The Great Gatsby Literary Essay

Graded Assignment
The Great Gatsby Literary Essay
This document provides an overview of the tasks and time line for completing this assignment.
Assignment Instructions
After reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you will answer the question below in an essay of at least five paragraphs. You will hand in your completed essay on the final day of this unit. As you work through this unit’s lessons, you will be prompted to complete activities designed to help you prepare, draft, and revise your essay. Good luck!
In The Great Gatsby, what does F. Scott Fitzgerald suggest about the state of the American Dream, the people who pursue it, and the impact of that pursuit through his depiction of Jay Gatsby and the people in Gatsby’s life? Include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response. Do not merely summarize the story.
Process
You should always use a process for your writing that includes planning and drafting. To complete this assignment, you will do the following:
Review the assignment instructions and grading criteria thoroughly. The writing assignment you complete in this unit will be graded against a rubric that assesses the essay in a number of categories. These categories focus both on the essay’s contents and its clarity.
Read the rubric on the last page of this document. Keep the criteria listed on the rubric in mind as you complete the writing assignment.
Remember to write in standard formal English and use the third person (no personal opinions) and the present tense.
Be sure to include specific examples, quotations, and supporting details from the novel in your response. Do not merely summarize the story.
Complete a plan for your essay.
Begin drafting your paper, using your plan as a guide.
Review and revise your first draft. You should try to have another person read your work and give you feedback as part of your revision process.
Write the final draft of your project. Be sure to follow these requirements and recommendations when completing your draft:
Open a new Microsoft Word document. Type your name, your teacher’s name, your school name, and the date at the top of your document. Save the file as:
ENG303-ENG304_S1_U8_L1_Literary_Essay_FirstInitial_LastName.doc
Example: ENG303-ENG304_S1_U8_L1_Literary_Essay_M_Smith.doc
Type your project in the document you create.
Time Line
You will complete this project over the course of 10 school days.

Grading/Point Values
Assignment Point Value: 300
Required Final Draft Length
Word Count: 900–1500
Grading Rubric
Your essay will be evaluated using the rubric.

ANSWER

The Great Gatsby Literary Essay

The American dream is considered the United States ethos that offers rights, democracy, liberty, equality, and opportunity. According to the American dream, success in society is achieved through upward social mobility regardless of social class or background (Citra). The American dream has been sought by many Americans that believe in a more prosperous future. However, not all Americans can achieve this dream. Many individuals come close to it, but only those with self-determination and grit are the ones that receive the full benefits of the American dream. These are individuals that work along with challenges and maintain their interest and effort in the face of adversity and failure to achieve their ultimate goal. This paper will focus on the book “The Great Gatsby” and discuss what it suggests about the state of the American dream and the individuals that can pursue it, and the effect of pursuing it as described in Gatsby’s life. The desire to achieve the American Dream of happiness and love is the root of damaging behavior with regards to different characters in the story and life of Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby is a story that is greatly understood through the review of the American Dream concept and the desire for wealth. The story focuses about the American Dream and how the dream has different significances for different people. It shows that the dream also has a downfall for those that attempt to run for the illusionary goals in the American dream. The common goal in most individuals with the American dream, according to Great Gatsby, is high social status and wealth, which leads to greed and harm to those around.

The American dream, according to the characters, entails having a job and working to live freely and become wealthy. Considerably, the state of the American dream has been presented and perceived differently in the Great Gatsby due to difference in characters, their social class, and time. For instance, Mr. Wilson perceives the American dream as having a healthy family and a stable job (Lučić, 68). On the other hand, Tom is like everyone else in the American dream: being wealthy, stable job, and gaining new opportunities. Jay Gatsby focuses on getting wealthy and gaining more opportunities. Myrtle is very materialistic and regrets to have gotten married to Wilson, who does not have a lot of money. The influence of wealth is also depicted by Daisy, who regrets her decision due to her desire for wealth (Lučić, 68).

Ideally, the American dream is the certainty that any individual, notwithstanding of their class, gender, nationality, or race, can be prosperous and escalate to the top if they just work hard and be determined to succeed. Therefore, anyone can attain their successful version in society which means that upward mobility is possible for all individuals. However, the American dream can only be attained through effort, risk-taking, and sacrifice. At the beginning of the novel, there is an demonstration of the American dream where people of varying nationalities and races focus on NYC, which has the rudiments of the American Dream, such as economic opportunity.

Jay Gatsby’s work ethic and grit to achieve Daisy’s love served him well in banishing his poor life in the past. “His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.” Considerably, this quote shows his dream to acquire Daisy’s love which led to his hard work and effort to gain wealth.

Jay Gatsby overcame poverty by gaining incredible financial resources and partial social cache in the 1920s. Gatsby is the son of a poor farmer from North Dakota who later made efforts and became rich. Gatsby’s life brings the idea that anyone can rise to the top through determination and effort in America. Greats Gatsby has demonstrated the American dream through the character of Jay Gatsby. The character has illustrated that self-determination and effort are enough to attain the American Dream of success and wealth (Lindberg). The self-determination of Gatsby to become an individual and get ahead in life is seen since he was a young child. Gatsby worked at south shore of Lake Superior as a clam digger, salmon fisher, as well as extra capacities that earned him a living. Although he began his life off poor, he struggled effortlessly for his way up by working with Dan Cody.

Gatsby reaches out headed for something far off, something of sight but undeniably out of reach. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” In the quote, the green light is considered the meditation of Gatsby about the American dream, which is that individuals are always trying to reach something better than themselves, which is often out of reach. Gatsby’s desire for richness has been linked to his dream for the love of Daisy. Although Gatsby achieved a considerable amount of wealth, he failed to acquire Daisy’s love in the end.

Jay Gatsby cannot achieve his dream since Gatsby is not in a respectable position and has a bad reputation. When people learn that he achieved his wealth through criminal ways, it changes Daisy’s perception and rejects him since she does not want to ruin her reputation for being with such a flawed person. This shows that the American dream cannot be fully achieved since people who believe in it constantly strive for something more. It depicts that it is dangerous for one to try achieving more than what is given since when one is involved in materialistic gains, they have no guarantee of happiness.

The desire for Gatsby to achieve more led to his downfall, which demonstrated that infinite success is impossible (Štrba). Even after he gained Daisy’s love, he still desired more where she went further and requested Daisy to say that she didn’t love Tom. This shows that individuals always desire something more, which influences the American Dream with the belief that no matter how much one achieves his dream, there is always something more to strive for.

Gatsby held grand parties for people at least once a fortnight where people enjoyed his American dream. After his death, his generosity was forgotten and ignored, which shows how selfish and insensitive society the American dream has built. The desire to reach the American dream has led to a decline in morals and the careless lifestyle of Americans that may result in destruction. Gatsby’s journey to achieve the American dream has been corrupted and influenced by outside forces that prevent him from fully attaining the dream.

Conclusion

The novel focuses on Gatsby and other characters in Gatsby’s life who attempt to achieve the American Dream through opportunities offered for every individual according to their achievement and ability. All through the characters attempt to achieve the American dream, all do not gain the benefits of the American dream. Additionally, even characters that have already attained the American dream are not happy. The American dream of freedom, equality, opportunity, democracy, and liberty is perceived differently by the characters. However, the American dream should not be a dream of wealth and high acceptance in society but a social order where an individual can be recognized and accepted by others without influence and focus on materialism.

Works Cited

Lindberg, Lovisa. “The American dream as a means of social criticism in The Great Gatsby.” (2015).

Lučić, Ivana Nakić. “The American dream in “The Great Gatsby” by FS Fitzgerald.” International Journal of Languages and Literatures March 2.1 (2014): 67-76.

Štrba, Ivan. “Birth, Life and Disillusionment of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby.” (2012).

Citra, Vidya Muthya. “American Dream in Jay Gatsby as the Main Character of The Great Gatsby Novel.” Compendium: Journal of Cultural, Literacy, and Linguistic Studies 1.1 (2018).