The Great Gatsby And The American Dream, Free Essay Sample

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream Published in 1925 and written by one of the most prominent authors in the history of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby is a novel set up in Long Island during the summer of 1922. As it is a very intriguing and controversial yet an appealing and interesting book, it garnered a lot of attention and later on had numerous adaptations on film and television. It is actually considered as the greatest masterpiece of Fitzgerald because of its relevance and relation to the American Dream (Wulick, 2016). The centre of the story, as obviously stated in the title, revolves around Jay Gatsby and his overly unrealistic manic obsession and fascination with Daisy Buchanan (Maurer, n.d.).   But while it is a love story with a tragic ending in the front, most critiques agree that it is actually more of a pessimistic representation of the realism behind the American Dream (Wulick, 2016). The Great Gatsby revolved around the themes of decadence, self-indulgence, opposition to change, idealism, and social turmoil – the heart of the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties, which is known to be the age of revolution of the American Dream (Maurer, n.d.). In the novel, the story was narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbour who was a writer trying to unfold the mysteries of life after he served for the army during the First World War. He tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a very mysterious multi-millionaire who always held big parties in his mansion, but actually never showed up in any of them. The story begins when Nick moved into the house near the mansion of Gatsby. Meanwhile, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s muse and Nick’s cousin, live across the bay with her husband, Tom. When Nick came to visit the house of Daisy and Tom, he met Jordan Baker, who later on became his love interest. Gatsby and Nick started to have a great connection after realizing that they were both heroes who served the Army during World War I. This connection gave room to a very meaningful friendship and later on became the gateway to the relationship of Gatsby and Daisy (Maurer, n.d.). Aware of Tom’s infidelity, Nick decided to reunite Gatsby and Daisy after discovering that both had some sort of an interrupted affair before. Daisy, also aware of the infidelity of her husband, rekindled her feelings for Gatsby and so the two started to have an extramarital affair. Tom discovered this relationship and although he has his own outside love affair, he grew a feeling of rage toward Gatsby and tried everything to get revenge (Maurer, n.d.). The conflict in the finale took place when Gatsby and Daisy accidentally encountered a fatal car crash with Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, wherein the latter died. Daisy was the one driving the car and unintentionally killed Myrtle, but Gatsby took the blame. So, Myrtle’s husband, upon knowing what happened, took revenge on Gatsby. It was only at the latter part of the story when Nick discovered that the violence and rage felt by Myrtle’s husband was intensified only because Tom told him that Gatsby was Myrtle’s lover. Tom’s lies and deceits became the tragedy of Gatsby (Maurer, n.d.). The Great Gatsby is not your typical tragic love story. Through the years, it has become so much more important because of the relevance it reflected on not just the society, but also on politics. It has been regarded as one of the masterpieces that attacks the concept of American Dream. It had a lot of symbolism and played along around a lot of themes that represented and signified the obsession of every American with the nature of their dreams (Churchwell, 2014). What is the American Dream, to be exact? It is the belief that emerged in the 1920s where one believes that anyone has the ability to be successful and rich in the United States if they work hard to become what they want to be. Regardless of what race they come from, what class they belong to, what gender they have, or what nationality they come from, anyone has the chance to be successful as long as he works hard enough to achieve such success. This is the American Dream – the elimination of inequality and hierarchy among classes and races of the society (Wulick, 2016). But as Wulick (2016) have suggested, The Great Gatsby is quite a pessimistic view of this American Dream. Things did not really turn out the way they are supposed to for the characters in the novel. This symbolizes that not every dream is meant to come true. According to SparkNotes Editors (2002), one of the story’s main important themes is the failure of the American Dream during the 1920s. During these times, America was bombarded with too much materialistic innovations and decadent emancipation of wealth and prosperity. Fitzgerald, in this novel, clearly wanted to emphasize on the deterioration of the social and moral ethics of