Aguilar 1 Daniella Aguilar Mrs. Franscell English III AP 13 Apr.

2011 The Curse of the American Dream The American Dream defines happiness and wreath. For decades, happiness and wreath never been a good combination. To possess the American Dream, people would do whatever they can do to get to the top, no matter who they destroy. In The Great Gatsby, The American Dream during the Jazz Era was illusive, selfish, and destructive, destroying everything that gets in their way. The roaring twenties was an era where people started to discover new opportunities. After World War I, people started to live their lives to the fullest, Afternoon hotel-room cocktail parties became the newest form of hospitality (Trask 1). At first it seemed harmless, but years of partying, wasting money on alcohol and in the stock market; they were blind with the positive things that they did not know it will harm their lives in so many ways. Much negative events came out of the 1920s, but one good thing that happened was the womens independence, Following the war, many women were loathe to relinquish the feeling of financial independence their jobs had given them (Trask 2). Women also found their chance to be more free, Throughout New York City one found flappersany women unaccompanied by a man at any ofday or night (Trask 2). Women found their chance to prove that they can be selfdetermined. One of the female characters of The Great Gatsby was a symbol of what was going

Aguilar 2 on with the women during that time, Jordan Baker, one of the charactersthe growing power of the female in America during this time (Mansell 1). Being a female athletic during the 1920s can be hard but amazing. During the 1920s, peoples deadliest sins came out; some were for gluttony, others lust, but most of all was greed. In October of 1919, the Volstead Act was created, making people drinking alcohol illegally and making them want it more, If admitted, the customer might then en-tail pass through a series of locked doors, and at the final destination, the bartender provided a variety of watered-down scotches or gins (Mansell 2). People kept drinking and drinking until they passed out, and once they woke up the next morning, the following night they would drink and repeat the cycle. Even policemen helped out people to have a good time, Policemen were known to guide out of town visitors to the nearest speakprovide them with the password (Trask 2). Gatsby had some connections with the outlaws who provided him with alcohol, Jay Gatsby has absolutely no difficulty in providing gallons of alcohol for his parties (Trask 3). Gatsby used his money for the wrong reasons; he used his American Dream for the wrong reasons. Gatsby never knew the luxury of being a wealthy child, that his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful (Roberts 3). He bought multiple clothes; he wore the right cloths for his status. Gatsby is living the dream that people would love to have, a huge beautiful mansion, having parties every day, and tons of money, but he did not care of any of those things. The one thing that Gatsby wants that would make him happy is the women he loves, Daisy. He wanted more than anything is Daisy, so he used those things to get Daisy, This use of signs in both works helps to establish that the central characters believe in an American Dream that offers them limitless freedom, wealth, and power, and enables them to buy the love of a women who personifies their aspirations (Roberts 5). Gatsbys version of the American Dream was to

Aguilar 3 cherish the women he loves, so he uses his wealth to win her over. Daisy loves expensive things, she loves to have expensive clothing, a car, a big house, she wants to have everything. Daisy and Poppy are, indeed, won over by the lure of masculine power as signified possessions (Roberts 5). Gatsby knew that Daisy left him because he was poor, so he used his mansion to lure her in, After Gatsby and Daisy are reunited, Gatsby gives her a tour of his estate, eliciting a delighted response (Roberts 1). Gatsby begins to believe that things can go to back to how they were before he went off to war, In Daisy, Gatsbys meretricious dream was made fresh. He sought ever after to realize his dream union with her (Trask 2). The American Dream is a privilege to have, and if the person does not use it correctly, the outcome will sting like poison. After World War I, people wanted to live, they wanted to go out and have fun. In 1920, the world had improved greatly, cars are being bought and used regularly than before World War II, radios have been discovered, and people enjoyed watching the talkies, Instead of buying the stocks outright, they would deposit with a broker a percentage of money or other security as a provision against loss on the deal (Name number). They drank, danced, and had fun. But they did not know that in a decade, things will go terribly wrong. The consequences of Daisy and Toms were acted on Gatsby, proving the saying why do good things happen to good people, Buchanan serves as Gatsbys executioner; he allows George Wilson to believe that Gatsby had killed Myrtle (Trask 3). Tom and Gatsby had a few things in common, they both love the same woman in their own way and they both used The American Dream for the wrong reasons. Gatsby used The American Dream to get the woman he loves, and Tom used The American Dream to get other women, Gatsby at least used his wealth to seek out beauty and claim it for himself. Buchanan the lecher lacked any larger goals (Trask 4). In the end Daisy chose Tom. She was comfortable with her life with a marriage of lies than to be with a

Aguilar 4 man who will treat her how she deserves to be treated. Tom only gets a slap in the face for his consequence when Gatsby lost his life. Gatsby focus in his life was to have Daisy; he spent his life alone to get Daisy. For some the consequences are minimum, but for Gatsby, it was death. Gatsby never wanted or tried to find another woman to spend the rest of his life with, he spend years and years to get rich to finally be worthy for Daisys love and in the end he still was not good enough, Gatsby was as alone in death as he had been in life (Trask 3). Like in life, he was alone, not one of his wealthy friends was there, only Nick and his father who were not affected by the greed of The American Dream. Illusive, selfish, and destructive are the resources of the American Dream during the roaring twenties in The Great Gatsby. The 1920s was a new era where women can be independent and where people started to live. The American Dream was meant to be happy, have a nice house, good money, and a nice family, but instead the outcome has turned into jealousy, betrayal, anger, and alone. People who seek The American Dream will always wonder. People who have The American Dream will regret ever wanting it.

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Work Cited Dilworth, Tom. "Gertrude Stein in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." The Explicator 67.1 (2008): 24. Literature Resource Center. Thurs. 17 Mar. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA191401108&v=2.1&u=nisd1&it=r&p =LitRC&sw=w Mansell, Darrel. "The Jazz History of the World in The Great Gatsby." English Language Notes 25 (Dec. 1987): 57-62. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Thurs. 17 Mar. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1420061754&v=2.1&u=nisd1&it=r& p=LitRC&sw=w Roberts, Marilyn. "Scarface, The Great Gatsby, and the American Dream." Literature-Film Quarterly 34.1 (2006): 71. Literature Resource Center. Thurs. 17 Mar. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA143618074&v=2.1&u=nisd1&it=r&p =LitRC&sw=w Trask, David F. "A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." University Review 33.3 (Mar. 1967): 197-202. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Fri. 18 Mar. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1420013472&v=2.1&u=nisd1&it=r& p=LitRC&sw=w

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