Pursuit for dreams

—after reading The Great Gatsby

I have heard of the famous novel The Great Gatsby for many years. However, until recently have I got the time and mood to read it. As soon as I finish reading, I find my previous unwarranted assumption of it totally wrong.

This is a story about Gatsby and his pursuit for the ‘American dreams’. During the World War One, the poor soldier Gatsby fell in love with an upper class girl named Daisy. But due to the wide gap between them, Daisy decided to marry Tom, a man of her class, instead of Gatsby. Broken-hearted Gatsby then held the conviction that money was of the greatest importance. He strongly believed in the ‘American dreams’, which as we all know, advocates that one can achieve whatever he or she likes through continuous efforts. He strived for five years to become a millionaire and bought a villa near Daisy’s to attract her. He was too addicted to his fantasy to realize that Daisy was no longer the lovely girl she used to be. Eventually, he was killed because of her crime.

After reading it, something reverberates in my heart. I can’t help thinking of the theme Fitzgerald trying to convey. One thing may be the lonely void of people’s spiritual world. I am deeply impressed by chapter 3, where a vivid description of a party is given.

There were beautiful girls, drunk men, and boisterous crowds there, but none of them perceived the pointless of their lives and the barren of their minds. To see this phenomenon deeper, there were two circumstances underlying it. The first is the lack of dreams. Some people, especially the people of the upper class, lived an aimless life. They wasted their time and money and took an indifferent attitude towards life. They chased for temporary ecstasy but lost their identity in eternity, namely Daisy and Tom. The second is the misleading of dreams. Some others like Gatsby, bravely pursued their dreams, yet going to a diverged way unconsciously. They might mix up the concept of a richer life and a happier life, viewing a higher social state and a peaceful fulfilled life as equality. Unfortunately, when they were busy chasing their dreams, everything changed with time. When they were anxious about the to-gets, they ignored what they had already had and lost the alert to the constant changes. The excellent use of symbolization illustrates this idea perfectly. The imagery of ‘green light’ is the most important symble which occurred three times in the novel. The green-light’s obscure in the mist indicates the dim of Gatsby’s dreams.

As far as I am concerned, this story can serve as a reminder for us. To live a meaningful life, we should carefully choose some dreams to pursue. And in the process of fulfilling our dreams, we

should always be concious about what we really desire. Anyhow, only by pursuing the proper dreams can we finally get to the deep springs of happiness.

 

第二篇：了不起的盖茨比 英文读后感

Dream can be a disaster

The pursuit of dream is the eternal pursuit of human beings. After the WWI , America has stepped into a unparalleled prosperous society without suffering from war damage. The American dream then became a jazzy balloon suspending above the heads of Americans.

The dream differs from people to people in the surrounding society Gastsby lives. To many people their pursuit are wealth and possession, so after Gastby’s death, they find a lot of excuses for their absence for they knowing clearly that Gastby was no longer useful for them. These people blind their eyes with materials and lost their bearings. Daisy is one of them., who is swallowed by the vanity fair and make use of Gastby’s love for her to him she has no mercy. She lefts Gastby two times, the first for a wealthy and easy marriage, the second for the maintain of her dreamd life. All the roles in the novel are common clays. They live in a world where money take precedence over moral integrity. Compared with them, Gastby is the only hero living in the impulsive society.

Gastby is a prime example of pursuing America dream. His dream is closely interrelated with a fair-haired girl who possess a higher social status. All his attempts are for the obtain of her love, even when he becomes aware of Daisy’s secular change. In order to achieve his single goal of his life, he engages in racketeering activities. To Gatsby, Daisy represents the paragon of perfection—she has the aura of charm, wealth, grace, and aristocracy that he longed for as a child in North Dakota and that first attracted him to her. In reality, however, Daisy falls far short of Gatsby’s ideals. She is beautiful and charming, but also fickle, shallow, bored. Nick characterizes her as a careless person who smashes things up and then retreats behind her money. Daisy proves her real nature when

she chooses Tom over Gatsby in Chapter VII, then allows Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle Wilson even though she herself was driving the car. Finally, rather than attend Gatsby’s funeral, Daisy and Tom move away, leaving no forwarding address.

The whole-hearted dedication to Gastby’s sincere belief makes him heroic. But his pursuit is fanaticism. There are two murders of his death and America dream. The first is the society in which money and social status overweighs integrity. The second is his blindfold and illusionary goal. He fails to see the nature of Daisy, who is not worthy of his dream.

Dreams in healthy society are respectful. Everyone desires something in life . But we need to be calm in uproar, deep in impulsive. Let sense rather than sensibility blind our eyes.No matter what our social position is, we are the noble in spirit and then strive to achive our goals.

0909440922 09级9班 李晋丹