Preview Of Gatsby Essay

Prompt: The notion of the American dream figures prominently in this story.  How do readers define the American dream?  Moreover, is pursuing the American dream necessarily a good thing?

• American Dream- the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved
• By having money, a car, a big house, nice clothes and a happy family symbolizes the American dream. 
• This dream also represents that people, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in life by his or her own work.
•  The desire to strive for what one wants can be accomplished if they work hard enough. 
• The dream is represented by the ideas of a self-sufficient man or woman, who works hard to achieve a goal to become successful. 
• (Intro)- The Great Gatsby is a novel that shows what happened to the American Dream in the 1920’s, which is a time period when the dreams became corrupted for many reasons. The American dream not only causes corruption but has caused destruction. Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy have all been corrupted and destroyed by the dream

>>>>How does F. Scott Fitzgerald portray the American Dream in The Great Gatsby through his use of symbolism and other literary devices? 

• Fitzgerald uses a variety of literary devices to portray the American Dream. One example is the the green light that symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for a life with Daisy. Another symbol is the Valley of the Ashes, which represents the ugly consequences of America’s obsession with wealth. Fitzgerald uses these symbols to convey the illusory nature of the American Dream.