A/N: This is actually an essay I wrote for english that I thought turned out pretty good so I thought I'd post it :D
I'm going to laugh later if my teacher finds this online later and thinks i plagiarized, hahahaha no Ms. Miano i really wrote this myself!
Anywayyyss... in reality i know that no one is actually going to end up reading this but oh well.
Fitzgerald uses Symbols and Imagery to Exhibit how Wealth and the Hollowness of the Upper Class Fabricate the American Dream.
In the 1920s, America was mystified. You could even consider that the nation was under a spell. The entire country was hallucinating, they were all dreaming and they were all dreaming the same thing: the "American Dream." This so called American Dream first arose in the early 20th century and by the 1920s, was receiving much criticism about its falsehood and decline. However, many people continued to follow it in spite of the criticisms it received. So what is the American Dream? Is it real? Many historians, philosophers, scholars, critics, and authors have tried to answer these questions for many years but with no solid conclusion. Perhaps it is because it is a dream, that there is no tangible concept for us to grab onto. But then, if there was never a solid concept, then how is that millions upon millions of people believed in this "American Dream" and chased for decades? Who or what could have been so twisted as to fabricate this fantasy to misguide people in such a way? F. Scott Fitzgerald explores these questions in his novel The Great Gatsby and in his short stories the "Ice Palace" and "Winter Dreams." F. Scott Fitzgerald uses layers of symbolism and imagery through his characters in the three stories to make an example of how misconceptions of wealth and the prejudices of society both create and destroy the illusion of the American Dream in the 1920s.
Beginning with The Great Gatsby, let us examine the character of Gatsby himself. Jay Gatsby is a man who was once poor, but arguably became wealthy through business ventures and other dealings. Gatsby is the manifestation of the American Dream in Fitzgerald's novel. He is used as a character to show the course that the American Dream takes through life. Layers of symbols are used to construct Gatsby himself as a symbol, one in particular being the green light across the bay on Daisy's port. Though the green light itself can be and is used as a symbol to represent the American Dream, it is more prominently used to describe Gatsby and how he chased after it. At the end of the novel, narrator Nick Caraway comments,
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning-
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
(The Great Gatsby 154)
In the above passage, Gatsby is portrayed as a chaser of the green light thus making him a chaser of the American Dream if we make the assumption that the green light does indeed symbolize it. In which case Gatsby can be viewed at the average man in the 1920s who also hoped to achieve the American Dream, as there were many, and he is one that was able to achieve it so to speak. However, he could not reach the green light because he could not reach the one thing that gave him happiness, Daisy, which as a result pulled him further away from the American Dream because he could not find inner peace. Given that Gatsby is a representation for all of those who looked to achieve the American Dream, it can be said that the dream "eluded" all of them. Also, as a reader, the above passage creates the assumption while reading that after "And one fine morning" there would be a point where the American Dream was caught. However, as Fitzgerald writes it, there is no conclusion so the American Dream symbolizing that in reality, no one has been able to take hold of the American Dream and there is no end to chasing. The passage continues on to say, "so we beat on," which describes how many in the 1920s were living. They also "beat on" continually chasing after the American Dream that does not exist. One can state that it does not exist, at least in the mind of Fitzgerald, because there is no conclusion in which the American Dream can be achieved.
Many at the time worked towards the so called American Dream because they wished to be part of the Upper Class, a social class where everyone lives in luxury and do not need to worry about work. These of the Upper Class set an example of superiority for the people to achieve but in reality the Upper Class is defined by nothing other than one's wealth; thus, it is hollow in its nature. Those in the Upper Class who come from old money have no purpose in their lives other than to live lavishly and look down upon the lower classes. Many gives these people status, but it provides no emotion, no relationships, nothing. They have nothing but their money and as a result they have nothing at all. Also in terms of the upper class, there is a differentiation between those with old money, inherited money over several generations, and new money, money earned by the individual in their lifetime. Take Tom Buchannan for example, he comes from a family of old money and he acts superior to others, always finding ways to insult them. Tom has no job because he has all the wealth he could ever need and as a result, he doesn't do much other than play polo all day. When attending Gatsby's party, Tom is dubbed the polo player, "Tom remained 'the polo player' for the rest of the evening… 'I'd rather not be the polo player,' said Tom pleasantly. 'I'd rather look at all these famous people in-in oblivion.'" (The Great Gatsby 97). Though Tom is unhappy with this nickname, people continue to call him that because they can think of no better name for him. Had he done something more note worthy in his life, perhaps people would have been able to come up with a different nickname. However, his life has no goal or purpose other than to play polo and look rich. There truly is no purpose to Tom's life in terms of how he contributes to society. Why is it then; that American Dreamers would aspire to be like Tom and live such a wasted life? As a result of the lavish lifestyles led by those of the Upper Class, many people in the lower classes perceive the upper class life style as a carefree one with no monetary concerns. Though this is true, to live a life without purpose is much like no living at all and one much consider the consequences of such a life. Is the wealth worth all this? Those in the lower classes who worked toward the American Dream could not see past the wealth and could not see just how hollow the Upper Class really was. This hollowness could thus fabricate a false American Dream filled with lies about the happiness that comes with being wealthy.
