The Great Gatsby And The Undoing Of The American Dream

Father Rella Eng 204 19 April 2015 The Great Gatsby and the Undoing of the American Dream A large colonial house with shutters and white picket fence in the suburbs, mom putting a warm apple pie on the windowsill to cool as dad gets home from a long day at work. This is the image that usually comes to mind when I think of the â€Å"American Dream†. The American dream is a theme seen throughout American literature. The â€Å"dreamer† usually desires to rise from rags to riches while gaining power, love and high status. Throughout different time periods there have been many different variations of the dream although the principles of freedom, the desire for something greater and self-sufficiencies have been a constant. Two of the ways the dream can be obtained are through one’s self-actualizations or money and materialistic means. The modern day focuses on material items and monetary values are symbols of being successful in achieving the American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsbyâ€℠¢s money provided him the company of people. Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who came from no money. He had a plan to achieve his dream of being successful, and succeeded. He becomes so blinded by extravagant possessions that he becomes blinded to the fact that money cannot buy happiness or true love. In the book Fitzgerald shows how ones focus on power, wealth and materialistic things can ultimately corrupt ones dream. The book starts out with Nick Carraway moving to West Egg from Minnesota inShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay1158 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"It is the elusive Gatsby, the cynical idealist, who embodies America in all of its messy glory.† Clearly as Adam Cohen asserts in his New York Times article â€Å"Jay Gatsby, Dreamer, Criminal, Jazz Age Rogue, Is a Man for Our Times†, this phenomenon is indeed true in that the American Dream is presented in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as an idea that has been depraved into a dream characterized by the constant shift in ethics and fraudulence centered around materialistic visions of opulenceRead MoreEssay on Symbolism on the Great Gatsby1179 Words   |  5 Pagescomplex than it seems. Whereas a symbol as complicated as the â€Å"eye† can mean more than it’s suggested for. Throughout The Great Gatsby symbolism represent color, the existence of eyes and money. The color symbolism is repetitive throughout the novel. The colors represent the different characters personality and their actions. An important symbolic color in The Great Gatsby is the green light. The color green itself is associated with spring, money, hope and youth. The green light stands for somethingRead MoreThe Great Gatsby - Love or Obsession 997 Words   |  4 PagesFitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, it can be witness this misconception of love between the characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, whom say to be deeply in love with one another. The author portrays the inaccuracy of love and obsession through Gatsby’s persona. This character, which the story revolves around, came from a very poor family, but as he grew up he decided to run away and went on in a risky mission to find better opportunities, because he believed that he was meant to do great things in lifeRead MoreSimilarities Between The Great Gatsby And Things Fall Apart1565 Words   |  7 Pagesdictates that â€Å"every kind of suffering has its origins in craving or selfish desire, which is the result of ignorance or delusion† (Quinlan 171). This concept rings true in the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In both of these novels, the protagonists (Gatsby and Okonkwo, respectively) are coerced by their societies to constantly strive to rise from their humble beginnings, to become more successful and to be respected. Although their initialRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1850 Words   |  8 PagesHello, my name is Catherine Wang and I will be giving my Individual Oral Presentation on The Great Gatsby. The American Dream is not all it s cracked up to be in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby in his pursuit of his love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby makes his fortune to try to win Daisy over, but he learns that the quests for both was hollow. The cen tral conflict pits the classes against one another, and Fitzgerald uses the settingsRead More Examine the contradictions in The Great Gatsby, including its narrative2958 Words   |  12 PagesExamine the contradictions in The Great Gatsby, including its narrative styles. The novel moves on two levels: Fitzgerald makes you see the magic and romance of Gatsbys vision of ideal love, dazzling the eye with wealth; yet, at the same time, the narrator pulls us down to earth revealing the immorality, waste and corruption of those who surround Gatsby and cause his death. Examine the contradictions in The Great Gatsby, including its narrative styles. One of Fitzgeralds main aimsRead MoreGender Roles : The Great Gatsby, The Mystery Of Heroism, And The Scarlet Letter1862 Words   |  8 Pagesoften conflicts with the hopes and dreams of the characters and makes it harder for them to achieve success. The flawed societal gender constructions found in American literature are adversarial to characters in their search for fulfillment. The concept of gender roles obstructing success is ubiquitous in the many works, including The Great Gatsby, The Mystery of Heroism, The Scarlet Letter, A Raisin In The Sun, and The Death of A Salesman. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, gender has

