This section contains 676 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
![]() |
The American Illusion
Summary: Both F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby and the movie Pleasantville address the glorification of the American dream and the quest for a perfect life. Jay Gatsby and David share a desire for what they perceive as the perfect world; for Gatsby, it is wealth, status, and love while for David, it is happiness, stability, and wholesomeness. While both characters encounter different fates, they nevertheless show how the need for perfection can pervert one's dreams.
"What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams... and what we do to make them come about" (Joseph Epstein). All Americans hope to achieve the American Dream: wealth, status, love and above all happiness. These ambitions however, although valid, often cause one to slip into the illusion of the perfect life. The concept of success begins to become a superficial comfort. F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby and the film Pleasantville depict two drastically different time periods, nevertheless the characters in the stories both share the common fantasy of the ideal life. Jay Gatsby and David both long for what they perceive as the perfect world; nonetheless the pursuit for perfection often leads to disappointment.
Jay Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby, also believes he could have the perfect life. James Gatz never accepted his birth rank or the life provided for him. He rejected his...
This section contains 676 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
![]() |