Final Post
Due FEB 2 Beginning of school
Due FEB 2 Beginning of school
I will grade this in class Monday--so you can post over the weekend.
NO additional time will be provided in class to BLOG
DON'T GO INTO THIS BLOG UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK.
PS--if you are here for hints on the quiz...read the book instead:)
Did anyone in the Great Gatsby earn his/her American Dream?
Does the American Dream still hold true today for you in our society?
For help on "American Dream" feel free to bug Mrs. Nayback, Mrs. Quinn or search online. PLEASE do not attempt to blog information that you yourself do not write
(i.e. don't just copy and paste from a website) I want your own thoughts about the book!
26 comments:
i dont think anyone in the Great Gatsby ever earned their American Dream. I think the American dream does still hold true for me in today's society, but maybe not in the way in the way you would think. in the Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy had the money, the success, the house, but they had no family, and they committed adultry and were miserable with eachother. they never seemed to have what they really wanted. Gatsby and money and a home, and fame, but he could never have Daisy as his wife and have children. and he ended up getting shot for something he didn't do. i also have doubts as to whether or not any of them really worked hard for their lifestyle. my idea of the American dream is not really having to be famous or extremely wealthy, but living a happy life with a family and being financially stable, having a home, children, dog, whatever. whatever makes you happy(besides going on a psychotic rampage) is the American dream.
My American Dream does involve hard work for me. I bust my butt--sometimes maybe too much.
But then, I think of people in other countries or other conflicts and I feel ashamed of how much I have. Imagine living on the Gaza Strip right now or in Nicaragua or Cuba.
Gatsby has been to war and survived. He tried to live the American Dream and he felt he needed to change who he was to "be someone" for Daisy.
His dream was false though and came back to kill him. No one will remember Gatz for who he was but for what he pretended to be and for what he lost.
I don't know if he deserved losing so much, but perhaps if he had not lived a lie (and blew off Daisy?) his life may have been his own.
I do not believe that anyone achieved the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Sad, truly. Now, I'm sure every American (and even non-Americans) do have their own views and opinions on what IS the "Great American Dream"- which is EXACTLY what we stand for (as a country). America is about agreeing to follow a Constitution with laws based on moral values, but being able to be almost completely free to do what you want, say what you think, and act how you feel. That is the beauty of our country!
In the book, I believe the green light represented a little of two things- someone's dream (Gatsby's, in a more literal tone) but also hope. Gatsby was so determined to win Daisy back, and in a strange way I felt like the green light was a little reminder... It reminded him that she was right there, he still had something to work for.
Did ANYONE in the book go about it the right way?
No way, no how.
Getting what you want is seldom times achieved by going behind people's backs, taking the easy way out, and only thinking about yourself. It comes with compromise, thinking about others, and sometimes doing what is right, even though it may not be what you want.
In today's day, for instance:
People who work hard, take the high road, and are honest are the ones that earn money and respect in our society.
The ones who embezzle, cheat, and lie are the ones who declare bankruptcy.
I think the American Dream holds true to this day- which it should. We should never lose sight of what we want in life. However, there are right and wrong ways to go about it. I think that this book is a prime example, and even a warning, to what can happen to you. This lesson has stood the test of time.
Overall, I VERY much enjoyed the book. I loved it :]
Again, man bear is JAMMING!
It almost seems to be now that the American Dream is backwards.
We (the hardworking middle class) mainly pay our taxes and then the government gives bailout money to corporations that spent money badly, overpaid the executives, or lent money poorly. So who pays the price? Us again, the taxpayers.
Now taxpayers are asking for transparency of funds in Obama's new economic plan, but the businesses want that information hidden and kept confidential.
Isn't that why the people in Gatsby fell tragically? Even Daisy didn't get the man she may have really loved. Tom is still an arrogant jerk. Gatsby, the hard working pretend guy was killed by a middle class dirty blue collar worker (Wilson).
I wonder if Fitzgerald knew he was, in a way, writing about how hypocritical he and his society had become?
Responding to AP Teacher Nayback:
I think Fitzgerald was making a prediction about the future of society. It's sick really, but it makes complete sense to what is happening in our world today.
No one in The Great Gatsby earned their American dream. Daisy's real American dream would be her and Gatsby together, or so you would think. Instead Daisy chose to run from her problems, so she decided not to have her American dream.
