Preview

Examples Of Ambition In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
842 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Ambition In The Great Gatsby
The American Dream first game up in the Declaration of Independence, which was used to give hope to regular citizens. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness“. The American dream is something that is common to all people, but is perceived differently from one another. A major theme in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald is the pursuit of what can be called the American Dream. The American Dream is defined as the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work, determination, and creativity. The American Dream also can mean having lots of money, a …show more content…
Most of the characters in The Great Gatsby are full of hope, especially Gatsby who is hoping to win Daisy back and make everything how it used to be. He has an “extraordinary gift of hope“ (Fitzgerald, 1) and he sacrifices himself and all he has to fulfill his dream. Gatsby's hope made his drive strong making him do whatever he could to succeed. Gatsby knew to get the girl he needed lots of money and he needed it in as little time as possible. Gatsby was so ambitious that he worked with the mafia to make his money. Cause he is making his money by breaking the law, his dream becomes corrupt and won't be able to be achieved. Fitzgerald uses the green light as a symbol of hope, money, Ambition and jealousy. Gatsby wants everything to be and look perfect for Daisy, so Daisy could see him as a rich and noble man. “We both looked down at the grass – there was a sharp line where my ragged lawn ended and the darker, well-kept expanse of his began. I suspected he meant my grass." (Fitzgerald, 80) . This quote shows how far he would go to get daisy to complete his dream. He becomes obsessed with his dream, which ultimately changes him in the long

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The American dream was the belief that you could achieve anything through hard work and perseverance no matter where you came from. The 1920s was a time of rebellion against tradition and what seemed to be morally correct. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies a loss of faith, a confused sense of identity and place in the world, and a collapse of morality and values in order to express the aspects of the American dream.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the symbolic nature of the green light conveys the message that love and hope inflate expectations and lead to disappointing outcomes. When Nick Carraway returns home from meeting with Daisy and Tom Buchanan, he sees Jay Gatsby with his arms “stretched out… towards the dark water” and staring at “a single green light” that was “minute and far away” (Fitzgerald 25-26). Gatsby’s deep desire for the distant light became his equally distant goal and unrealistic dream. Gatsby connects the green light to his longing for Daisy that continued to grow until he expected her to reach the unattainable and imaginative. After five years of longing, Daisy and Gatsby reconnect in Nick’s home where Gatsby’s “colossal…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gatsby's desire to win Daisy's love is his version of the old American dream: an incredible goal and a constant search for the opportunity to reach this goal. This is shown when Gatsby is first introduced into the novel. It is late at night and we find him "with his hands in his pockets… out to determine what share was his of our local heavens." While Nick continues to watch Gatsby's movements he says: "he [Gatsby] 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" (21-22). The green light that Gatsby reaches out for symbolizes his longing; his longing for Daisy, for money, for acceptance and no matter how much he has, he never feels complete. This green light is part of the American Dream. It symbolizes our constant searching for a way to reach that goal just of in the distance, as Nick described it, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther… And one fine morning…" (182). Gatsby's goal gave him a purpose in life, which sets him apart from the rest of the upper…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is something that a person can either find success or failure. The American Dream is open for interpretations. The American Dream Gatsby is chasing consist of; wealth, social acceptance, and the love of a desirable woman. Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, crafts a unique style of exploring the connection between Jay Gatsby and the American Dream. Tom Buchanan is man that had already gained the social status that Gatsby wanted to acquire in the novel. Mr. Gatsby desperately tries to befriend Tom Buchanan in order to gain social status and live the American Dream. Gatsby being a socially awkward person is inhibited in discovering the dream he is chasing. Finding love is another aspect of Mr. Gatsby’s dream that is never completed. His desire to marry Tom’s wife Daisy is an endless quest. Nick’s opinion of Gatsby is another factor that contributes to the unsuccessfulness of Gatsby. The American Dream is an artificial idea that cannot be achieved by Mr. Jay Gatsby because it is merely a product of the New World.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts Jay Gatsby as hopeful who throughout the novel always pursues one individual, his lover Daisy from five years ago. The green light exemplifies Gatsby’s single goal and dream. Considering Gatsby has spent the last five years being a very successful bootlegger, to get Daisy to be his would be Gatsby’s American Dream and his token to his success. The American Dream for Daisy however consists of having a materialistic lifestyle and wealth. Fitzgerald uses the motif of the green light to emphasize the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby in order to convey the unethical logic of how society views the American Dream as having wealth, yet many still cannot fulfill ones happiness after achieving it.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is originally about attaining happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has changed into this want for wealth by whatever means, thinking that money will bring happiness. Fitzgerald does not use the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is obvious that he shows the impossibility of happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates through symbols the impracticality of achieving the American Dream.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a result of Gatsby’s work for his money in illegal ways we are able to see he has high goals and aspirations. However his goals are to win over his one true love Daisy yet she has found someone else whom she is not happy with but stays with anyways. Gatsby happiness was lead by the symbolism of the green light which…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ambition In The Great Gatsby

