The Great Gatsby Theme Essay

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In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the American dream is portrayed throughout the novel as well as a great variety of themes. Power, love, betrayal, and social stratification are among a few themes that stand out the most. The story takes place in Long Island in the glamorous 1920's, a time also referred to as the “golden age twenties.” Fitzgerald does an outstanding job describing the prosperous American life of the time and bringing setting, theme, and characterization together to create a personal favorite . Once you pick up the book you are not gonna want to put it down. The narrator of The Great Gatsby is a young man named Nick Carraway who is also portrayed as the author of the book in the story. He is a graduate from…show more content…
The story is not about the love that is unconditional and forever lasting, but Instead is about the outcome of love, the breakup, the torment and regret that drives the theme of love to a tragic ending. With an exception to Gatsby everyone in the book is struggling with true genuine love. Tom is not happy enough with Daisy, and Daisy feels that Gatsby is her way out from her untruthful marriage. Myrtle looks for love and pleasure with Tom while her loving husband struggles to receive the same affection back. The theme of love easily connects to the theme of the American Dream, and to Gatsby, wealth and his love for Daisy are both part of that dream. The American Dream portrayed in the story is false and misleading just like the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. A relationship that began years before and ended, is reborn but based on lies and deception. Daisy believes his come up to the top of the social latter is honest, but little does she know that Gatsby is a criminal. In the novel Fitzgerald give the wrong impression of the American Dream. The American Dream as defined by The Oxford English Dictionary is “The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” (OED definition). Gatsby didn't work hard for his money instead he took a shortcut with illegal
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