Gastby was the clostest to getting his American dream. He had the money, the house, and he was about to have the girl, until he died and she deserted him.
Nick was never even close to his American dream, he didn't have a lot of money, he had no girl, and his friend died.
The American Dream still holds true today. People need to be working at something and looking forward to getting somewhere. I agree with manbearpig2009 when he/she says that the American Dream should hold true today. we really shouldn't lose sight of what we want in our lives.
In my opinion no one in Gatsby got The American Dream. Gatsby was close, because he started out with nothing, and worked his way up, however he did not get his dream girl. He had a beautiful house, lots of money, a very nice car, and a great social life.
I think you could still achieve The American Dream in today’s society. If you bust your butt you can achieve a lot. My family didn’t have much when I was growing up. We had a nice house, a car, decent amount of money, but my parents didn’t seem happy. When I’m older I want to have the ideal life that I’ve always wanted. I’ve always wanted a nice house, loving family, money to go and buy things, and a happy relationship. In my eyes you can achieve The American Dream if you truly want to. You just have to try.
I don't believe anyone in the great Gatsby has earned the American Dream, Gatsby started off with almost no money and ended up with a ton of money, a beautiful house but he didn't end up getting the family in the end, and he died, which I wouldn't consider dying part of the American Dream. Also Tom and Daisy are probably the closest to achieving the american dream, they have the money, the family, and the house, however they aren't happy, not even close both Daisy and Tom are cheating on each other so again this definitely not the american dream. Nick is far from the American Dream, he is not happy with his job or life . I believe the American Dream can still hold true for today, if immigrants don't sneak into our country, they and all other people have the opportunity to build a successful and happy life. It may take a lot of work, but nothing truly great in life comes without work! ; )
I think the American Dream does still hold true, everyone still wants to have a family, good job, and live in the suburbs.
In my opinion Gatsby did not get the American dream because he wasn’t with the one he loved. True he had the money and the ability to do almost anything he wants however he will never be happy because he doesn’t have love.
I don’t think Daisy or Tom had ever got their dream either because they are not really happy. Sure they too have money and power, but they are very fake people.
While it may be said that Gatsby earned THE "American Dream," because of his rapid rise from rags to riches, he did not earn HIS "American Dream." This may be due to the fact that he didn't really have to work for his riches. Instead, he chose to try to beat the system. Because he became wealthy too fast and too dishonestly, no one trusted him. Therefore, he lacked an enormous portion of his own dream. That is he did not achieve the level of social respect that he so strongly desired. No one else in Gatsby really qualifies for the American Dream, because Nick, Daisy, and Tom all started out in the upper classes to begin with.
I really don't believe that anybody in The Great Gatsby earned their 'American Dream'. Nobody in the book ended up where they wanted to be. For example, Tom found out that his wife loved another man and accidentally killed his lover, Myrtle. Gatsby took the blame for Daisy's mistake and ended up dead because of it. George Wilson loses his wife as a result of their fight. Basically, the book ended badly for just about everyone.
I do think the American Dream holds true for today's society, even though it is usually very hard to achieve. I believe that we are raised in this country to dream big and go for it, so I think that just about everyone in this country has something that they really want to be someday, which to me, is the American Dream. I don't, however, believe that there is one specific "American Dream". I think that the American Dream is an individual aspiration that we want to be. It could be a singer, actor/actress, or to simply have a happy family one day. Obviously not everyone achieves it, but some people do, which is why people keep trying and going for it.
I don't believe that anyone in The Great Gatsby got their "American Dream." Tom and Daisy had the house and the money, but Tom cheated on Daisy and Daisy sorta cheats on Tom. Gatsby never got his "American Dream" either. It may have seemed that way since he had a huge summer house, money,and parties. However, he never got the love of his life, Daisy.
I don't believe that the "American Dream" still holds true for me. I don't think it holds true for anyone. These days everyone wants more and more. No one is ever truely happy anymore. With all the new technology, everyone is competing to have more than the next guy.
I think people in Gatsby wanted the American Dream, but non of them got it. Like Gatsby wanted the big money for the girl. He ended up dying, so he didn't get any of it, technically. I think Tom got his dream because he wanted to be in charge of his own life and to have a prestigious life. Then again, his mistress dies, so maybe he doesnt get his american dream. Even with the big life, Tom still had heart break with his broken marriage. The same goes for Daisy. Nick had the money, but I don't think he really cared if he had that life or not.