Like Tom Buchannan in The Great Gatsby, Harry of the Ice Palace is also an example of the shallowness of people in the Upper Class. One can say that Harry is just another version of Tom manipulated to fit the story of the Ice Palace. Harry, who is from the north, looks down on people from the south because he feels they are a poor, lazy bunch. He even says to Sally Carol, his fiancée, "but you know what I think of them, they're sort of-sort of degenerates-not at all like the old Southerners. They've lived so long down there with all the colored people that they've gotten lazy and shiftless." (The Ice Palace 17). In the above passage, not only did Harry insult Southerners, he also insulted African Americans, calling both groups "lazy and shiftless." Harry makes this type of generalization because, being from the North and believing that he is of a superior class, he feels that he has the right to judge a large group of people based on stereotypes developed by society. Harry's mind is closed off by the wealth that he was raised with and so he feels superior. However, he is no better than any of the southerners in terms of race and perhaps even inferior in terms of morals. What right does Harry have to criticize others about being lazy when he wastes away his nights at superficial parties? This false belief of superiority resurfaces in many of Fitzgerald's stories, leading one to make an assumption as to how Fitzgerald feels about the upper class. The upper class' sense of superiority applies not only to themselves but also to those of the lower class who look up to the upper class as a goal incorporated with the American Dream.
Another example of how the Upper Class creates the illusion of the American Dream can be found in Gatsby himself. After Gatsby's death, not a single one of his so called friends would attend his funeral. Later in an exchange between Nick Caraway and Dr. Owl Eyes, it is said,
'I couldn't get to the house,' he remarked.
'Neither could anybody else,'
'Go on!' He started, 'Why, my god! They used to go there by the hundred.' He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in.
'The poor son-of-a-bitch,' he said.
(The Great Gatsby 150)
Within this exchange one can see that Gatsby was, as Dr. Owl Eyes would put it, "a poor son-of-a-bitch." While Gatsby was alive, he threw his wealth around continuously and as a result, people would be attracted to him like cockroaches to a flame. They would attend his parties multiple times but in reality, not a single one them actually knew and cared about Gatsby. They all just wanted to bask in his wealth. It is clearly seen in the novel that Gatsby had no true friends other than Nick. His lavish parties could have been a way to attract people to his house to fill the loneliness he felt. How a person could become so isolated from society, one might ask, well first let's put into consideration that Gatsby was once a poor man and earned his money through many business ventures. In becoming wealthy, he broke away from any friendly relationships he had with the lower classes, bur since his money in new money, he was also not accepted by the upper class. Thus, Gatsby is left in the awkward position where no one truly accepted him into certain group. Though Gatsby had reached the wealth and status needed to be in the upper class, he isolated himself into a state of loneliness. He was leading a fake life and it showed when it came time for his funeral. Considering his life was so empty of human relationships, can one truly say that Gatsby had achieved the American Dream? In believing in the American Dream, one believes that achieving wealth and being able to lead a luxurious lifestyle, one would be happy. However in the case of Gatsby, it is evident that wealth cannot always buy one's way to happiness. Gatsby is a prime example of what the American Dream truly is, a symbol of what is to come of those who chase the illusion of a happy, wealthy life. For Gatsby, his wealth provides nothing more than the hollow, meaningless label of the Upper Class.