the American people by making the characters portray an intense thirst for greed and opulence. In the novel, Gatsby’s goal was to have the love of her life, Daisy, back into his arms. This is the dream for Gatsby, the ultimate completion and perfection of his American Dream would be Daisy. He was described as the perfect example of a man who started from no one until he became someone – the epitome of a real success story. But for him, this success will only be complete if he will be able to get his ultimate dream, which is to have Daisy (Wulick, 2016). In the end, however, though he was able to attain the love of Daisy, it did not turn out to be a dream come true because he died. If we are going to look at the entirety of it, nonetheless, the â€Å"American Dream† was not actually invented to live up to the promise of eternal peace. It was in fact an invention of failure, a promise meant to be broken due to all the capitalism and monopolistic occurrence of wickedness during those times. Fitzgerald was certain of this when he was writing the book, and proved himself right by the time he finished writing it when he saw that people still had their minds corrupted with all the wealth and greediness they have (Churchwell, 2012). Originally, as explained by the book itself, the American Dream that was intended to be contemplated is about the freedom of men to a new discovery, a unique sense of self-preservation and individualistic affection, and chasing paradise through discovering true happiness. However, such intentions were destroyed and not achieved for America in 1920 became corrupted when money and pleasure presented itself to the people. This was what Fitzgerald wanted to convey – that no matter how pure the dream may be, it will always be corrupted if we let evil do so (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). In a nutshell, the American Dream incorporated in The Great Gatsby was a portrayal of the dream’s failure. While the novel itself was a success for being able to deliver the message it wanted to bring, the story itself was a story of how dreams could be broken if not achieved in the proper way. The real significance that the author wanted to imply was that no matter how much we try to achieve our dreams, there will always be a time when this perseverance will be tested and sometimes, the results does not turn out the way we want them to be. References Churchwell, S. (2012). The great Gatsby and the American dream. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/25/american-dream-great-gatsby Maurer, K. (n.d.). The great Gatsby. CliffNotes. Retrieved from https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/summary-and-analysis/chapter-1 SparkNotes Editors. (2002). The great Gatsby: Themes, motifs symbols. SparkNotes. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/themes.html Wulick, A. (2016). Best analysis: The American dream in the great Gatsby. PrepScholar. Retrieved from https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-great-gatsby-american-dream

The Soldier s Home By Ernest Hemingway - 952 Words

Foreign Home â€Å"The Soldier’s Home† by Ernest Hemingway is a short story that tells the story of a soldier who returns home but realizes that war has changed his life. Hemingway ensures that the readers fully understand the purpose of the short story by using a detached tone, short sentence structure, and a lack of imagery help develop the short story. The use of these literary techniques in Hemingway’s story allows him to develop his plot without losing his audience’s attention and include a message in the story. The story is told in third-person which allows for the reader to have a clear image of the soldier Krebs and his return home. Since the beginning of the short story the reader is able to see that Krebs is a soldier who is severely impacted by war. Hemingway uses short sentences to demonstrate the detachment that Krebs feels once he returns home. This use of abrupt sentence structure not only shows Krebs detachment but it also signals to the reader that fighting in the war has emotionally deteriorated Krebs. The narrator mentions â€Å"By the time Krebs returned to his home town in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over. He came back much too late† (Bedford 116). This not only gives background information on Krebs but it reveals to the reader that Krebs did not receive the welcome he expects. He returns home with the hopes of feeling like he belongs but he is incapable of establishing connections or even feeling welcomed in his own home. The short sentence structureShow MoreRelatedThe Soldier s Home By Ernest Hemingway1054 Words   |  5 Pages Veterans Difficulties in relating to the family â€Å"Soldier’s Home† by Ernest Hemingway is a story that an American war veteran, Harold Krebs, returns to his home Oklahoma from World War I. 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In his novel A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway attempts to demonstrate through the characters of Frederic Henry and Rinaldi the feelings of horror and disillusionment the people of the Modern era tried to escape. Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on JulyRead MoreResearch Paper On Ernest Hemingway1640 Words   |  7 PagesCalcara Mr. Balistreri Research Paper 15 September 2017 Ernest Hemingway Although Ernest Hemingway might be an older author, he has written some classic novels, such as The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. This American short story writer and novelist was around years ago. Born in 1899, Ernest was raised by his parents, Clarence and Grace Hemingway. Growing up, Ernest and his parents loved to spend time away from their home in Chicago, Illinois. The family owned a cabin in northernRead MoreThe Lost Generation Analysis920 Words   |  4 PagesFitzgerald, T.S Eliot, and Ernest Hemingway. 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Technology Is Just A Tool - 871 Words

Bill Gates once said, â€Å"Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.† Technology has infiltrated all areas of life, but education seems to be somewhat resisting its grasp. There is a great controversy in today’s society regarding implementing technology in the classroom, and many parents, educators, and law makers are on both sides of this controversy. There is extensive research being conducted on the potential benefits and disadvantages of incorporating technology in the everyday classroom environment. This paper examines the history of educational technology, and both the benefits and drawbacks of technology in the classroom. Implementing Technology in the Classroom Educational Technology is defined as the study and ethical practice of facilitating, learning, and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. Educational Technology prepares students by helping them create higher level thinking skills, and mastering various concepts. â€Å"As a field, educational technology emphasizes communication skills and approaches to teaching and learning through the judicious use and integration of diverse media† (Earle, 2002, p. 7). This field studies the effectiveness of various technologies, and works to develop better technologies to fit the needs of the student, teacher, and overall learning environment. Researchers in EducationalShow MoreRelatedTechnology Is Just A Tool2184 Words   |  9 PagesBill Gates said â€Å"Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.à ¢â‚¬  The definition of technology is a branch of knowledge that deals with the use and creation of technical means and their interaction with society, environment and life. To teach is to impart knowledge and to give instruction. 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A Violent Illumination Of Salvation Essay Research free essay sample

A Violent Light Of Salvation Essay, Research Paper A Violent Light of Redemption Flannery O # 8217 ; Connor uses force to return characters to world and fix them to accept their minute of grace. The New Encyclopedia Britannica defines grace as the # 8220 ; self-generated, unmerited gift of the Godhead or the godly influence operating in adult male for his regeneration and sanctification # 8221 ; ( 401 ) . At any cost, a psyche must happen redemption. O # 8217 ; Connor provinces, # 8220 ; In my ain narratives I have found that force is queerly capable of returning my characters to world and fixing them to accept their minute of grace # 8221 ; ( qtd.in Bain 407 ) . Dorothy Walters, Associate Professor of English at Wichita State University, believes O # 8217 ; Connor # 8217 ; s individual subject is the conflict between God and the Satan # 8220 ; dueling for the human psyche in the antediluvian clang # 8221 ; ( 105 ) . The light of redemption through violent agencies is indispensable because # 8220 ; both O # 8217 ; Connor and her God are satirists [ unyielding ] . . . her heros are wilful characters who must be humbled in larning that the will of God must predominate # 8221 ; ( Master-pieces 497 ) . O # 8217 ; Connor portrays two assortments of evildoers who possess either inordinate pride or aggressive evil traits. The monetary value of salvation is high. O # 8217 ; Connor violently shocks her characters, illuminates their defects, and prepares them for salvation as seen in: # 8220 ; A Good Man is Difficult to Find, # 8221 ; # 8220 ; Revelation, # 8221 ; # 8220 ; The River, # 8221 ; and # 8220 ; The Lame Shall Enter First. # 8221 ; Bruno walters grounds, # 8220 ; The direction of pride through lessons of humbleness is, in each narrative, the agencies by which the psyche is prepared for its necessary light by the Holy Spirit # 8221 ; ( 73 ) . The grandma in # 8220 ; A Good Man is Difficult to Find # 8221 ; and Rudy Turpin in # 8220 ; Revelation # 8221 ; is each convinced that she is a lady of elevated position. When threatened by superior existences, their self-imposed frontages autumn. Built-in human failings are non tolerated and the faulty psyche is damned or violently returned to world ( Walters 