I don't think the American Dream holds true for me in this society. I think that is because, this society has raised me to be not so "glamorous" but to love the small things in life. If I was to live somewhere like LA I think I would strive to have the "American Dream." However, my society isn't about the big life, but the more of the small and happy life.
I don't think that anyone in The Great Gatsby truly earned his or her American Dream. In the book, I believe the "green light" represented the American Dream. For Gatsby, his green light was Daisy. He saw being rich and obtaining Daisy as what he should do and what he needed to do. He thought that the "green light" (Daisy) was perfect, when she actually wasn't. That ruined him. I think one of the themes in the book was that the American Dream was ruined by obsession and wealth. Everyone in The Great Gatsby seemed to have his or her priorities messed up. Daisy and Tom were wealthy, but they didn't obtain their dream because they weren't happy. I think the book was about the failure of the American dream that had been really promising in earlier times.
The American Dream still hold true in society. Even though we are going through a rough recession, people still can see a bit of hope in the American dream. Some people in foreign countries can still see themselves coming to America and having the American Dream.
manbearpig2009 is absolutely right about the green light. It is a beautiful example of irony that a green light, the universal "go" sign and Gatsby's own personal symbol of hope and desire results in his very fall from glory. The green light, at the end of a dock at Tom's residence glimmered falsely on, luring Gatsby toward his death. A death in water, directly caused by Tom Buchanan's falsehood.
I don't think that Gatsby, Nick, or Myrtle achieved their American Dream's. Gatsby's dream was to have money, position, and Daisy. In the end, Gatsby died in trying to reach his dream. Myrtle also died in the story after thinking she had lost her dream of marrying Tom. She really never had a chance at marrying him but she believed she did. On the other hand, Nick doesn't seem to have any goals to strive for so he really can't achieve any dream. I do believe that Tom and Daisy got their dream. I'm not saying that they are the best people to know but that they got what they wanted: status, attention, money, and material possesions. At the end of the novel they still had what they wanted because they weren't afraid to hurt someone else. The American Dream doesn't really hold true for me. I'm not saying that I wouldn't mind if I became a millionare, got famous, or got some really sweet car, but those things don't matter to me. What makes me happy is doing those little things in life and doing the things I love. If I stay an average joe my whole life that is ok with me. All I want to do is go on every adventure I can and creat a ton of memories that I can look back on while having a job that I love. All that is important is that I'm happy with myself at the end of my life.
Well, really none of the characters got their "American Dream". Tom may have thought he did, but after Myrtle died and he found out about Daisy's affair, he may have felt differently because he realized that his family was probably not the happiest. Gatsby did achieve the beautiful house and the wealth, but he did not have a family or actually any real friends. As for Nick, well he didn't even achieve family or wealth. He has a job, but it's not even that great seeing as he's a bondsman in a firm that Tom never even heard of. Daisy just...well she achieved absolutely nothing. She just soaked up all of Tom's money and then used Gatsby on the side. I agree with browneyedgirl and manbearpig that none of them really achieved it. Wilson even was low on business and his wife hated him so his life was just terrible. I think that the American Dream still holds true for me as for most people who want to be successful and happy and prosperous, however I don't know if it is so defined. I think the "American Dream" was mainly used to draw immigrants to the U.S. and was based on only a select few people. Clearly everyone in America does not achieve that "dream" and it shouldn't be expected. I don't sit around and think, oh, I want the American Dream, but we all want to be happy!!!!!
I don't think anyone in the Great Gatsby earned their American dream. Sure Jay Gatsby had a huge house, money, cares, and he can party it up. The same goes with Tom and Daisy. They had the same things as Gatsby like the money, but both Gatsby and Tome had no family. Being miserable is not part of the American dream. None of them worked hard to gain there money either. My idea of the American dream is having a family, house, kids, and having to actually work legally to make money. So I think the American dream still holds true for me. So I agree with browneyedgirl.
In response to browneyedgirl17 and Manbearpig:
I agree with the both of you. I think that the "American Dream" was not achieved in this book. The major characters like Gatsby, Daisy and Tom had "pieces" to the american dream, but they achieved the whole puzzle. Gatsby had the money, the house, but he didn't have the kids or family and hard work associated with the American Dream. And Daisy and Tom had the money, the family, but they shouldn't have been together at all because niether one of them loved each other. And they didn't have the happiness associated with the American Dream.
