The Americam Dream Essay, Research Paper

?The American Dream?

People may say that the definition of the ?American Dream?, means to be wealthy, others may argue that it means to be healthy. Most people think that it is a combination of both. In the novel ?The Great Gatsby?, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby reveal two different meanings to the phrase, ?The American Dream?. Nick?s interpretation of the American Dream is based on being healthy and happy. Gatsby?s on the other hand is more lenient toward the wealthier aspect.

Throughout the entire novel Nick Carraway is known as an honest, trustworthy, loyal, and judgmental type of person. As soon as Nick reaches the age of thirty, he realizes a sense of moral responsibility. He can not tolerate how everything is revolving around money. He is disgusted with the eastern society and now figures out that it is time to leave and move on so that he can be happy. So, he returns to the Middle Western society and fulfills his personal responsibilities.

Jay Gatsby is the exact opposite of Nick Carraway. As the novel progressives his attitude towards life does not change and he just becomes more and more selfish. He devotes his life to being with Daisy Buchanan and he thinks that he can only get her to love him if he is rich. He is an extremely romantic character, but definitely falls short in realizing that love can not be bought, it must be there from the start.

It is safe to say that Nick is a trustworthy person and that Gatsby is a materialistic person. They each present totally different characteristics and are examples of the established rich and the newly rich. This novel resulted in a man who realized that there is more to life than money, and a man that did not succeed, because he was too caught up in money. The ?American Dream? is definitely a combination of health and wealth.

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