If everyone has the same personality and dreams, they will be like plants but with human skin, no pursuit. That implies everyone should have their own dreams, whether it is for their beloved people or things. If not, their life will be meaningless, they will lose themselves in this society. Instead, they have to fight for their ideal life. It associates with the novel The Great Gatsby, the main character Gatsby pursuers the life, woman and dream of his own through his persevering efforts. Even though it’s hard for Gatsby to make the dream come true, he will insist on it.
Gatsby’s family background is not as good as other wealthy families, so that he wants work hard to be a social climber. At the same time, Gatsby has always been envious of the wealthy family, so he wants to achieve his ambitions through any ways. “I am still a little afraid of missing something if i forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and i snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth. “ . This quote talks about this society is unfair, they will be satisfied when people have power and money. In essence, Gatsby does not want to do any illegal things, however, the cruel society urges him to be a member of the upper class, so he chooses to sell alcohol and other things that violate the law at that specific era.
Since Gatsby joined the army and came back, he has known that Daisy had married Tom who is a rival in love with Gatsby, therefore, Gatsby’s jealousy became the motivation for him to struggle. Gatsby wants to get Daisy back in love with him, so he works really hard. Even though the fact that Daisy married Tom, which caused a huge psychological impact on Gatsby, Gatsby still believed that his efforts would make Daisy change her mind and choose to be with him “ So we beat on boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”.This sentence originally meant that Gatsby‘s situation was like a ship going upstream, and it was very difficult to go back to the past. However, it implies that Gatsby is willing to let Daisy know that he is still loving her at all costs. He hopes that his actions can change the love relationship with her again. Therefore, he wants to surpass Tom through his own efforts, let Daisy know that he is better than Tom and more worthy of being trusted. In addition, he believe he can give Daisy happiness that Tom can not.
“American dream” in The Great Gatsby represents hope and dream, which means every citizens have the opportunities to make their life meaningful. It also makes sense with Gatsby, when he saw Daisy, he saw the hope, which brought new goals to his life. “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as i was from him i could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily i glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.” This passage describes the scene in which he witnessed the departure of Daisy, which expresses his disappointment. It also uses a symbolic literacy approach, green light symbolizes Daisy, and the disappearance of green light also means that he lost love. However, “American dream” not only means love but also money. Therefore, he wants to achieve his lofty ambition through his unremitting efforts, not only for his own reputation, but also for his future life.
In conclusion, everyone has only one life, so they will choose to create their own glory in this short life. Even if they may meet great setbacks, they will still fight for themselves. Same as Gatsby, he spends his whole life in order to fight for a better life, his beloved woman and his dream. Furthermore, the meaning of life is to constantly challenge yourself and discover your potential ability. If a person is confined to the existing life form, he will not grow up and will be eliminated by the society.