I think that the American Dream holds true to myself, because there are so many opportunites out there to make something of myself and achieve the American Dream that it should be acheived with hard work and determination. T
The American dream is the success somebody has with hard work with thier career, family and happiness.
To me, the American Dream is the symbolic representation of the greatness of the United States. It is comprised of the thousands of stories of immigrant families or lower-class families that make it to "the top."
That being said, the American Dream is, and has always been, just a symbol. It is not a guarantee or an obligation, only a light at the end of the tunnel, like it is in The Great Gatsby. In this way, the American Dream has remained the same throughout generations.
Of course nobody in the Great Gatsby reached their American Dream, because it is never possible to attain. It is like reaching for the stars; you can try to pinch them between your fingers, catch them in a jar or a box, or even try to swat them out of the sky, but they will always remain there, glimmering with tantalizing beauty. The inability to possess the American dream is both a gift and a curse; it keeps people always hopeful and reaching for more, but it can also cause people to forget when enough is enough.
In the Great Gatsby, the latter is true. Mr. Gatsby's American Dream involves marrying Daisy, a task that requires a lot of money and reputation. Although he starts out with niether of these, the sight of his American Dream motivates him to attain them. In the end, however, the sight of this American Dream leads him to his downfall. He becomes so obsessed with attaining his American Dream that he forgets about who he really is, like a dog enlessly chasing its tail. The life that Gatsby made out of lies and empty dreams eventually collapses like a card house, and he dies as a result.
In response to Nayback and Manbearpig, I believe that Fitgerald DEFINITELY knew that he was writing about the hypocrisy in his society. People all around him were doing unrespectable things to gain respect. It happens everywhere at all times, not just in the roaring twenties. Look at the CEO's of large corporations and you'll see what I mean. I don't think his tale was intended to be prophetic, but it is because people have not changed the way they treat the idea of the American Dream.
I don't believe anyone in Gatsby earned their American Dream. Gatsby had a great house and Tom and Daisy had a fortune, but overall none of them were happy. Gatsby took the blame for Daisy's wrong-doing and got killed for it, Tom seemed constantly angry, Daisy was only happy around Gatsby, but in the end got him killed, and Nick had a good friend of his killed for something he didn't do. None of them got what they really wanted. As for me, my American Dream is still alive. It's not the stereotypical American Dream of the suburban house, with a front yard, a garage, and a white picket fence ect. Instead, mine is very specific on a few select things, but not on many. I won't put them on here though because it would be very obvious who I am. So overall, the American Dream only depends on who's it is. It is an individual choice usually made up of what makes you the happiest in life.
I disagree with asianlover09's comment about what Daisy's American Dream was. I don't think that her real dream had anything to do with Gatsby. I don't think that she ever loved him. I think that she thought she loved him in the past (when he pretended to be an aristocrat) and then later she only thought she had feelings for him again because he was wealthy.
I believe that nobody in the book earned his or her American Dream. If anyone was to come close, it would have been Gatsby. He had the wealth, power, and reputation but it was all one big show for Daisy. Gatsby had all he could want, but was still miserable and unhappy (because he wanted to win Daisy, but didn't). The "American Dream" is to have success and happiness balanced equally. If you have more of one thing than the other, then you won't be living life to your potential.
The American dream doesn't really hold true for me in society due to the many problems that the American dream runs into too. If success is achieved, you usually won't find happiness. That's why it's important to equal the two. With all the problems faced in society (money greed, dysfunctional families, divorce, ect) it's really hard to come by "happy" people in society as a whole.
Reply to asianlover09:
Your right about Daisy running from her problems; she did love Gatsby, but decided to marry another man and pretend to act like everything in her life was fine (when it was quite the opposite). I think that if Daisy followed her heart and decided to stick up for herself, then she might have come close, or even made it, to the American Dream.
I don't think that the American dream was ever met by anyone in Gatsby. Through all the conflicts and problems in the book we might have thought that Gatsby would have met his dream. But in the end he died trying to achive it. I believe that the American dream still exists, since if you belive it still exists then it does. We as a country have a lot more oppertunities than most other countries, but it's what we do with our oppertunities that give us a chance to achieve our dreams. The characters in Gatsby may have met their dream life, but most never achieved happieness. Which I believe is the american dream.
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