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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper argues that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, “The Great Gatsby,” praises and condemns the American dream at the same time. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVamedrm.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
and compelling. This paper discusses the ways in which the novel illustrates the American Dream. Discussion It can be argued that the book resonates so strongly with readers because it
shows both the American dream and its dark underside; in fact, Gatsby has wealth but is not happy. This is perhaps the basic conundrum at the center of the American
obsession with material success: it doesnt necessarily bring happiness. Nor does Gatsby have social status. He has far less money than Tom and Daisy Buchanan and in addition, he made
his money himself while Tom inherited his, meaning that Tom is "old money" while Gatsby is "new money." Tom feels superior to Gatsby for this and in fact many wealthy
old families look down on the self-made as inferiors simply because they worked to get where they are. Thus, Fitzgerald shows us that even within the ranks of the wealthy
there is a "pecking order," and Gatsby is at the bottom of the heap. That is possibly one reason why we like him, and why Nick Carraway, who narrates the
book, likes him as well. He is an outsider in a sense, as is Nick, as we would be if we tried to move comfortably in the social circle of
people like the Buchanans. Fitzgerald shows us all the trappings of wealth: the gorgeous house, the fancy car, and in one astonishing scene, the shirts of which Gatsby is so
proud: "He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their
folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray" (Fitzgerald 93). But even this scene of boyish exuberance is undercut when Daisy begins to cry; and by the
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