72 ) .In The Habit of Being, O # 8217 ; Connor emphasizes: # 8220 ; My Satan has a name. . . His name is Lucifer, he # 8217 ; s a fallen angel, his wickedness is pride, and his purpose is devastation of the Divine program # 8221 ; ( 456 ) . The grandma is highly disdainful and identifies herself as a # 8220 ; lady # 8221 ; as O? Connor reveals in the vesture description: The kids? s female parent still had on slacks. . . but the grandma had on a navy bluish straw crewman chapeau with a clump of white violets on the lip and a navy blue frock. . . trimmed with lacing. . . In instance of an accident, any one visual perception her dead on the main road would cognize at one time that she was a lady. ( A Good 11 ) When the grandma # 8217 ; s fiddling scheming causes the household to go forth the paved route in hunt of a misplaced plantation, they do hold an accident. Her cat, Pitty Sing, which she insists travels with them, pounces on Bailey # 8217 ; s shoulder and causes them to crash. Unfortunately, the grandma seals the household # 8217 ; s destiny when she identifies their savior as the Misfit. While her household is executed, the grandma pleads for clemency by appealing to the Misfit # 8217 ; s moral, household and spiritual values. The grandma eventually releases her hubris and experiences compassion as she exclaims: # 8220 ; Why you # 8217 ; re one of my babes. You # 8217 ; re one of my ain kids! # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 29 ) . This presentation of altruism is grounds that the grandma has at last been admitted to decorate. The Misfit says, # 8220 ; She would hold been a good adult female. . . if it had been person at that place to hit her every minute of her life # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 29 ) . The grandma? s life must be endangered to uncover that everyone is equal in God # 8217 ; s eyes. Like the grandma, Rudy Turpin knows she is a lady. Confident in her strong belief of interior high quality, she habitually categorizes people as # 8220 ; white rubbish, # 8221 ; # 8220 ; niggas, # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; householders # 8221 ; ( Walters 110 ) . In her nightly supplications, she thanks God for her elevated position in life ( Walters 25 ) . Turpin # 8217 ; s orderly small classs are foremost challenged by a choleric miss, symbolically named Mary Grace. After witnessing Mrs. Turpin # 8217 ; s inflated projected self-image, Mary Grace physically and verbally assaults Mrs. Turpin. Mrs. Turpin once more inquiries her superior position when the black labourers dutifully sympathize with her torment. # 8220 ; Mrs. Turpin knew merely precisely how much Negro flattery was deserving and it added to her fury # 8221 ; ( qtd.in Walters 125 ) . Beyond defeat, she challenges God in the sty, shriek: # 8220 ; Who do you believe you are? # 8221 ; ( qtd.in Walters 112 ) . In the fl ood tide, Mrs. Turpin is eventually lacerate from her hyperbolic self-image when the clouds portion and she discovers herself on the bottom stairss of Heaven? s staircase ( Walters 107 ) . With the intercession of the Godhead grace, Mary Grace, Mrs. Turpin accepts the truth and discovers humbleness. The usage of force is necessary for O # 8217 ; Connor to remind readers that they can non get down to understand God # 8217 ; s grace, but admiting graciousness, nevertheless shown, and understanding that all are equal in His eyes is the oncoming of redemption ( Masterpieces 497 ) . These evildoers are the violent instruments used to uncover human mistakes. God? s intercession of grace can come in any signifier. Rufus in # 8220 ; The Lame Shall Enter First # 8221 ; and the Misfit in # 8220 ; A Good Man is Difficult to Find # 8221 ; show sharply evil evildoers. Fictional characters choose whom they will function and they must accept the inevitable consequ ences of their pick. Still, the evildoers may be saved. Rufus is the hostile delinquent who fends for himself by stealing. He believes he is under # 8220 ; Satan # 8217 ; s # 8221 ; power to perpetrate offenses against adult male and nature. Yet, he will automatically be saved on Judgement Day because # 8220 ; the square shall come in [ Eden ] foremost # 8221 ; ( Bain et al. 370 ) . Rufus, malicious as he is, sees through Shepard # 8217 ; s projected image and calls him # 8220 ; that large Sn Jesus # 8221 ; who makes # 8220 ; immor # 8217 ; l suggestions! # 8221 ; ( Bain et al. 391 ) . Rufus # 8217 ; s arrest and accusal are the force necessary to exemplify Shepard # 8217 ; s lip service. Bruno walters suggests that although Rufus? actions are destructive, he struggles against # 8220 ; an repetitive pull toward salvation. # 8221 ; He steals a Bible to learn Norton basic spiritual principals, showing that he has non forsaken God. His # 8220 ; devouring # 8221 ; of the pages validates his religion ( 102 ) . Walters farther implies that without God, Rufus will go on his life of offense and be damned ; with God, Rufus may go a sermonizer. He must take ( 104 ) . Dorothy