What Is Nick's Response To The Great Gatsby
Brian Wang
AP Lang & Comp period 5
Thesis: No matter the person nor source or origin, one can search and work for the “American Dream” if one puts in hard work and respectful ethics.
Narrative
My grandfather emigrated from China in the 50’s. At the time, Communist regimes, China’s Civil War, and the Cultural Revolution were plaguing most of the region. My grandfather’s family help establish the Republic of China in Taiwan, made of mainly the Chinese Nationalists right after the communist party took over mainland China. However, my grandfather, his wife, and some other family members made the effort to find solace in a safer place. At the time, it was hard for someone in the world to not hear about America. Although they didn’t come by …show more content…
In this last passage, we can see the similarities and allusions Fitzgerald makes between his book and the American dream. Nick does not offer a large role in the entire plot, and instead we see him more as an observer than a main character. Gatsby, on the other hand, and the other characters around him make up the story of the “great” American Dream. When Nick, “... thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock”, he alluded towards the mystery and the goal Gatsby, and in other words, society tried to reach. The decay of the light and the diminishing of his house were allusions and references of the dream that will end in destruction and nothing. Gatsby's dream that “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”, were like immigrants, traveled across the blue ocean to find a better life upon the new world, America. Nick then talks about the line between reality and the dreams we are able to look upon. Society , or Gatsby’s house “...had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity …show more content…
I feel as if your book was very thought-provoking in your way of describing the American Dream from the 1920’s time period. In my opinion, the start of the 1900’s began to show exponential growth in technology and luxury, all that is still happening today. I believe that there is still a connection between your message from the early part of the 20th century and now; almost a hundred years later. Although we have come a long way from the old timey entertainment and settings that you grew up in, we still hold many of the same values of the American dream and of our society. In the very beginning of your book, you start off with a quote from the main character's father, "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had" (1). That statement is still true today, although not many people still see it as advice. Many people in affluent settings, (and even in my own community) do not feel that it is important to keep in mind that not everyone was raised in an equal setting. Many of us cannot imagine the struggles or the hardships some families or individuals had to overcome to get where they are. The American dream is not prevalently flawed in this sense, where if everyone kept in mind that dreams come from aspirations from different sources, than each dream should be treated equally.
AP Lang & Comp period 5
Thesis: No matter the person nor source or origin, one can search and work for the “American Dream” if one puts in hard work and respectful ethics.
Narrative
My grandfather emigrated from China in the 50’s. At the time, Communist regimes, China’s Civil War, and the Cultural Revolution were plaguing most of the region. My grandfather’s family help establish the Republic of China in Taiwan, made of mainly the Chinese Nationalists right after the communist party took over mainland China. However, my grandfather, his wife, and some other family members made the effort to find solace in a safer place. At the time, it was hard for someone in the world to not hear about America. Although they didn’t come by …show more content…
In this last passage, we can see the similarities and allusions Fitzgerald makes between his book and the American dream. Nick does not offer a large role in the entire plot, and instead we see him more as an observer than a main character. Gatsby, on the other hand, and the other characters around him make up the story of the “great” American Dream. When Nick, “... thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock”, he alluded towards the mystery and the goal Gatsby, and in other words, society tried to reach. The decay of the light and the diminishing of his house were allusions and references of the dream that will end in destruction and nothing. Gatsby's dream that “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”, were like immigrants, traveled across the blue ocean to find a better life upon the new world, America. Nick then talks about the line between reality and the dreams we are able to look upon. Society , or Gatsby’s house “...had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity …show more content…
I feel as if your book was very thought-provoking in your way of describing the American Dream from the 1920’s time period. In my opinion, the start of the 1900’s began to show exponential growth in technology and luxury, all that is still happening today. I believe that there is still a connection between your message from the early part of the 20th century and now; almost a hundred years later. Although we have come a long way from the old timey entertainment and settings that you grew up in, we still hold many of the same values of the American dream and of our society. In the very beginning of your book, you start off with a quote from the main character's father, "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had" (1). That statement is still true today, although not many people still see it as advice. Many people in affluent settings, (and even in my own community) do not feel that it is important to keep in mind that not everyone was raised in an equal setting. Many of us cannot imagine the struggles or the hardships some families or individuals had to overcome to get where they are. The American dream is not prevalently flawed in this sense, where if everyone kept in mind that dreams come from aspirations from different sources, than each dream should be treated equally.