Hello, i was just wondering if anyone one would be willing to check over my essay for corrections or suggestions:) It would be greatly appreciated.It is on the American dream/dreams in the Great Gatsby vs the themes of time and Honesty.
The 1920's was marked as a time of great social change. The days of purity and wholesomeness were dissolving and in their place came new ideas of greed, passion and indulgence. From this time emerged The American Dream, founded on the idea that anyone could rise to success no matter their beginnings. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a testament to this time of dreaming and the idealism to which the American Dream is achievable.
The premise of time does not overtake the central theme of dreams because neither past nor present is distinguishable in dreams. For Gatsby, dreaming is not a way to depart from reality but a way to live life. He does not draw a line between reality and fantasy but yet blur the two together as one. Although, Gatsby's distorted perception of time is what lead to his downfall, he still optimistically held on to his dreams of hope to guide him into the future. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning-so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (Fitzgerald 189). The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock represents the optimism and hope that Gatsby has for his past with Daisy. We as humans cannot escape our past dreams or our recreation and struggle to transform our dreams into reality. It is in our optimistic nature to "stretch out our arms farther" until we find ourselves closer to our dreams. The American dream is a tribute to our idealism in that no matter a person's background or situation they can yearn for a better life, in past or present.
Moveover, honesty is irrelevant when it is comes to dreams. One can be true to themselves yet in dreaming their sincerity becomes unimportant in accomplishing their dream. Honesty is in the dreams of Gatsby. From the start of the novel, Gatsby continually distorts the truth of his up bringing. At first Gatsby claims to come from wealth and to be an educated oxford man. However as the novel progresses, it is revealed that Jay Gatsby is the self-fulfilled prophecy of James Gatz; the son of a poor North Dakota farmer who inadvertently attended Oxford for two months while at war and rose to wealth and status from very little means. Gatsby is unintentionally dishonesty about his past because he is blind to his own fraudulence and believes in the erroneous perception of himself. Nick is blind to Gatsby's dishonesty and corruption by his own impractical dream of the "great" Gatsby. The American Dream has the same effect on society's scruples. The focus of pursuing a dream, no matter the means; is an element of the self-reliance that the American Dream pushes on society.
Conversely, dreams are pursued by almost every character in the Great Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan dreams that her life is Eden-like, full of innocence and purity. Tom, on the other hand has a crude and violent dream of life. Nick dreams most of all, as his view of Gatsby shift continually as the plot progresses. However, at the end of the novel, Nick becomes aware of Gatsby's dream and it's epitome of the greater, American Dream.
"I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder" (Fitzgerald 188).
The old island that flowered once for the Dutch sailors eyes is New York. Nick's description further alludes to the "fresh, green breast of the new world" which represents the dreams of the immigrants who came to New York to seek out new opportunities and to ultimately achieve the American Dream. These dreams are answered in the forms of urbanization, technological innovation and the birth of the jazz age. The Great Gatsby speaks to the era of the 1920's from the ambitions for the American dream.
Neither honesty nor time can keep us from our dreams. The concept of dreams throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is seen as a kind of optimism for the American Dream. From the American Dream, anyone can rise to success no matter their beginnings; yet the pursuit of success blinds one from their immoralities and honesty. We may deceive ourselves in believing our dreams or their past yet our dreams can never be destroyed and will always be an integral part of whom we are .
The 1920's was marked as a time of great social change. The days of purity and wholesomeness were dissolving and in their place came new ideas of greed, passion and indulgence. From this time emerged The American Dream, founded on the idea that anyone could rise to success no matter their beginnings. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a testament to this time of dreaming and the idealism to which the American Dream is achievable.
The premise of time does not overtake the central theme of dreams because neither past nor present is distinguishable in dreams. For Gatsby, dreaming is not a way to depart from reality but a way to live life. He does not draw a line between reality and fantasy but yet blur the two together as one. Although, Gatsby's distorted perception of time is what lead to his downfall, he still optimistically held on to his dreams of hope to guide him into the future. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning-so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (Fitzgerald 189). The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock represents the optimism and hope that Gatsby has for his past with Daisy. We as humans cannot escape our past dreams or our recreation and struggle to transform our dreams into reality. It is in our optimistic nature to "stretch out our arms farther" until we find ourselves closer to our dreams. The American dream is a tribute to our idealism in that no matter a person's background or situation they can yearn for a better life, in past or present.
Moveover, honesty is irrelevant when it is comes to dreams. One can be true to themselves yet in dreaming their sincerity becomes unimportant in accomplishing their dream. Honesty is in the dreams of Gatsby. From the start of the novel, Gatsby continually distorts the truth of his up bringing. At first Gatsby claims to come from wealth and to be an educated oxford man. However as the novel progresses, it is revealed that Jay Gatsby is the self-fulfilled prophecy of James Gatz; the son of a poor North Dakota farmer who inadvertently attended Oxford for two months while at war and rose to wealth and status from very little means. Gatsby is unintentionally dishonesty about his past because he is blind to his own fraudulence and believes in the erroneous perception of himself. Nick is blind to Gatsby's dishonesty and corruption by his own impractical dream of the "great" Gatsby. The American Dream has the same effect on society's scruples. The focus of pursuing a dream, no matter the means; is an element of the self-reliance that the American Dream pushes on society.
Conversely, dreams are pursued by almost every character in the Great Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan dreams that her life is Eden-like, full of innocence and purity. Tom, on the other hand has a crude and violent dream of life. Nick dreams most of all, as his view of Gatsby shift continually as the plot progresses. However, at the end of the novel, Nick becomes aware of Gatsby's dream and it's epitome of the greater, American Dream.
"I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder" (Fitzgerald 188).
The old island that flowered once for the Dutch sailors eyes is New York. Nick's description further alludes to the "fresh, green breast of the new world" which represents the dreams of the immigrants who came to New York to seek out new opportunities and to ultimately achieve the American Dream. These dreams are answered in the forms of urbanization, technological innovation and the birth of the jazz age. The Great Gatsby speaks to the era of the 1920's from the ambitions for the American dream.
Neither honesty nor time can keep us from our dreams. The concept of dreams throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is seen as a kind of optimism for the American Dream. From the American Dream, anyone can rise to success no matter their beginnings; yet the pursuit of success blinds one from their immoralities and honesty. We may deceive ourselves in believing our dreams or their past yet our dreams can never be destroyed and will always be an integral part of whom we are .
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