Friday, April 16, 2010
The Great Gatsby
So I'm not sure how I feel about any of the characters in this novel. It is clear that the novel is about identity and the American Dream, but I don't like what Fitzgerald is suggesting about the dream. I feel as though he is saying it is just that. A dream. It cannot be obtained easily and maybe at all. Gatsby was so much happier when his dream was just a dream. And when he tried to create reality from his dream he could only do so by sacrificing his identity and losing his sense of self. Gatsby lived a life that was not his own from seventeen "and to this conception he was faithful to the end(98)"(foreshadow of his death). I understand to achieve what one wants in life he or she will HAVE to sacrifice, but is this the only way? Or is Fitzgerald suggesting that we must sacrifice, but never change who we really are or lose ourselves? I'm curious as to what he really feels about the American Dream. If we go by Gatsby's story it seems like the American Dream cannot be accomplished. Social barriers are too oppressive. I would like to think that he is saying that failure is certain if we go about obtaining the American Dream by the same means as Gatsby...but is really sacrificing everything for the one thing you truly want in life so wrong? I know I've considered it...but this story is reason why I would not. The risk of failure is too daunting.
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I agree to some extent. I think that Fitzgerald is definitely suggesting that dreams can be destructive, but at the same time, Fitzgerald mostly seems to be condemning Gatsby's means of obtaining his dream, and the reasons behind his dream. Fitzgerald condemns the intentions behind the dream, which is basically the materialistic wants of America. Gatsby portrays Daisy because of money and her image, rather than because of who she is, which is similar to how the American Dream is based on the money, the house, the appliances, the clothes, etc. So, it's not dreams in the general, but the means behind them.
ReplyDeleteI think that Fitzgerald is only concerned with the decay of and loss of value in the American Dream, not the American Dream or dreams in general. Fitzgerald condemns the fact that, while the American Dream was born out of the pursuit of individualism and happiness, the rising stock market and burst of new wealth in the 20s warped the dream until it was only a monetary desire. Especially in the East Coast, people are thriving off of easy money and corrupting the dream, and those with the old money are critical of people like Gatsby who have abandoned social values and abused the dream. So the American Dream for what it is supposed to be is not bad, but the materialistic American Dream's effect on Americans in the 20s only creates social scorn and empty passions, and therefore cannot be good.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Fitzgerald is making the point that if the dream you are going after means you have to change the person you are, and change yourself in the wrong/negative way, then it is impossible to be successful. Gatsby changed at 17 and he did it in the wrong way. He did illegal acts and tried to obtain his dream by being a fake. His wealth was for Daisy, not him so Fitzgerald is making a point that his American dream was a messed up one.
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