An Ironic Twist of the American Dream

The American dream was first expressed by James Truslow in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement". The American dream is never fully accomplished because all good things have to come to an end at one point or another as it does in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The American dream speaks for its meaning since any dream is far from reality.

The American dream is based on perfectionism and Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, did anything for that as well as impossible is nothing, however if something is too good to be true than the chances are slim and you shouldnt try to change fate, or force it because it will only lead to harm. Perfectionism, in psychology, is a belief that perfection can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output which is anything less than perfect is unacceptable.

At such levels, this is considered an unhealthy belief, and psychologists typically refer to such individuals as maladaptive perfectionists thus perfection is not normal. People like perfectionism because it is excellence and those like Gatsby strive for that eventhough it is impossible to get like when Gatsby describes his car as , a rich cream colour, with bright nickel, monstrous length, with triumphant hat boxes (page 51). The whole American Dream is based on idealism. Perfect things dont exist in the world: for instance, walls are not fully straight, and apples are never fully round.

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The Great Gatsby is a very good example of how perfection is not useful; just harmful. Gatsby wouldve been better off living his life which was near perfection because he almost had everything, there only was one imperfection: he did not possess Daisy. Perfect is too good to be true. In the middle of the 20th century an American heavy weight boxer, Muhammad Ali, informed the world that impossible is nothing, "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact.

It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. " It is possible for Gatsby to get Daisy but she is too good to be true. If its too good to be true than it is! Everything comes in that package. For example, if a car is sold for five thousand dollars less than another similar car then the car has something wrong with it. Daisy was the pro, and her other lover was the con. Fate is an important key to make decisions. Fate manipulates our life, it may also refer to, Destiny, which is an inevitable course of events.

Destiny may be seen either as a sequence of events that is inevitable and unchangeable, or that individuals choose their own destiny by taking different paths throughout their life. In the sense of being unchangeable it is said that the different courses of action people take may still lead to a predetermined destiny. It is in human nature to go for things people cant get and when Gatsby went for Daisy, it was his fate but it was his decision that contradicted it, and eventually going against the flow. The American dream is near impossible to achieve because it is against fate.

The American dream is only a dream that usually turns out in an ironic twist for the people that try to fulfil it. Perfectionism is utopic, its our psychology that thinks it exists. Everything is possible but when its against destinys will, and too great to be reality, dont go for it because it will lead to no good and is too good to be true. If one cant resist and goes for it then its just fate, people desire the impossible. Gatsbys fate wasnt strong enough to manipulate his want for Daisy. So is the American dream really worth it?

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