Blog #4
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s illustrious novel, The Great Gatsby, has been read timelessly throughout the decades as an analysis of the degrading “American Dream”. The story revolves around Jay Gatsby, an incredibly affluent businessman of the 1920’s, who strives to build upon his sum of worldly treasures, and ultimately, obtain the love of Daisy, a young woman of “Old Money”. Gatsby first exemplifies the original conception of the American dream, the “pursuit of happiness”. The author writes that, “the most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed” (99). This, “ineffable gaudiness” (99) provides a perfect example of the ability for any common man to pursue any degree of success and pleasure one wants in the United States, however this idealized version of greed manifests itself into the rudimentary desires for love and wealth. As seen in the novel, Gatsby’s ambitions for success and affluence lead him to discontented life controlled by his obsessions. However, Fitzgerald’s critique of American values is not limited to those with “New Money”, for he portrays almost every character with “Old Money” as shallow, callous, and unfaithful. Overall, Fitzgerald is insinuating that the “American Dream” has devolved from the “pursuit of happiness” to the “pursuit of wealth”.
Andrew, I loved your point of how the "American Dream" changed from a "pursuit of happiness" to a "pursuit of wealth." In my text-to-world entry, I said that it did not matter how they got their money, but rather how much money they got. Relating to your blog,I can say that we both agree on the fact that Gatsby's obsession for success and money is controlling him. The "way" he gets money, like I said earlier, did not matter to him; therefore, he allowed his obsession to take over him, which supports your point on how the "American Dream" is not a "pursuit of happiness" but rather a "pursuit of wealth."
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