The American Dream describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. What these wishes are, were expressed in Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence of 1776, where it was stated:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This search for freedom and happiness actually goes back to the very beginning of American civilization, to the time of the first settlers. The first settlers were all religious refugees who were driven to the New World by persecution. To these people, America represented a new life of freedom, holding a promise of spiritual and material happiness. For those settlers who were not so religiously inclined, America was still a fairyland, a land of great possibilities. And so the first thirteen colonies came into being, amidst the religious and materialistic hopes of the first settlers. Material prosperity and progress kept pace with religious and spiritual goals because the Puritans and the Quakers alike approved of industry and material advancement. For, whereas physical pleasures were evil, hard work and achievements were regarded as indications of inner goodness.
When the Eastern Seaboard, comprising the thirteen colonies, became overcrowded, the settlers began to move west. The opening of the Middle and Western States increased the sense of hope and faith. And this looking forward beyond the immediate present, this belief in the future, has become a national characteristic that may partly explain the speed of American advancement in so many areas of activities. The democratic system, first voiced in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, may be traced to this basic attitude of hope and confidence.
The American Dream, however, originally relates to a desire for spiritual and material improvement. What happened was that, from one point of few, the material aspect of the dream was too easily and too quickly achieved, with the result that it soon outpaced and even obliterated the early spiritual ideals. So there emerged a state of material well being but lacking in spiritual life or purpose. So that when Fitzgerald produced Gatsby, modeled no doubt on the writer’s own faith in life, he seemed to have created a character who represented an early American in whom the Dream was still very much alive.
Essay About Love and Commandment Number Six in The Great Gatsby
Love and Commandment Number Six in The Great Gatsby
In the story The Great Gatsby, the word love is used a great deal. But of all the times, is it ever used in the proper and true manner? The story makes you think a great deal about love, marriage, and in a way relationship with God. By relationships with
God I mean, that in the commandments, number six, is thou shall not commit adultery.
First of all, Tom and Daisy are married so they should be loyal and faithful to each other, especially because of the fact they have a daughter. However in the story we find out that this is not true at all. First of all, in chapter one we find out that Tom has another girlfriend and has been seen around with or more than one occasion by different people.
Then in chapter two we find more about Tom and his girlfriend as we get to meet Myrtle for the first time in the story. Myrtle is the person who Tom has been sneaking around with. We find out that Tom and Myrtle do not like the people they are married to but for some reason or another they do not want to leave the other person. However Tom is not the only one to blame because we find out later that Daisy and Gatsby at one time were really close. We also find out that Daisy is the object of Gatsby’s desire and will do anything to get her back, because he loves her that much. Also as the story continues we find out that Daisy is prepared to move in with Gatsby except for one minor detail. That minor detail is their daughter and the feelings that Daisy has for her. That is probably the first and only mention of what is right in the whole story in terms of love.
As far and Daisy and Tom go they need to put their personal problems behind and worry about their daughter first. No matter how they feel about each other or how they feel about anyone else their daughter should be first priority. It makes you wonder if they fully understand what is going on in life around them. It is also curios to wonder what kind of virtues they were taught when they were young. Virtues like if they were taught to