The Empty American Promise in the Great Gatsby - Essay Example

English Literature ic and Modern), Essay Topic: The empty American promise in The Great Gatsby Introduction The Great American Dream of the twentieth century is not so great going by the types of repercussions that it has caused. The consumption pattern adopted by the people in the mad race to fulfill that Dream has resulted in the ruination of cultures and ecosystems. The foundation stone of the Dream is consumerism to secure individual and family happiness and security. To consume more of everything is the hallmark of this philosophy. This is the method to achieve prosperity for all in societal terms. The concept of branding and the American Dream: The practice of hot-branding to identify the animals is in vogue since long. When this word is used in business related issues, branding means to establish a distinctive identity. The American fascination for branding can be visualized from the fact that the country owns 7 of the 10 most valuable brands in the world. Branding is twice-blessed. It blesses the consumers as for the quality of the product and cashing upon this trust the producers are in a position to charge a premium over and above the value, taking into consideration the benefits provided by the product in question. The consumers find it tough to make the final decision amongst the multitude of choices available to them all over the world. They think that it is safe to revert to the established brands about which they are acquainted with. Brand provides an authentic and lasting platform from which expansion of business is fairly easy. The theme of the novel, “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights the death of the American Dream. In the character of Nick Carraway, the young moralist man, the author details the lifestyles of people in high class. Narrator’s dealings and interactions with the society are a pointer how those modern values transform people’s well-intentioned, pure ambitious goals in to one that in pursuit of aggrandizement for wealth with no holds barred approach. In support of this position, the author mentions about the original American Dream and the current trends and argues how that glorious dream stands vanished from the map of America. The important credits of the American Dream as presented in the novel go to the qualities of hope and perseverance and to aspire 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 the 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 F. Scott Fitzgerald 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" (21) The restless spirit of Gatsby is evident in this description and the green light as his brand of life. He has intense desire to possess Daisy coupled with craze for money and he is not satisfied about his present possessions and craves to achieve and accumulate more. Nick describes it and argues that the green light is the brand for success that he is anticipating for 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 backwards. 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. The pursuit of brand has engulfed him over all other considerations. Individuals like Gatsby conceptualize American Dream as the brand of their life. The components of that brand only take into consideration the materialistic values of the brand, and think only those values will contribute to the perennial growth of the brand. That is an important misconception. Loss of ethical values is the cause for the shattering of the American Dream. American people’s compromise with the humanitarian values and craze for money at all times and at all costs leads to corrosion of the brand values and ultimately results in its death. To Gatsby, unfortunately, the sacrosanct aspect of the brand is no more important. 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 doesn’t 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."(Fitzgerald, p.120) He is shot by George Wilson, a common man, who is making efforts to achieve success in pursuit of the American Dream brand, 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 the counterfeit values of life and the consequences of supporting a wrong brand. 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. Material aspect is only one part of the truth related to the brand. The green light and the color green serve as brands in the novel, The Great Gatsby. The green light has the all-encompassing impact on his life and secular activities. Many rags to riches to stories turn American Dream in to a brand. That becomes the important facet of American identity. Settlers come to America as the ardent seekers of the brand, the inherent worth of which is wealth and freedom. An offshoot of this brand popularity is to seek stock market fortunes in New York, and a large number of people arrive in New York for the purpose in view. This is a negative shift for the brand which dents the popularity of the American values. People now want to become rich, irrespective of the means employed. Building life though ethical norms, is no longer an issue, for those who seek refuge under this brand. Benjamin Franklin is called the father of the great American Dream. But the principles on which he articulates his version of the American Dream are entirely different from what is discussed in the novel, The Great Gatsby. His inventions result in precedent-shattering results in terms of societal welfare and gains for the American citizen. His brand of development is still being pursued in America. About one such brand Benjamin Enrique et.al writes, “Consider Franklin’s greatest creations….the nation’s oldest property insurance company, still thriving today :”( xiv) He is a practical visionary who knows how to translate his vision into actions that will benefit the people of America. Paying glorious tributes to his caliber Benjamin Enrique et.al further writes, “Franklin took joy from his creations and from exercising his ingenuity, his energy, and his persistence. Franklin sought not the fruits of success, but success for its own sake, exercising its talents with a view not toward personal gain and private profit, but toward serving the community. “America’s first entrepreneur” may well be our finest one.”(xv)His genius is recognized by Thomas Jefferson who asks only him to edit the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin is a “brand” in the widest sense of the term. His eighteenth century principles connect well to the twenty-first century business management. Compare the twenty-first century American Dream with the brand of Benjamin Franklin. The pages of the history of the former are full with corporate scandals, greed and dishonesty and the followers of this brand have no consideration about the welfare of the common citizen. For Franklin, self-designed self-improvement program which he argues “contributed more to the quality and happiness of my life than anything else I tried." (Powell, n. p.) He leads a disciplined life and keeps a dairy note of his success and failures in developing and implementing thirteen moral virtues. This is the ultimate brand of Franklin according to McCormick, who writes, “Wrongdoing is not harmful to yourself and others because it's forbidden; it's forbidden because it's harmful. As such, it's in everybody's best interest to live a virtuous life if they want to be happy and successful. This is the way the world works. The young people reading this should take special note: nothing will make a person's fortune like simple goodness and honesty."(Powell, n. p.)Will the brand leaders following the current models heed this advice? Franklin’s greatest strength is he is willing to admit his mistakes, learn from them and move forward. As for the common citizen, he firmly advocates that basic conditions need to be created for the citizens, to enable them to become basically sound and industrious. Necessity for honesty is his watchword in all his dealings. He possesses a unique brand of intelligence and the common citizen is his philosopher and friend. One of the principles that he follows should act as the guiding force for the businessmen of the present era. He writes, “To apply myself industriously to whatever business I take in hand, and not divert my mind from my business by any foolish project of growing suddenly rich; for industry and patience are the surest means of plenty.”(Powell, n. p.) Here is food for thought for the topmost management experts in the 21st century brand of management. Conclusion: The dispositions of the characters in the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby,” and the principles enunciated in the American Dream of Benjamin Franklin brand are poles apart. Franklin knows something that is not taught in the business schools. They teach business education and Franklin teaches man-making education through which business and the citizens progress on level grounds. There is co-operation and no conflict of interests in this brand of business. The need of the hour for America is not the great projects with massive investments. America must think of creating great individuals, to get results that are in the interest of the country and its citizens. The leaders like Benjamin Franklin build the country for all time to come, and if the country lags behind instead of moving forward, the leaders alone are responsible. Another important issue is about the level of vigilance expected to be exercised by the common citizen of the country. Democratic values need the constant support of the citizens, as their wrong interpretations will make the businessmen and politicians go astray, and the system will go haywire. Benjamin Franklin was aware of the importance of the ordinary citizen in the democratic setup and all his projects had the welfare of the common man in mind. The projects implemented by him have stood the test of time, and the nation gratefully remembers him, for his unselfish approach to their implementation. Works Cited Enrique, Benjamin (Author) McCormick, Blaine (Author) Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Press; 2005 Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner; September 30, 2004 Powell, Jim. Benjamin Franklin: The Man Who Invented the American Dream, n. d. April 1, 1997 Web:www.fee.org/.../benjamin-franklin-the-man-who-invented-the-americ...Accessed on March 19, 2013 Read More