Just as Harry is a parallel for Tom, Sally Carol is a parallel for Gatsby. Sally Carol, being female, dreams of marrying into wealth rather than working for it since in the time period it was not common for women to be involved in business. Sally Carol's dreams of moving to the wealthier North were, of course, just an illusion. It is true that when she arrived north, people commonly attending lush parties and such but in reality, these parties were like anything else pertaining to the upper class, meaningless. Sally Carol realizes that she does not fit in with the Northerners and thus does not fit into the lifestyle of the upper class. In this revelation she feels the loneliness come over her,
She was alone with this presence that came out of the north, the dreary loneliness that rose from ice-bound whalers in the Arctic seas. From smokeless, trackless wastes where were strewn the whitened bones of adventure. It was an icy breath of death; it was rolling down low across the land to clutch at her.
(The Ice Palace 22)
From the narration above, one can make deductions about how outsiders feel about the North. They almost fear it, feeling that it is empty like death itself. Putting into consideration that Fitzgerald may have used the North and South as a symbol for the wealthy and the poor, one can also deduce that the author is purposely making the north seem dark and bleak to further demonstrate the lack of happiness that comes with the wealth. Sally Carol is also a victim of prejudice because Harry's parents and others in his group of acquaintances seem to look down on her because she was from the south. This prejudice has no logical reasoning other than a geographical difference but if it because of this prejudice that Sally Carol returns south and gives up her American Dream of marrying someone from the upper class north. In the case of Sally Carol, Harry's wealth attracted her to him and discrimination of the northerners sent her packing, making her a prime example of how wealth and hollowness of the upper class both constructs and destroys the American Dream.
Dexter Green is also a parallel to Gatsby. Like many of Fitzgerald's other stories, the protagonist in "Winter Dreams", Dexter was also working to achieve the American Dream. Dexter's family was not poor but not of the old money subgroup of the upper class. Dexter had hoped that one day he would reach such a pinnacle of wealth that he could join these old upper class in a game of golf. He was able to achieve this goal; however, Dexter was excluded from the other golfers because he was of new money where everyone else was old money. Practically speaking however, money is the same no matter how it is obtained it is not? A dollar is a dollar regardless if it was inherited from your grandparents or if you earned it last week from a business deal. Why must there be a differentiation between the two? This differentiation was constructed by the old money subgroup of the upper class to give them reasoning for superiority. They must do this because otherwise, those of the upper class would feel lost within themselves. Their satisfaction of living is in insulting others it seems.
Another similarity between Gatsby and Dexter is that they both worked to make money in order to "get the girl" so to speak. Gatsby's reason for making money was to eventually have Daisy by his side, which would have given him happiness and completed his American Dream. Dexter's reason was for Judy Jones, a woman he loved and hoped to one day be with. He loved her for her craziness, for her spontaneous personality; as a result he made her into his dream. By the end of the story, Judy Jones married someone else and became dull, losing all that Dexter loved about her. As a result, Dexter lost his American Dream and he was left with nothing but his money. Dexter feels empty, stating, "'long ago,' he said, 'long ago. There was something in me, but now that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone. That thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.'" (Winter Dreams 135). This again is an example of how wealth cannot buy happiness. Dexter could not buy Judy Jones with his new earned wealth and his dream was lost. What was left of him was nothing more than an empty shell, leaving him as hollow as any other person of the upper class. This hollowness if different than the superficial hollowness of Tom and Harry but it is hollowness nonetheless. It is a hollowness of the heart, and a destruction of Dexter's American Dream further exemplifying how Fitzgerald uses his characters to exhibit how wealth and the hollowness of the upper class produce a false American Dream.
Fitzgerald uses symbols to make an example of his characters to show how wealth and the hollowness of the upper class create a false American Dream that misleads people. His stories comment on how society viewed wealth in the 1920s and provides insight into how the American Dream was being revealed for what it truly was, a lie. His stories also comment on human society and how many people look to wealth to provide them with happiness. These concepts still apply today. Most people in our society now look to have a higher education and get a better job that pays a higher salary. Though it is different than what the American Dream was almost a century ago, the fundamental ideas are still there. Many people now end up in a career that they are extremely unhappy with but choose to stay with that job because of the high salary. In this sense, money can again, not buy happiness but that does not stop people from believing that it will. Perhaps a new American Dream is being fabricated right now. As our economy continues to fall, many people of the new generation aspire to make a career out of high paying service jobs, in hopes of providing themselves with a better life. The criticisms and concepts presented in Fitzgerald's stories may or may not help steer society in the right direction this time around.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Babylon Revisited and Other Stories. Berne Convention, 1960. Print.