The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the ideals of wealth and dreams are exhibited through the lives and experiences of Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Specifically, Gatsby tends to waste his wealth rather than investing for the future. He uses the “green light” to serve as a constant reminder of his dreams and life goals he wishes to pursue. Nick Carraway’s friendship with Gatsby enables him to partake in the wealth and luxuries of Gatsby's lifestyle. The American Dream is brought to fruition through Gatsby’s lavish lifestyle and extravagant parties. Furthermore, the motifs of wealth and dreams are perpetually shaping and influencing the characters’ decisions, experiences and outcomes over the course of the story.

The American dream is the idea of the perfect family and a house with a white picket fence; some people strive their whole life to achieve the dream, but the dream is unachievable—there is no such thing as perfect. The Balance’s article What Is the American Dream? The History That Made It Possible by Kimberly Amadeo says:

The American Dream, is an idea that all Americans are familiar with, no matter what age they are. It is the dream that everyone has an equal opportunity, to use hard work and integrity to achieve success. The American Dream is an integral aspect of Jay Gatsby’s life in the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel follows Jay Gatsby, as told by Nick Carraway, through the trials and tribulations that correspond with newfound wealth and the quest to find true happiness in a cynical and testing environment. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream has the power to corrupt individuals, through his depictions of wealth, materialism, and the consequences they inflict in the character’s lives.

There's always a start and an end to a dream. From the start line to the finish line of living out the dream. Gatsby represents the American Dream, he had started near the start line. The start line represents that there's both an advantage & disadvantages, the certain kind that not everyone has the same opportunities for and they’re not in the same social status.

As humans, we crave love and affection from others, and in order to live the “American Dream” money is a necessity. It was the infectious love of money that brought Nick, a wealthy veteran who wanted more out of life, to the Eggs. More importantly, the love that Gatsby had for Daisy motivated him to live the life of the rich and prove it. The characters were influenced by the love of money, or money bringing love. Love and lust could be completely changed when money was thrown in, and for the characters in the book, there was never enough.

The American dream is an illusion, and one can never achieve true happiness when one is searching for it. This is what F. Scott Fitzgerald was thinking when, amongst his failing marriage and panicking country, he wrote one of America’s most beloved classics. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, a self-made, overly optimistic millionaire who throws lavish parties in search of his long-lost love, is eventually found to be not only a liar, but a failure as well. This failure portrays a different ideal for Fitzgerald: the American dream. In fact, within his novel, Fitzgerald metaphorically depicted the American dream as unachievable and impractical, using the very title itself.

The "American Dream" is a term adapted after America became a free nation and was ready for growth and prosperity. It continues even today to be used frequently in reference to the opportunity to starting or having a better comfortable life. In the twenties this household term put on a new meaning of greed, overindulgence and materialism. In his most prestigious work the, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald portrays the corrupt nature of the American Dream through the fall of his characters. The author portrays the frailty of the American Dream through protagonist of the story, Jay Gatsby, the love of his life Daisy, and Daisy’s husband Tom. Gatsby's undying desire to quickly to impress Daisy turns into greed just as the image of the American dream suddenly became unattainable due to corruption.

The American dream for most people is having the opportunity to be successful. Nonetheless, there are many obstacles to overcome such as poverty, racial prejudices, lack of will power, and the unequal chances of opportunity. These obstacles are what prove that the American dream is more of a dream than a reality.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald utilized symbolism to express a deeper meaning. Throughout the novel, an overall theme is apparent: the American Dream is virtually unattainable. Gatsby’s dream is for Daisy to realize she loves him and not Tom. As the book goes on, the reader can see through symbolism that Gatsby’s American Dream is becoming unattainable because Gatsby is reaching for something greater than he can achieve.

The American Dream is starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards wealth and fame. By having money, a car, a big house, nice clothes, and a happy family symbolizes the american dream. This dream also represents that no matter what, who or she is, can become successful in life by their work efforts. The desire to strive for what they want can be accomplished if they work hard enough. The Great Gatsby shows how the American Dream happened in the 1920s. The American Dream is the cause of the destruction of the two main character in the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.

The American Dream is the idea of having an equal opportunity of achieving prosperity and happiness through hard work and determination. The idea of the American dream is the main focus of novel The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is about the narrator Nick Carraway who tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy self-made man who is in love with Daisy Buchanan. However, Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan who is also a rich man but from inheritance. The colors red white and blue appear often in the book, each color has its own meaning in relationship to the “American Dream”. Red signifies passion, violence, and power. Blue represents hope, and White represents class and high stature. F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby uses extensive description of the colors red, white and, blue to illustrate certain parts of the American Dream are fake.

F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream in the character of Jay Gatsby throughout the novel The Great Gatsby. Gatsby succeeds in changing his life as he goes from having nothing to being very wealthy. His success, however, comes during a corrupt time. How Gatsby made his fortune is not clear but it is clear that he was involved in illegal business transactions. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows that the American Dream is achievable, but only by adding the illegal aspect to Gatsby’s success he also problematizes the American Dream throughout the plot. Throughout The Great Gatsby the character of Jay Gatsby depicts the American dream.

Throughout the contemporary history of America, people have outwardly exuded their own confidences that a better life was within their reach. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores dreams and how they affect and ultimately corrupt dreamers. Fitzgerald tells the story of a poor, midwestern man who goes to seemingly endless lengths to achieve the goal of a richer life in New York. This man, Jay Gatsby, reinvents himself, amasses a fortune through illegal activity, and funnels his wealth into a single goal: win back his lost love, Daisy. Gatsby’s dream for his new life with Daisy consumes him, similar to the dreams and ultimate fates of other characters in this novel. The characters all harbor their own version of the American dream in their minds. The American dream is the idea that “[E]very man, whatever his origins, may pursue and attain his chosen goals, be they political, monetary, or social” (Pearson 638). There is a common belief that America guarantees the means to achieve a better life and a hopeful future, but people fail to realize that the American dream is an unfulfilled promise. Each character in the Great Gatsby is corrupted in some ways by a dream, or conversely corrupted by the lacking of one. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters’ vulnerabilities and flaws to show the corruption of their interpretation of the American dream.

The American Dream can be defined as a person's ability to attain success regardless of their cultural background, gender, nationality, or social class. The American Dream creates a narrow mindset in society that ignores the effects of racism and income inequality. The fact that all the upper-class people possess a lot of wealth does not mean that they are the same. People have got different behaviors and it depends upon upbringing in the society. Morality is essential in life and no one should be underrated in life. The 1920s was a tumultuous time in America because of increased immigration, changes in the roles of the women in the society such as voting rights for women, and eventually greater income inequality. America was also in an economic boom which bolstered the belief that anyone could be rich. The Great Gatsby was written in 1925, but it tries to describe the fantasies experienced in 1920. Novels written during that time tended to emphasis the American dream. Fitzgerald tries to criticize the idea that America is a true meritocracy, where any individual can get rich by working hard. This conceptual paper explores the flawed nature of the American Dream as evidenced by two characters that are Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby.

Everyone in America has a dream. From either coming to America looking for that dream or living here and living for the dream. Many of these dreams vary from having a family and being rich with a business. During the 1920’s “The American Dream” was when it was at its fullest people were starting to gain wealth or either the wealthy were just very successful. The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald setting was during the 1920’s. The main characters that made an impact on whether the dream is being lived are Gatsby, Daisy, Tom,George, Myrtle, and Nick. Throughout the book The Great Gatsby confirms and denies “The American Dream”.