Ellen+J

​ __ The Great Gatsby __ By F. Scott Fitzgerald



What is the American Dream? Does the novel praise or condemn Gatsby’s dream? Has the American Dream changed since Gatsby’s time?

The novel condems Gatsby's dream, as well as that that of the Buchanans. These people have everything, yet nothing at the same time. They are incredibly rich, and have the social status to be able to have a greaet time in almost any situation at any time. However, they all struggle with relationships. -Tom and Daisy are married, but they might as well not be. They are both involved with other people, and their child doesn't even hold the marriage together. They both seem incredibly unhappy and unfufilled in their lives.

-" ...her white roadster was beside the curb and she was sitting in it with a lieutenant I had never seen before...his name was Jay gatsby and i didn't lay eyes on him again for over four years, even after I'd met him on Long Island I didn't realize it was the same man" -Jordan Baker (Fitzgerald 74).

-" I'd never seen a girl so mad about her husband. If he left the room for a minute she'd look around uneasily and say: 'Where's Tom gone?' and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming to the door" -Jordan Baker (Fitzgerald 77). Daisy and Tom are an unfortunate couple. They don't love eachother, but the times and pride is all that's keeping them together. To me, that sounds like a prettysad way to go through life.

-In theory, Gatsby never achieves his dream. He dies in water, the only thing separating him from his love, Daisy. In the end, having money and being popular, carefree, and throwing huge parties didn't seem to get either Gatsby or Daisy what they wanted in life.

Compare and contrast Gatsby's social class with that of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. What role does geography play in the definition of social class?

"Twenty miles from the city a pair of enormous eggs, identical and contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, just out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound." ... "I lived at West Egg, - the well, less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them" -Nick Caraway (Fitzgerald 5).

-The two "Eggs" are two neighborhoods in what seems to be the suburbs. People have moved out of the city, and have money to spend on excess things like nice houses and parties. Where you live is important, but it seems like in the end East and West egg blend together, with the understanding that East Egg is just a little nicer. The people in both have similar lifestyles. -There is a definite disdain about places like "The valley of ashes" which is a poorer, more ethnic, working class industrial area. Nick and Tom drive through the area multiple times.

-Gatsby, who lives next to Nick Caraway, resides in West Egg. His house is described as huge, with many windows and a pool, a big garden and a tower. -The Buchanans live in East Egg. Their house is described as " A cheerful red-and-white Georgial Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay" (Fitzgerald 6). They have ample money, much of which is spent on alcohol, cars, and themselves. They pamper themselves to no end, anything to keep them from realizing the awful reality of the relationhips they have.

-In my opinion, Gatsby's social class is pretty similar to that of the Buchanans. He has worked and inherited to get a large amount of money, which he chooses to spend on huge parties. He also pampers himself and his guests. While he is not quite at their level of wealth, he has a lot more in common with them socio-econimically than Nick does. Gatsby is separated from Daisy only by the water of the bay. Possibly, he shoose to live in West Egg just so he could feel like he was looking into her life.

-Even though Gatsby is very well off, Nick is surprised that unlike the Buchanans, he sits by and just watches hi own parties and seems shy. While the Buchanans have a bad marriage, they still go out and participate heavily in nightlife and parties and go crazy. Gatsby is shy and very insecure in comparison, and the two groups deal with their insecurities and impurities in different ways.

So, What have I learned? -Being rich cannot make you happy. This is a personal value that I have, I'd like to be very well off later in life. However, this showed me that just throwing expensive parties will not get you love, or happiness. -The book showed me that being part of the "in crowd" isn't all that. the people within that group have the same problems as the people "outside". In our society, being popular and having the right connections is important. While networking is important, having perfect friends and being perfect is not only impossible, it's not all its cracked up to be. -Sometimes, you do not reach your goals. I have struggled with that idea in swimming, school and other areas. even though you do not end up with exactly what you want, I think it's important to realize the good things that came of your endeavors and the good things that you have in life and focus on those qualities. Using the good to help excape the bad, move up, and move on is important. Both Gatsby and daisy failed to move on and get what they truly wanted. -There is something to be said for the "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" cliche'. Nick is a man who gets an education, gets connections, and becomes a well-off man who has fun in New York. While he doesn't have everything, and I feel that he is more appreciative of what he has than Gatsby, Daisy, and others because he had to work for it.