As of now, more than half of the total world population, which is relatively three billion people, are living on under $2.50. Shockingly enough, roughly 80 percent of humanity live on less than $10 a day. In the United States alone there is a poverty rate of 14.8 percent that equates to approximately 50 million people. America is the land of immigrants and upon immigration, America is seen as the land where streets are made of gold as dictated by the American Dream. Today, the American Dream is mainly a lower class mentality that encourages them to go from rags to riches but it is all a figment of their imagination. Because it is a figment of their imagination, they create a romanticized ideal for what they aspire, but it is unlikely to be attainable due to the nature of their origin; economically and socially. To obtain the dream is to consciously accept the corruption of one’s morals. Intensive focus on the bright light of the future will leave them to aimlessly continue forward and as dark and lifeless as the shadow being cast in their foreground. The only way to break the cycle and reject the American Dream is to leave in a body bag. The American Dream is the need to quench the human thirst for greed. Nature has built into our DNA the survival of the fittest mindset and that trait does not falter in the context. Nicole Doñe, 17, whose family is from the Dominican Republic had an interesting respond when discussing the American Dream. To her it was an “interpretation of a white poor man’s dream,”(Rimer). If a poor white man were to dream of a better life, that life would most certainly dream of escaping poverty and having the financial security to do as one pleases. Interestingly enough, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character in The Great Gatsby fits this persona perfectly. Kimberly Hearne goes into details about how Gatsby is the white poor man. James Gatz reinvented himself to become Jay Gatsby all for Daisy, his lover and a physical representation of the American Dream, but “Because Gatsby places all of his hope for happiness in Daisy—and what it takes to get such a girl (i.e., money)—he is ultimately ruined by his romantic idealism.”(Hearne). Gatsby came back from the war and became a bootlegger for the sole purpose of gathering wealth to use to impress Daisy with. Under close examination, it seems wealth is not the only factor in present in these sources. Both Gatsby and the white poor man are of a lower class and the only distinct reason for the difference in social classes arises from wealth. The dissimilarity present between social classes is a bi-product of naturally greedy tendencies. In any non-communistic society, “No one is truly equal, and regardless of opportunities, someone is always struggling underfoot—inevitably, as one rises another falls.”(Hearne). This concept is fairly accurate given that no two individuals of their situations are alike so the same applies to their opportunities. Hearne also describes that in order to reach and stay at the top, one must have stepped on another. Beneath “the feet of the rich lay a valley of ashes “ presumably from those who’ve been trampled on, similar to the valley of ash located between West Egg and New York City (Fitzgerald). Both situation better oneself but in the process destroy someone or something beautiful that surrounds them leading me to believe that the path to success is paved with trials to test character and those who posses positive moral compasses do
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In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a majority of the characters are have blurred the lines. Gatsby is corrupt because he gained his wealth associating with Wolfshiem who is also morally unstable. Upon introduction he shows Nick cufflinks made of human molars seemingly hinting towards the idea that he might have kill a person and retrieved their teeth. To add salt to the injuries, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom and Myrtle all participate in affairs with or while being married. Despite such despicable behavior, somehow each character received a taste of what they strived to achieve before it was taken away from them. This is Fitzgerald’s way of telling his readers that success acquired by illegal mean will result in a loss of ourselves and the hollow shells that remain are not worth enough to enjoy
In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a majority of the characters are have blurred the lines. Gatsby is corrupt because he gained his wealth associating with Wolfshiem who is also morally unstable. Upon introduction he shows Nick cufflinks made of human molars seemingly hinting towards the idea that he might have kill a person and retrieved their teeth. To add salt to the injuries, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom and Myrtle all participate in affairs with or while being married. Despite such despicable behavior, somehow each character received a taste of what they strived to achieve before it was taken away from them. This is Fitzgerald’s way of telling his readers that success acquired by illegal mean will result in a loss of ourselves and the hollow shells that remain are not worth enough to enjoy