McFarland, editor and critic points out that the Misfit? s actions are more terrific than Rufus? s, because he remains well-bred while perpetrating baleful Acts of the Apostless against society ( 19 ) . He courteously apologizes to the grandma for looking before her without a shirt and asks if she would # 8220 ; mind naming the kids # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 21 ) . The fleeting Misfit # 8220 ; can non happen redemption or significance to life # 8221 ; because he is cognizant of his # 8220 ; fallen status # 8221 ; in a society of people unmindful to their mistakes. Without God, a # 8220 ; good adult male # 8221 ; doesn # 8217 ; t be and with God, he knows that he is a # 8220 ; sinner # 8221 ; ( Masterpieces 498 ) . Even though each narrative contains force, a narrative is more hideous when an guiltless kid is the victim. Walters explains that a spirit is better off violently get awaying environing immoralities by deceasing, than bing in a # 8220 ; populating snake pit # 8221 ; without spiritual counsel ( 76 ) . Norton in # 8220 ; The Lame shall Enter First # 8221 ; and Bevel in # 8220 ; The River # 8221 ; are illustrations of the guiltless victims. Again, Salvation is highly dearly-won, yet in O # 8217 ; Connor? s eyes, salvation is worth the cost at any monetary value. Norton # 8217 ; s battle to accept his female parent # 8217 ; s decease without his male parent # 8217 ; s support leaves him badly depressed. Shepard substitutes human intelligence for faith and considers himself a foster priest who hears confessions of ill-conceived adolescents. Shepard dismisses Norton as selfish and missing possible. Rufus is Shepard # 8217 ; s particular undertaking, because he is # 8220 ; the most intelligent male child he had worked with # 8221 ; ( Bain et al. 391 ) . Norton, being really waxy, hungering for attending, and ignorant of basic faith is enlightened by Rufus. Even though Shepard chooses to disregard God, Norton needs some signifier of religion to explicate his female parent? s decease. Rufus supplies replies and convinces Norton that he can turn up his female parent in Heaven and fall in her at that place if he goes while he is still a kid. Unfortunately, he hangs himself, but harmonizing to Rufus, he is with his female parent. Another illustration of the absence of religion is the tragic decease of Bevel. The kid is systematically exposed to a corrupt society from malicious playfellows and his parents # 8217 ; circle of friends. While his parents nurse a katzenjammer, the baby-sitter, Mrs. Connin introduces Bevel to faith. Bevel, wholly unmindful to religion, fails to acknowledge a image of Jesus. In a hunt for more cognition of the Godhead, he steals Mrs. Connin # 8217 ; s book of # 8220 ; gospel truth. # 8221 ; The book convinces Bevel that he was # 8220 ; made by a carpenter named Jesus # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 38 ) . Without comprehension, he is baptized in the # 8220 ; River of Life # 8221 ; to take away his # 8220 ; hurting # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 40 ) . Bevel understands merely the actual truth of the sermonizer # 8217 ; s baptismal discourse. Believing that the river would non accept him the first clip, Bevel sets out to baptise himself and # 8220 ; maintain o n traveling this clip until he [ finds ] found the Kingdom of Christ # 8221 ; ( O # 8217 ; Connor, A Good 51 ) . Both Norton and Bevel are rescued from their negligent parents. They are non opprobrious parents ; nevertheless, they are negligent because they choose to disregard God. As Walters has noted, neither kid has reached the age of ground nor consciously contemplates suicide, # 8220 ; both die in a province of grace # 8221 ; ( 76 ) . O # 8217 ; Connor # 8217 ; s two evildoers, the prideful and the immorality, must be violently shaken to see world or damned to ageless penalty. Awareness of God # 8217 ; s grace does non come easy to these people. The true light of their psyche may be their ain life or that of an guiltless victim. As pointed out in Masterpieces of American Literature, # 8220 ; God # 8217 ; s clemency is non a soothing balm [ , ] but a combustion fire that purifies the evildoer # 8221 ; ( 498 ) . Bain, Carl. E. , Beaty, Jerome A ; Hunter, J.P. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 5th erectile dysfunction. New York: W.W. Norton A ; Company, 1995. # 8220 ; Grace. # 8221 ; The New Encylopedia Britannica: Micropaedia. 1990. McFarland, Dorothy, Tuck. Flannery O # 8217 ; Connor. New York: Fredrick Ungar, 1976. O # 8217 ; Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Difficult to Find. San diego: Harcourt, 1976. O # 8217 ; Connor, Flannery. Habit of Being. Erectile dysfunction: Sally Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1979. # 8220 ; O # 8217 ; Connor. # 8221 ; Masterpieces of American Literature. Ed. Frank N. Magil. New Jersey: Saturn, 1993. Bruno walters, Dorothy. Flannery O # 8217 ; Connor. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1993.