Great Gatsby Essay

Great Gatsby Essay

There are currently 6 different definitions of success in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Try to define success and you will find it almost impossible to come up with a definition that everyone agrees on. This is because it does not mean the same thing to everyone. Success, the most important thing to achieve the American dream, can represent personal accomplishments, money, and how you are look at my society.

I believe that someone’s success depends on how much they wanted to accomplish in their life, and how much they did. For example, if some ones goal in life was to go to Yale and be come a famous lawyer. This is their personal goal, and this is what they feel will make them successful. When they achieve this, then they have a feeling of success and a feeling of reaching the American dream. Being successful may have to do with money, but also doesn’t always. An example if someone is born into a wealthy family, they didn’t do anything to get their money, and therefore they aren’t accomplishing anything. Its not a success to be born into the right family, it’s a success to have reached the American dream by your own work, and this is why people push to achieve the American dream, because when they do, they will know that they have done something great for themselves and not anyone else. Success is achieved when a person makes the accomplishment they set for to do.

In The Great Gatsby, the east coast society believed that success came from having money. For example, Gatsby’s equation for life was beauty plus youth equals money. He believed that a person just needed to have money to be successful in life. Gatsby spent much of his time trying to be someone he wasn’t, because he thought that he had the appearance of being a wealthy gentleman, and then people would believe that he was wealthy and therefore he was successful. Also, Gatsby became a bootlegger and pushed to make money to achieve what he need to be the American dream, wealth. Also, “’Her voice is full of money’, he [Gatsby] said suddenly” (pg. 127). Daisy’s voice was full of “money”, and Nick noticed when Gatsby this because it was true. The most important thing to Daisy and Tom was money, and that was really all they had. Neither one of them had made any great accomplishments, but thy still felt they were successful. Some people, such as the characters of The Great Gatsby