The Effects Of Cigarette Smoking On Young Adults Essay

Smoking, specifically cigarette smoking, causes 87 percent of total lung cancers deaths in the United States (Smoking, 2015). The numbers of cigarette smokers are increasing dramatically, with an alarming focus on young, college aged women. In research conducted of women aged 18 to 22 from 119 colleges throughout the United States, 28.5% were found to be active smokers. It is believed that this dramatic increase in college aged, women smokers is due to the high stress and changing environments of these women. This is a time when young adults are transitioning from the comfort of high school to the more rigorous demands of college. These demands come from higher academic standards, as well as the adjustment to living on your own without the accustomed parent supervision. As students begin to experience this stress and look for a coping mechanism, especially for women, they turn to the instant relief found from smoking cigarettes. In the same age population of college women ages 18 to 22, of women who report that they smoke regularly, research has found that 75.5% say they began smoking and continue to smoke because it relaxes and calms them from everyday stressors. (Gaffney, Wichaikhum, Dawson, 2002). This reliance on smoking for stress relief is an issue that needs to be targeted and prevented due to its detrimental health effects. Further research on the health implications of this smoking dependence in young, college aged women has been conducted to determine the longShow MoreRelatedHow Tobacco Advertising Influences Young People.1447 Words   |  6 PagesHow Tobacco Advertising Influences Young People. At the age of fourteen, I had my first puff of smoke. Even before that I knew a lot of cigarette brands due to advertising. Since then I started smoking and when I went to cafeterias and clubs the people who were promoting cigarettes would offer me a new brand to try and gave me free packs of cigarettes and a lighter with their brand. They didn’t mind how old I was, they just wanted to give them away and promote their product. But except thisRead MoreAdvertisements For Smoking Should Be Banned975 Words   |  4 PagesAdvertisements For Smoking Should Be Banned. Advertisements involving smoking should be prohibited. Kids and teens that are the most impressionable and easily influenced. Cigarette promotions make smoking appear harmless and cool and have led to many kids under the age of 18 to have smoked for years. 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Kids and teens that are the most impressionable and easily influenced. Cigarette promotions make smoking appear harmless and cool and have led to many kids under the age of 18 to have smoked for years. The advertisements on quitting smoking and how bad they are for you may be effective for older viewers, however many teens and kids are drawn to cigarettes even more because adults are saying it is badRead MoreCigarette Smoking Rates Among Adults Essay1497 Words   |  6 PagesIn the past century, Cigarettes could be found everywhere in American society. Yet, in the past five decades, they have been at an all time low. Although they are still common in the United States, they are not as common due to their dramatically declining consumption rates amongst adults. Several factors combined to provide one of the most successful and maybe even under-appreciated public health victories in our lifetimes. Some reasons of this dramatic d ecline include; increasing prices of tobaccoRead MorePsychoactive Substance Problems Of The United States1072 Words   |  5 PagesSPH-B 316 11/5/2015 Psychoactive Substance Problem in the U.S. Involving Tobacco Cigarettes are the most important substance to address in the United States because they are not only extremely addictive, but they have the potential to cause a variety of serious health conditions and affect individuals who are close to and care for the user. Tobacco use poses a serious health threat especially among the young population of America and has significant implications for the nation’s public and economicRead MoreThe Negative Impacts Of Smoking1547 Words   |  7 Pagesdestroying the health of young generations and killing thousands and thousands adults every day is smoking cigarette. The issue of smoking has become one of the most significant and controversial debates in Australia, due its health problem and the effect of the environment atmosphere. Researches and medics worldwide were studying the main causes that makes people smoke and why? (Backes, 2016). According to Dr Jewell‘s article, reveals that there are lots of factors that influencin g young children to smokeRead MoreTeenage Smoking In Teenagers886 Words   |  4 PagesSmoking in teenagers has been a topic of conversion for years. Should it be legal, illegal? Should there be an age requirement? Teenagers do what they want, and smoking is part of that. Most teenagers have taken in the consequences of smoking and its effects. Smoking isn’t a problem with teenagers anymore because most of them have had classes about smoking, the price has risen, and it has horrible effects to your body. The first reason why smoking isn’t a problem among teens is they care aboutRead MoreEssay On E-Cigs741 Words   |  3 PagesGeneral released a report on the harmful side effects of e-cigs, especially to the young people. According to this report, the young people, below 25 years, are the most affected by the harmful effects of e-cigs. According to the report, there has been a large increase in young people who had tried or use e-cigarettes. The report argued that at least a quarter of the students from grade 6 through to grade 12 had tried e-cigarettes. Also, a third of young adults had tried these products. Impacts of theRead MoreEac Research Paper. â€Å"Where There’S Smoke, There’S Fire!†1085 Words   |  5 Pagesfire!† Smoking can be very detrimental to one’s health, something about which many of us Saudi smokers are either unaware of or do not care. Furthermore, numerous men in my country use cigarettes, and some of us have smoked from a young age. Smoking can cause many problems for people of any age, even if they do not utilize tobacco themselves. Frequently, death, doom and destruction are what come to people’s minds when cigarettes come to mind. I have personally witnessed the evils of smoking, some

