American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

American Dream The novel, The Great Gatsby, portrayed the American dream in a positive light. The novel shows how people were living, what they had to live for, and how the world was evolving. All three of these were read about in The Great Gatsby, and the way they were portrayed was more than just average, they showed real life factors. Everyone would have to agree that The Great Gatsby is an all time great novel, but not everyone can agree on the views of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American dream in a positive light. The novel The Great Gatsby, goes into detail on how people of either West Egg or East Egg lived. F. Scott Fitzgerald described living conditions of both towns, one was rich, and one was poor. Fitzgerald talks about how people from the more wealthy side of town, West Egg, were able to do more and are treated with better respect. He also showed the more rundown, less wealthy side where people did not receive the same amount of respect. In the article â€Å" A Jay for Today, The Jay Gatsby’s of Today† a quote reading, â€Å" In the 1920’s, the rich were content to play with yachts and buy racehorses, their modern counterparts fly jets and aspire to own a football teams.† This quote shows how in the novel The Great Gatsby they are told to be happy with what they have and that most people are not able to do what they can. Both citizens of East and West Egg have a lot to live for whether they shall be rich or poor. As in the article â€Å" Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream† (in English Journal. Vol. 59, No. 5, May 1970, pg. 638-42). â€Å"My family all died and I come into a good deal of money. After that I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe, Paris, Venice, Rome, collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little thing for myself only, and trying to forget something very sad that had happened to me a long time ago.† This quote from Gatsby shows how no matter how life takes you, you should always keep your head up and think positive even if its not how you live, try to make things better for yourself so you can one day go somewhere in life.