Gatsby Essay
Gatsby's desire for success symbolizes the American Dream. Americans yearn for everything, but once given that everything, it is never enough. We find ourselves wanting more and more, never content with what we already have. In the book,"The Great Gatsby," written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it shows us how wealthy Mr. Gatsby is, and how hard he tried earning his wealth and power, indicating to us the similarities to many American's aspirations to be successful. Gatsby represents the desires that many Americans have and want to accomplish.
In the 1920's American consumerism was hitting an all time high, leaving many in debt because of installment plans; this was the cause of the Great Depression which began in the late 1920's to early 1930's and didn't end until the early 40's. Our culture spends money carelessly on trivial things, that make our lives easier, or better looking in the eyes of others. "The Great Gatsby" takes place in the 1920's when the amount of spending was at its peak, also showing us the things rich people are capable of doing, or buying. Some examples, are being able to buy mansions that look like castles, also constantly being able to throw large parties, and even having the police look the other way, if you have the money and power. We see this through Nick's perspective throughout the story, we also see the kind of envy he sort of has of not being able to do or buy all those things. This perspective may also be seen the same in the eyes of others, who may also envy the rich because they are able to do anything with money. Many Americans wish to be rich and successful in order to live a comfy life with no worries, a life much like Gatsby's. Gatsby represents these desires because he has the same motives as the American people, that being, wanting to gain everything, everything meaning the money, the power, and even the love.
We not only see that Gatsby symbolizes our culture, but our own desires, like money and power. Contrary to our own selfish desires for money and power, many also desire love, a pure thing. In the book we see that Gatsby truly loves daisy, and is willing to do anything for her. But we do not only see the love Gatsby has for Daisy, but the yearn for love, or anything more than just fake interest given, by other characters in the book. Many long for the feeling of being loved, or wanting to be wanted; we see this in Myrtle, in Daisy, and in Gatsby. They all want to feel loved and cared for, like many other Americans. Gatsby started off with wanting to gain success, he also finds love in the process, which shift his motives. Although money might be tainted, love is always pure, and innocent, so it's something that is wanted because its not corrupt. Mostly everyone wants to feel loved, and give their all to a person and be given all back. Gatsby loves daisy and wishes she loves him as much as he loves her, but she's not able to give him her all. Gatsby symbolizes love in its purest form, because of the amount of effort he puts into getting Daisy, he never gives up on her, not even until the very end. His loyalty, care, and love was pure, unlike any other I've seen. So he represents love, another American dream, desired by many.
To conclude all of this, Gatsby symbolized the American dream, which was having success and love. He represented it well in the book, showing his desire for success and his desire for love, although both which ended up hurting him. He caught the attention of many with his wealth, including Nick, in which they all envied him, and found himself in love, which impacted him greatly. Overall, he really represented the desires of the American people, those desires being wealth, power, and love.
In the 1920's American consumerism was hitting an all time high, leaving many in debt because of installment plans; this was the cause of the Great Depression which began in the late 1920's to early 1930's and didn't end until the early 40's. Our culture spends money carelessly on trivial things, that make our lives easier, or better looking in the eyes of others. "The Great Gatsby" takes place in the 1920's when the amount of spending was at its peak, also showing us the things rich people are capable of doing, or buying. Some examples, are being able to buy mansions that look like castles, also constantly being able to throw large parties, and even having the police look the other way, if you have the money and power. We see this through Nick's perspective throughout the story, we also see the kind of envy he sort of has of not being able to do or buy all those things. This perspective may also be seen the same in the eyes of others, who may also envy the rich because they are able to do anything with money. Many Americans wish to be rich and successful in order to live a comfy life with no worries, a life much like Gatsby's. Gatsby represents these desires because he has the same motives as the American people, that being, wanting to gain everything, everything meaning the money, the power, and even the love.
We not only see that Gatsby symbolizes our culture, but our own desires, like money and power. Contrary to our own selfish desires for money and power, many also desire love, a pure thing. In the book we see that Gatsby truly loves daisy, and is willing to do anything for her. But we do not only see the love Gatsby has for Daisy, but the yearn for love, or anything more than just fake interest given, by other characters in the book. Many long for the feeling of being loved, or wanting to be wanted; we see this in Myrtle, in Daisy, and in Gatsby. They all want to feel loved and cared for, like many other Americans. Gatsby started off with wanting to gain success, he also finds love in the process, which shift his motives. Although money might be tainted, love is always pure, and innocent, so it's something that is wanted because its not corrupt. Mostly everyone wants to feel loved, and give their all to a person and be given all back. Gatsby loves daisy and wishes she loves him as much as he loves her, but she's not able to give him her all. Gatsby symbolizes love in its purest form, because of the amount of effort he puts into getting Daisy, he never gives up on her, not even until the very end. His loyalty, care, and love was pure, unlike any other I've seen. So he represents love, another American dream, desired by many.
To conclude all of this, Gatsby symbolized the American dream, which was having success and love. He represented it well in the book, showing his desire for success and his desire for love, although both which ended up hurting him. He caught the attention of many with his wealth, including Nick, in which they all envied him, and found himself in love, which impacted him greatly. Overall, he really represented the desires of the American people, those desires being wealth, power, and love.
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