Great Gatsby: Fitzgeralds Criticism Of The American Dream Essay

long Gatsby Fitzgeralds Criticism of The American DreamThe American Dream, as it arose in the Colonial period and developed in thenineteenth century, was base on the assumption that each person, no matter whathis origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own readiness andeffort. The fancy was embodied in the ideal of the self-made man, just as it wasembodied in Fitzgeralds own family by his grandfather, P. F. McQuillan.Fitzgeralds novel takes its place among former(a) novels whose insights into thenature of the American ambitiousness shed not affected the exquisite form of the novelitself. The Great Gatsby serves as Fitzgeralds critique of the American dream.The Great Gatsby embodies a criticism of America and the Americanexperience, more radical than every other author has attempted. The theme of thenovel is the destruction of the American dream during the 1920s, a period whenthe vulgar pursuit of material happiness has adulterated the old values that g avesubstance to the dream. The characters are Midwesterners who wealthy person come due east inpursuit of this new dream of money, fame, success, glamour, and excitement. Tomand Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe.Gatsby must have his enormous mansion before he can feel cocksure enough totry to win Daisy. Fitzgerald does not criticize the American dream itself butthe corruption of that dream. What was once for Ben Franklin or ThomasJefferson ...