The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Essay In American society, the way people act is quite an interesting, yet confusing subject to look at. If you were to look closely at the behavior and the thinking of the average American man in the modern day, you would see that he is not too different from a man that lived one hundred years ago in America. Obviously many things have changed in society that make a man different nowadays compared to one hundred years ago, but the point is that, in general, the mind of an American person has kept the same characteristics. A great way to understand how an American mans mind has remained the same is by comparing The Great Gatsby with modern society in the United States. In this novel, which takes place in the 1920s, we see that the major themes incorporated into it are hope in the American Dream, the idea that rich are always entitled and never responsible for their behavior, and that the common man will keep trying to achieve the American Dream to the fullest even though he is vaguely aware that he has higher morals than the person he is seeking to become. Ever since the United States was founded, man has always hoped of becoming successful and even prosperous. All men were created equal according to our Declaration of Independence so the American Dream is something that any man can achieve if he puts in the work and the dedication needed. Plenty of hope is also needed if a man wishes to become successful in the United States because sometimes hard work and dedication alone are not enough. The main character in The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, has, â€Å"some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life,† which is like saying that Gatsby is an average man that devotes his life to the American Dream and getting what he wants. Gatsby also has, â€Å"an extraordinary gift for hope,† which means that Gatsby has a positive attitude toward achieving the American Dream. Jay Gatsby can relate to many success stories that have happened recently in the United States. One example of a modern day Jay Gatsby is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah was born into a poor life with not much opportunity, but she did have hope and eventually she was able to work her way to the top of the American Dream. Having hope when trying to become successful is a must or your dream may never happen. It seems as though the old money, rich people think they have entitlement no matter what they do. The wealthy can have whatever they like all the time even if they dont morally deserve it. This has been the case in America for a long time, including the time of Jay Gatsby and also in modern day society. A major character in The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, realizes that the rich lack responsibility for their actions and they continue living as though they have every right to their good fortune. Nick says, â€Å"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. † Even when Daisy murders Myrtle, Gatsby ends up paying the price for her because Daisy and Tom are careless and rich. Money is way more important to them than anything else in the world. There are many people in our society today like Daisy and Tom. One example is Paris Hilton, who basically goes around and parties with her fathers money. She can do whatever she wants and the money is always there to cover it up. It is amazing how money can determine someones character. The common man seems to always fight to have the American Dream even if they realize that they have higher morals than those who already are successful. Money can blind a person from realizing that having good morals is more important than having financial success. The Great Gatsby shows that Jay Gatsby innocently pursued the American Dream, he worked on personal improvement his whole life, and he continued his hard pursuit even with forces working against him. He ultimately was killed because of people unlike him that had money but no morals. Gatsby tried to have money and great morals and that is something that is not exactly possible. People nowadays try all the time to pursue the American Dream while remaining a good person with morals. It is hard to have it both ways and that is evident after reading about Jay Gatsby. Realizing that modern day society is still the same as it was in The Great Gatsby is important. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, would very likely agree that todays society is no different than the society portrayed in his novel. Everybody wants to pursue the American Dream and remain as a good person, but as you look at Jay Gatsby, it is easy to see that it is extremely hard to accomplish and maintain. Maybe soon society will become a fair playing ground, but for now all people can do is hope that life works out for the better.