The great gatsby - Movie Review Example

The Great Gatsby Topic: With Jay Gatsby’s death is the American dream dead or not? The theme of thenovel relates to the death of the American Dream. In the 1920s that was not an ordinary dream. The author provides us with details of the lifestyles of people in high class as perceived by a young moralistic man, Nick Carraway. Narrator’s dealings and interactions with that society are a pointer how those modern values transformed American Dream’s well-intentioned pure ambitious goals into one that pursued aggrandizement for wealth with no holds barred approach.

To elucidate this position, the author mentions the original American Dream and the current trends arguing how that glorious dream stands vanished from the map of America.The important credits of the American Dream as presented in the novel are hope and perseverance and aspiration for success facing all difficult challenges. To be ambitious and work hard with an unquenchable thirst about adventurous life! Jay Gatsby is supposed to pursue all these qualities and he is the main character in the novel representing American Dream.

He is fired by the everlasting hope and craves to win Daisy’s love in tandem with the spirit of the American Dream. A pre-decided goal and the relentless pursuit of that goal! His introduction in the novel is dramatic and the author describes it thus: "…[with] his hands in his pockets… out to determine what share was his of our local heavens ….he [Gatsby] stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,… 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" (Fitzgerald 21).

The restless spirit of Gatsby is evident in this description. The green light is the symbol for his intense desire to possess Daisy, craze for money and he is not satisfied with his present possessions; he craves to achieve and accumulate more. But what is the reality? Nick describes it and argues that the green light is the symbol for success that he is anticipating in the future, by further accelerating the efforts. Undoubtedly, Gatsby’s goal provides him with a direction in life, but in his aggression to move forward he has no time to pause, review or look backward.

He chases his dream of securing eternal company with Daisy and, subsequently, he waits patiently for a long time near her house but she has abandoned him. In his effort to emulate the modern face of the American Dream, he has lost touch with the pure, original American Dream.Loss of ethical values is the cause for the shattering of the American Dream. American people compromise with the humanitarian values and craze for money at all times and at all costs results in the death of the dream. The downfall of Gatsby begins with his adopting unethical practices in pursuit of monetary gains.

Changes in lifestyles like big parties, palatial mansions and fashionable clothing in more than required quantity — all these represent corrupt practices. Tom owns responsibility for Gatsby’s murder and Wilson’s death but he belongs to the class of people who achieve success at the cost of dehumanization and bargaining with their souls. He does not care much about these grave incidents. Before his death Gatsby has realized the true nature of Daisy and he regretfully remarks, "Her voice is full of money" (120).

He is shot by George Wilson, a common man, who is making efforts to achieve success, and he also commits suicide. That signals the end of the old American Dream and the tragic loss of the authentic American values. The combustible younger generation has to learn a lot about the life and death of Gatsby and they need to distinguish between the original and counterfeit values of life. Happiness is within and one has to achieve it with right type of approach to life, viewed from all angles and taking into consideration all the factors.

Works CitedFitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. new York, NY: Scribner, 2004. Print.