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages

    An individual’s ambition can be a crucial factor in aiding one to achieve their goals. However, one’s obsessive desire to achieve their goals can have a series of destructive effects potentially leading to their demise. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a novel that depicts the consequences that relate to one’s obstinate devotion to their goal. Characters in the novel strive to achieve their individual goals, however they become blinded by their ambition in the process. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in The Great Gatsby is an ideal representation of an individual whose ambition lies in his love for a woman he had lost long ago, and how this ambition…

    • 3297 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream.” - Tommy Hilfiger. For most Americans, the definition of the American Dream is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and a high- class lifestyle for the family and children. This dream is achieved through hard work in a society with some barriers. The American Dream is a desire most people wish to achieve, however, even though this desire is achievable, it can also be easily corrupted. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the theme of the American Dream is clearly present and shown through the wealth, the excessive lifestyle, but more importantly, the downfall of the American Dream. This theme is portrayed by certain characters such as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway and Daisy Buchanan.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The green light on Daisy's dock, represents Gatsby's ultimate goal of reuniting with Daisy and having her love forever. It acts as a beacon to him, reminding him of his goal and focusing all of his attention on achieving it. He literally cannot take his eyes off of the beacon and therefore, his goal. The color green also symbolizes money, which is a motivating factor for Gatsby and Tom.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love and Gatsby

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fitzgerald captures the overall notion of The Great Gatsby with the simple scheme of the final phrases with the use of the green light on the end of Daisy’s dock. To you and me a green light is no more then just a light, but to Gatsby it’s much more. The light first appeared when Gatsby started across the bay towards that light at the end of the dock. The green light signifies hope that motivates Gatsby to chase his love, Daisy. “Gatsby believed in the green light” (180) this quote shows how desperate Gatsby is to win back his love. This conclusion shows that Gatsby was no more that a dedication to chasing a lost love. For this it is ironic that Fitzgerald named the novel “The Great Gatsby” since Gatsby was no more then a failure in settling down with Daisy. How can Gatsby be considered “great” when the one thing he pleased will never be his? Well Fitzgerald did not accomplish settling down with Daisy, but still he could be seen as a success as he held on to his hope and followed through until the end. All this hope was driven by one thing, his love of Daisy. Love, an important theme in The Great Gatsby, in Gatsby situation was also completely definite by…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What exactly is the American Dream some say its undeniable riches, others say having a family and a house. In his novel The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald suggest that the so called American Dream, is nothing but just a dream that can never be attanied. He uses characters like, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby to show the corruptness in old money and new money, and the dissatifaction of those who have everything but can’t fill the empty void that they seek.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a society of high social standings, immense wealth, and love. This can be classified as the American Dream. If an individual is determined, that individual has a reasonable chance and holds the hope for acquiring wealth, and the happiness and freedoms that go with it. In essence, the American Dream gives the chance to gain personal fulfillment, materially and spiritually. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the American Dream as an unachievable illusion, one which is ultimately detrimental to the novel’s central character, Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby tries to attain happiness, Daisy’s love, which is all he wants, but ends up failing. Evidently, Gatsby may have achieved the definition of the American Dream, but at a personal standpoint, he failed to accomplish what he was truly aiming for.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The american dream in my opinion is if you work hard you will achieve the goals that you have. The american dream is different for every one of us because we all have different goals. For example a goal for someone who goes to college might be to graduate from college. A goal for someone who lives in the street might be to find some food and find a place to stay. This shows that many people have different goals which means the american dream does not exist. In the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the message about the american dream does not exist. In the novel it does not exist because wilson keeps on trying and trying to achieve his goal and he doesn't accomplish it.…

    • 133 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 3111 Words
    • 13 Pages

    To achieve higher expectations of success than the previous generations, and accomplishing what hasn't already been accomplished, can be considered the overall American Dream. Generally, every child wants to surpass the achievements of their parents as a natural act of competition and personal satisfaction. Throughout The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and Death of a Salesman, there is a constant yearning desire to achieve the “American Dream;” whether it be reality or illusion. Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Miller, all portray the ideas of the American Dream relating to the time period that they are referring to. The strive to achieve a goal whether it be to be the wealthiest or achieve a great life by hard work seems to be the template for the original American dream in the books. To be able to support one’s family, have a decent job, a car, and a home, is the stereotypical, “American dream.” Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Miller incorporate their ideas of the American dream symbolically throughout their stories.…

    • 3111 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays