Question

You’re happy to know that The Great Gatsby was chosen for this month’s reading. As you start reading the book, you’re searching for passages that speak about the theme of the American Dream. You’ve written down four interesting quotes so far.

Which of the following quotes from the book would best suit your theme of the American Dream?
Question 2 options:

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and . . . then retreated back into their money . . . and let other people clean up the mess they had made."

"All I kept thinking about, over and over, was 'You can't live forever; you can't live forever.'"

"Life is much more successfully looked at from a single window."

"In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice… 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'"

Answer 1

The quote that best suits the theme of the American Dream is:

**"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and . . . then retreated back into their money . . . and let other people clean up the mess they had made."**

This quote highlights the hollow and destructive nature of the American Dream as portrayed in *The Great Gatsby*. It underscores the idea that wealth can lead to carelessness and moral decay, ultimately critiquing the notion that financial success equates to fulfillment or virtue. Tom and Daisy Buchanan embody the moral emptiness that can accompany the pursuit of the American Dream, making this quote particularly relevant to the theme.