Oedipus the king Essay Example For Students

Oedipus the king Essay Sophocles play Oedipus the King (also commonly known as Oedipus Rex and Oedipus Tyrannus) is a very famous tragedy about Oedipus, a mythical King. Sophocles, first produced the play in Athens around 430 B.C., we can tell this because of the reference to the Theban plague at the plays opening, at the Great Dionysia, a religious and cultural festival held in honor of the god Dionysus, held in early spring, where it won second prize. It would have been performed according to the Greek rules of performance known as the Aristotelian unities of time, place and action. The stonecutter, devised by a co-operative of year eleven students in 2008 in contrast to Oedipus the King does not obey the Aristotelian unities as it jumps between past and present, has a variety of settings and will not be performed in the time it is set. The stonecutter comprising of a variety of playwrights including improvised scenes and sections is a play within a play with the warning to be careful for what you wish for. In this essay I shall discuss further similarities and differences of the theatrical treatments of the two mythical stories. Sophocles play deals with a number of themes; Fate and destiny being pre-decided being a main one; Fate is a theme often occurring in Greek plays but tragedies in particular. From the beginning of Oedipus the King, we know that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and mate with his mother. Another main theme of Oedipus the king is that bravery and skill (in fighting) is rewarded but mistakes/bad choices/crime will be punished even if done unintentionally. The stonecutter compares as it also has an underling theme which crops up at various times throughout the play, however they differ in the sense that the themes are different. The culture behind the two plays differ significantly. The audience of Oedipus the King would have consisted of men only as woman were not aloud to attend the theatre as they were not thought to be capable of rational thinking. Also male actors only performed in plays and woman characters were played often by the younger male actors. It was at that time considered civil duty that men attended the theatre for moral education commonly about incest and male and female relationships and loans were even granted to people who could not afford to go. In contrast to this in modern time both men, woman and children attend theatre and most commonly for leisure and entertainment and with out the thought that they are going for moral education. The stonecutter is more about telling a story, however there is a moral of the story which is referred to many times throughout the play. In the stonecutter we intended to target a modern audience in a number of ways; Firstly, by incorporating humor into our performance because as discussed previously the modern audience attend theatre for leisure and entertainment and secondly, by using modern technology, for example lighting and sound to our advantage. The stages in which the plays would have and will be performed on differ significantly. The theatre in which Oedipus the king would have been performed on would have been a huge fan-shaped open air auditorium, in what is now called an amphitheatre layout. Ampitheatres were open air, so lighting was not a problem and massive enabling thousands of people to see a play at the same time and with out the trouble of hearing the actors. This is due to the way they were built, which cleverly meant that no matter how high up you were seated, you could always hear what the actors were saying as the stone in which they were built with suppressed low frequencies of voices, thus minimizing background audience noise and reflected the high-frequencies of the actors and chorus voices back towards the audience. Whereas, the stonecutter will be performed in a small drama studio with a significantly smaller audience of around thirty people sitting directly in front of an unmarked performing area and the use of lighting will be required. .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .postImageUrl , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:hover , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:visited , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:active { border:0!important; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:active , .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73 .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc005f451450c940066bd4f12d569bb73:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Oedipus Essay ThesisOedipus the King, acted in accordance to Greek theatre would have included two types of acting roles; three actors (named parts) who were trained and professional and were the only people with speaking parts, and then the chorus which would have had fifteen members who were untrained local men, often from surrounding towns. The stonecutter, unlike Greek theatre has five actors playing named parts and members that form the chorus. The chorus consisting of only five people is a lot smaller than the chorus that would have appeared in Oedipus the King. A lot of Oedipus the kings choral speeches were sung and danced with the accompaniment of musical instrume nts like the double flute, drums and the tambourine. They generally sung in unison and the lines of the speeches were shared around all the members of the chorus. The stonecutter compares in the sense that the lines of its speeches are shared around all members of the chorus however contrasts as none of its choral speeches are sung or danced. The chorus entrance in Oedipus the King would mark the beginning of the play and their exit would mark the end of the play, the stonecutter does not start of with the chorus entering it starts of with the actors entering one by one subtly portraying their characters which is different to the beginning of Oedipus the king however the stonecutters end like Oedipus the kings ending is marked by the exit of the chorus after a final choral speech. In conclusion, after reviewing all comparisons and differences between the theatrical treatments of the two plays with there evidently being more differences between them than comparisons I have come to the conclusion the theatrical treatments of the two mythical stories are very different due to many factors; The acting and actors, staging and the cultures behind them.

