The Destruction of the American Dream

In The Great Gatsby

Thesis

We will be demonstrating exactly how this has been depicted both intext, and within history itself.

Let's define a couple terms...

American Dream - The hope to achieve a brighter future in America through hard work.

Corruption - Something once ideal, gone bad

Vain Hope in the American Dream

...it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. (2)

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then but thats no matter----to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And one fine morning---- (180)

The Great Migration

Dishonesty; the Corruption of the American Dream

Im thirty, I said. Im five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor. She didnt answer. Angry, half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away. (118)

I didnt hear it. I imagined it. A lot of theses newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know. Pg. 107

The 1919 World Series

The Destruction of the American Dream

I now see that this has been a story of the west, after all- Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan, and I were all westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to eastern life. (176)

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (180)

The working and living conditions of blue collar laborers

Conclusion
Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts the degradation of the American Dream by demonstrating the disparagement between what was believed of it and the actual reality of the notion.

Bibliography
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004. Print.

World Series N.d. Photograph. Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/1919_blacksox.jpg/300px1919_blacksox.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Chicagohs.org. Chicago History Museum. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.chicagohs.org/history/blacksox/gif/headli3a.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Eight_men_banned.png/250pxEight_men_banned.png>. N.d. Photograph. Cincinati.com. Cincinati.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/files/2012/10/CINBrd_10-072012_Kentucky_1_B00520121006IMG_-_UNKNOWN.jpg_1_1_6S2E0MHEIMG__UNKNOWN.jpg_1_1_6S2E0MHE.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Blacksoxfan.com. Blacksoxfan.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.blacksoxfan.com/file_center/user_files/c67aa62f246916eb8e879fb99623554b.jpg>.

Bibliography (cont.)
Great Migration N.d. Photograph. Jeffersonpolicyjournal.com. Jeffersonpolicyjournal.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.jeffersonpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/great_migration1.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Pragmaticobotsunite.com. Pragmaticobotsunite.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://pragmaticobotsunite.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/the_great_migration_f1834340cd6.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Npr.org. NPR. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/09/the-warmth-of-other-suns/harlem-street1942-dcb96c4b6a66d63a353a451a38900a7d19730e79-s6-c10.jpg>. Working/living conditions N.d. Photograph. Historyofaboriginalsydney.edu. Historyofaboriginalsydney.edu. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.historyofaboriginalsydney.edu.au/central/1920s>. N.d. Photograph. Jacobinmag.com. Jacobinmag.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://jacobinmag.com/2012/12/the-shift-from-the-unions/>. N.d. Photograph. Blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu. CUNY. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his1000summer2011/2011/07/03/public-schools-in-the1920s-in-the-new-york-city-and-virginia/>. N.d. Photograph. 4.bp.blogspot.com. Blogger. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9U_Nwopupes/UIgXtaV55LI/AAAAAAAAByw/qeHO2L3688/s1600/garment-sweatshop-with-moving-men-c-1900.jpg>.

Bibliography (cont.)
Extra Pics N.d. Photograph. Beautifulbookcovers.com. Beautifulbookcovers.com. Web. 1 Apr. 3013. <http://www.beautifulbookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/gatsby-original-coverart.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Giantbomb.com. Giantbomb. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4530/396796-boat.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. 2.bp.blogspot.com. Blogger. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/LnNO_zZU7w0/Tb8DREPaK7I/AAAAAAAAAcU/qUaakTYpwoU/s1600/American+Flag+Wallpap er.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Undoc.com. Undoc.com. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.unodc.org/images/southeasterneurope//corruption2.jpg> N.d. Photograph. Southernpost.net. Southernpost.net. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.southernpost.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/rose-side-view.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. 3.bp.blogspot.com. Blogger. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/W5rI7JcR_Mk/TeMZkxVp7nI/AAAAAAAAACY/3Ue28LkSlfU/s1600/36852957.jpg>.

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N.d. Photograph. 2.bp.blogspot.com. Blogger. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/UaRSRYn8Acs/T_rTaArTLkI/AAAAAAAAAME/bR5ZgYygtXE/s1600/fingers-crossed-behingback1.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Opensecrets.org. Opensecrets.org. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.opensecrets.org/news/bigstock_Falling_Money_669153.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. 1.bp.blogspot.com. Blogger. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/BjXj_5oWOrg/TeN_EzuAphI/AAAAAAAAADE/Wadya_Xl1BU/s1600/gatsby%2527s_party.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Fancylittlethings.com. Fancylittlethings.com. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.fancylittlethings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/American-Flag.jpg>. N.d. Photograph. Cloudfront.net. Cloudfront.net. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <https://d1zqayhc1yz6oo.cloudfront.net/7f381284df17371b52c24df1e4faccc7.jpg>.