th/94068.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/3/2008 11:13:53 PM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 446
Pages: 2

Save |

Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS

Save and find your favorite essays easier