Since the end of the Second World War the United States of America has been the most powerful country in the world. American power has included cultural power. Writing or talking about America means invoking the American Dream, which remains a major element of the national identity.
The American Dream encompasses the myth of America: a myth defined by another familiar phrase – the New World. In its origins, America was conceived of as a new world, a new beginning, a second chance. The contrast of course was with Europe – the Old World – characterized by tyranny, corruption, and social divisions. The American Constitution guaranteed all Americans “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This is the heart of the American Dream. People believed that the American dream was, from the beginning, part and parcel of American history, culture and language, including the early colonial period. “America was born out of a dream.”
But the American Dream has come to mean at a popular level. It is to go to the West and become a millionaire. The American dream is conceived of in terms of success and of material success in particular: getting rich quick is what it is all about. But in its true sense it has never been limited to material success alone. So what do we actually understand under the term “American Dream” and what is the origin of this phrase? When did it first appear in the language? And how has the phrase itself evolved over time?
Only during the time of political and cultural upheaval could the concept of the American Dream enter the national lexicon. The true origin of the phrase was first mentioned in 1931, by a middlebrow historian James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. In this book, the phrase appears for the first time in the Preface, when Adams refers to the “American dream of a better, richer, and happier life,” adding that “that dream or hope has been present from the start.” In the Epilogue, which was probably written before the Preface, Adams goes into more detail and broadens the scope of the American Dream concept, explaining that the most distinctive gift that America has made to the world is “the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.”
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. “The American Dream“
2.1 “The American Dream”: When Was the Phrase Born?
2.2 Francis Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream
3. Francis Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
3.1 Characters
3.1.1 Jay Gatsby
3.1.2 Daisy Buchanan – A Promise of Fulfilment
3.1.3 The Buchanans´
3.1.4 Nick Carraway
3.2 The Structure of The Great Gatsby
3.2.1 Time
3.2.2 Narration
3.2.3 Style
3.3 An Unfulfilled (American) Dream
3.3.1 Gatsby’s Party
3.3.2 Shirts Scene
3.4 Long Island – The Promise of a Better Life
3.4.1 Fitzgerald’s Fable of East and West
3.4.1 The Green Light
3.4.2 The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
3.4.3 Dutch Sailors
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This paper examines F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby as a literary exploration of the American Dream, analyzing how the novel portrays the disparity between the romanticized ideal and the reality of a corrupt, materialist society in the 1920s.
- The origins and evolution of the "American Dream" concept.
- Character analysis of Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway.
- The structural and stylistic techniques employed by Fitzgerald to depict social decay.
- Symbolism in the novel, specifically the Green Light and the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.
- The conflict between Western ideals and Eastern reality in American identity.
Excerpt from the Book
3.3.1 Gatsby’s Party
This beautiful control of conventions can be studied more closely in the description of Gatsby’s party at which we encounter him for the first time. We are told later that Gatsby was gifted with a “hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.” (p. 106) Fitzgerald does not actually let us meet Gatsby face to face until he has concretely created this fantastic world of Gatsby’s vision, for it is the element in which we must meet Gatsby if we are to understand his impersonal significance:
“There was a music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.” (p. 45)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction establishes the American Dream as a fundamental pillar of national identity and myth in the post-WWII era.
2. “The American Dream“: This section traces the historical origins of the phrase to James Truslow Adams and explores Fitzgerald’s thematic alignment with the concept.
3. Francis Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby: This central chapter provides a deep dive into character motivations, the narrative structure, and the symbolic elements that illustrate the failure of the American dream.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the tragic outcome of Gatsby’s life as a reflection of broader American societal deficiencies and the impossibility of reconciling the past with the present.
Keywords
The Great Gatsby, American Dream, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway, Jazz Age, Green Light, Symbolism, Social Class, Materialism, Corruption, Long Island, Illusion, Reality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this academic work?
The paper focuses on the interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as a critique of the American Dream, examining how its characters interact with the cultural ideals of the 1920s.
Which thematic fields are prioritized in the analysis?
Key themes include the conflict between romantic ideals and material success, the social stratification between East and West Egg, and the psychological impact of attempting to repeat the past.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to demonstrate how Fitzgerald uses his characters and symbols to depict the betrayal of the American Dream in an increasingly corrupt and morally bankrupt society.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The work utilizes a qualitative, literature-based analysis, incorporating close reading of the novel’s text and referencing critical secondary literature to support its arguments.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers character arcs (Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, the Buchanans), narrative structure, the use of time, and profound symbolism like the Green Light and the Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Essential keywords include The Great Gatsby, American Dream, Symbolism, Materialism, Jazz Age, and Social Class.
How does the author interpret the symbol of the Green Light?
The Green Light represents Gatsby’s unattainable longing and his desire for Daisy; it is eventually framed as a universal symbol for the elusive nature of the American Dream itself.
What significance is attributed to the "Shirts Scene"?
The scene illustrates how material objects, such as Gatsby's shirts, function as "sacramental" tokens that attempt to manifest ephemeral promises of a better life into a tangible, material reality.
- Quote paper
- Sandra Kochan (Author), 2007, The Great Gatsby and the American Dream, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/70752
