The word ‘success’ is a single word that can unfairly summarize an individual’s lifetime of hard work and dedication. This one word can take on different meanings for different individuals, but it typically signifies an achievement of a personal goal. The pursuit of success is what characterizes the American Dream, and leads individuals to idolize the United States. The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work. F. Scott Fitzgerald scrutinizes the American Dream throughout his novel The Great Gatsby and displays it as a façade. Jay Gatsby embodies the idea of the American Dream, as his hard work takes him from shambles to riches. However, Tom reveals
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Nick opens the story by stating, “I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me” (Fitzgerald 1). After stating that he does not make judgments of others, Nick immediately proceeds to single out individuals with abnormal minds, “The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person” (Fitzgerald 1). The contradiction instantly poses Nick as an unreliable narrator, but it is unclear whether or not Fitzgerald does this intentionally. Nick’s narration repeatedly portrays him as unreliable, but it also allows him to develop himself as a character to the reader. Nick’s character plays a crucial role in the presentation Fitzgerald’s frustration with the materialistic nature of the new American Dream. Gatsby represents the ‘new’ American Dream with the lavish lifestyle, while Nick chases the traditional American Dream that values a career with honest work. Often times Nick gets dragged along with Gatsby’s crowd, yet he stays true to his career in selling bonds by turning down Gatsby’s business offer. The Great Gatsby demonstrates that success comes in many forms such as love or material wealth, and that the idea of the American Dream is to achieve your goals even through immoral actions. Throughout the novel characters were willing to lie, break the law, and ruin marriages to attain their one desire. Fitzgerald’s
Nick opens the story by stating, “I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me” (Fitzgerald 1). After stating that he does not make judgments of others, Nick immediately proceeds to single out individuals with abnormal minds, “The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person” (Fitzgerald 1). The contradiction instantly poses Nick as an unreliable narrator, but it is unclear whether or not Fitzgerald does this intentionally. Nick’s narration repeatedly portrays him as unreliable, but it also allows him to develop himself as a character to the reader. Nick’s character plays a crucial role in the presentation Fitzgerald’s frustration with the materialistic nature of the new American Dream. Gatsby represents the ‘new’ American Dream with the lavish lifestyle, while Nick chases the traditional American Dream that values a career with honest work. Often times Nick gets dragged along with Gatsby’s crowd, yet he stays true to his career in selling bonds by turning down Gatsby’s business offer. The Great Gatsby demonstrates that success comes in many forms such as love or material wealth, and that the idea of the American Dream is to achieve your goals even through immoral actions. Throughout the novel characters were willing to lie, break the law, and ruin marriages to attain their one desire. Fitzgerald’s