Irish In America Essays - Irish Genealogy, Irish Diaspora

Irish In America The United States has always been known as The Land of Immigrants. People from all parts of the globe have traveled to America, to be free from oppression, disease, and hunger, or simply to start a new life. Many different people of different culture, race, and religion have made their mark and helped to shape the American culture. One of the most influential immigration movements in American History is the Irish Immigration. During the 18th century the Irish slowly began their migration to America. Centuries of oppression from Protestant English rule had forced them to live very poor lives under strict rules, in some cases having to renounce their Catholic beliefs and having to abandon their Gaelic language (Watts 23). There were few Irish in America until 1845, when a disease struck the potato crops of Ireland, wiping out the chief, and in some cases only, source of food for many poor farmers. This continued for the next five years, killing over 2.5 million people. Many Irish said God put the blight on the potatoes, but England put the hunger upon Ireland. The Irish farmers did have other crops and livestock but they were all shipped to England as rent for the landlords. Without the rent money the starving Irish would not even have a home (Considine 50). In the years to come, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants saved all the money they could to send a family member on the journey across the Atlantic. It was their pain and suffering which powered them and gave them the strength to survive. The ships were overcrowded with immigrants, where disease and hunger followed them and many more died on the journey. Upon arrival at the ports of the United States, the immigrants were described as being demoralized and confused (Walt). The Irish men fought, in many cases physically to get labor jobs of long hours and low pay. The women worked manly as servants called Brigets, to upper class families. In the south, mainly New Orleans, the Irish lived in the swampland, living with diseases such as yellow fever and malaria. The Irish men were looked at as lower than slaves, as one historian puts it If a plantation owner loses a slave, he loses an investment, If a plantation owner loses a laborer he can just find another (Walt). Because of this, many were put into very dangerous jobs. In cities such as Boston and New York, Irish immigrants were packed into slums and many still were dying as a result of hunger and disease. The Irish were discriminated against, mainly for being Catholics in an almost exclusively Protestant society. Many factories and employers posted signs on their doors, workers wanted, no Irish need apply (Considine 5). With the low wages that the Irish were earning (although much higher than they would receive in Ireland), one would think that the money would all be spent on feeding and housing the worker and their family, but this was not the case. Through backbreaking sacrifice, they were able to send home a few shillings or pounds at a time until a sister, a brother, a mother, father, daughter, aunt, uncle, cousin or friend had enough money to buy the ship ticket (Considine 46). This devotion of the Irish to their family and their fellow countrymen is a remarkable aspect of their culture. From the depths of society, the Irish begin to rise to greatness, slowly Irish workers begin finding better jobs and many buying land and living on their own. The first event, which told the Americans that the Irish were truly American, was the Civil War. The Sixty Ninth New York State Volunteers or The Fighting 69th, was made up of all Irish men fighting to preserve the union. This Irish brigade soon became known for its bravery and willingness to die for the cause. By the end of the war, The Fighting 69th had fought in every major campaign in the eastern front of the war. Of the two thousand regiments of the Union Army, the NYSV ranked sixth in losses (Powers). When people heard news of this Irish brigade they realized that the Irish were indeed true Americans who were