‘Consider the meaning of the American Dream, what is Fitzgerald’s ironic comment on the American Dream?’
The American Dream encapsulates the spirit of the country itself, and is something much discussed and hence something that is found in a lot of American Literature. The ideas that one should continue and push forwards against all odds and never lose hope, and that you can succeed at being the best you can possibly be provided that you work hard enough. This is a theme present in much of Fitzgerald’s work, in particular Tender is the Night, but with none of his characters achieving their full potential he could be seen to be making an ironic comment on the ideal. The character of Dick in Tender is the Night believes that he can excel in his work and be the best in his field, yet circumstances lead to his eventual downfall. Also, the entire story of the Great Gatsby can be seen to symbolise the replacement of the old American Dream with the decadence of the era that Fitzgerald himself named the ‘Jazz Age’, the life and death of Jay Gatsby symbolises the end of the old American Dream as he represents the old values and they die with him. However, it remains to be examined to what extent Fitzgerald wished to make an ironic comment on the American Dream through his work.
The characters of Tender is the Night can all be seen to embody the American Dream in various ways. Despite the fact that the book is set largely in Europe, the characters cannot escape their true American nature. Dick in particular is an archetypal example of the American Dream. In his work as a psychiatrist he is not content with simply being good at his job, he dreams of being the best. When he has newly graduated and arrived in Europe he has ‘the illusion of eternal strength and health, and of the essential goodness of people; illusions of a nation’, this period is described by Fitzgerald as being Dick’s ‘moment’ and the fact that the original beliefs that he holds in his...