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.

Fitzgerald’s novel, the Great Gatsby is one of the most meticulously written story of all time. This book incorporates different themes, yet the shadiness of the American Dream is the most significant one. The American Dream designates that one starting very low on their economic or social status and getting success and wealth trough their arduous work. Having a big house, a nice car and a happy family show the success of the American Dream. This dream is also shown by the concept of a self-made man, who struggles through life to get successful and wealthy. This dream does not only cause corruption but also destruction.

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 was the vision that brought many people to America to start a new life in a strange and foreign land. This vision or dream is a common discussion topic by modern writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island in the summer of 1922. On the surface, it seems that the novel is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman, but the masterpiece major theme is about the American dream. The author writes about a man who takes the dream too far and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality.

The American dream can mean many different things and can be interpreted in different ways. To some people, the American dream is the belief that if a person works hard enough, he or she can be successful in America no matter what race, gender, or nationality. In the 1920’s, the concept of the American dream was very much the same, that an individual can achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if he or she works hard enough. By having money, a car, a big house, expensive clothes, and a loving family symbolizes the American dream. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1920’s is a time period in which the American dream becomes corrupt and dangerous. For Jay Gatsby, a main character in the novel, his American dream is about gaining wealth and material possessions in order to find happiness. Through his decision to symbolize wealth, superficiality, irresponsibility, and foreshadowing, Fitzgerald conveys the the theme that the American dream is a perfect concept and is something that can never be accomplished, but can always be reached for.

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.

The American dream is often described as the desire for social mobility and the opportunity for wealth and success for all. According to Laura Goldblatt, author of Can’t Repeat the Past: Great Gatsby and the American Dream, “The term ‘American Dream’ provides a shorthand for aspirations that include the desire for social mobility, the ideals of freedom, and a non-hierarchical society,” (1) Of course, while there is an overall definition of the American dream, its interpretation varies from person to person. For some, it is the white picket fence and upper-middle class ideology. For others, it’s the dream of being able to support their families with their hardwork and dedication. However, for Jay Gatsby, it is only to gain wealth and success that will lead him to earn the love of Daisy Buchanan. To him, Daisy was his American dream and he would do anything, buy anything and give anything to have her, as shown throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s interpretation of the American dream is best encapsulated through his relentless pursuit to obtain Daisy’s love and attention. Although he used a showy appearance of wealth and prosperity to fulfill his desire for Daisy’s attention, the readers realize that money could not buy her affection in the long term, that Gatsby only committed to a life of extravagance for the sole purpose of wooing Daisy Buchanan, and he died sad and alone with his version of the American Dream never being fully realized.

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.

The concept of the American Dream was first found in a sermon called “city upon a hill” given by John Winthrop a Puritan as they were on their way to Massachusetts in 1630. As time goes on, the American Dream is used as a popular theme. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the theme of the American Dream. In the novel Fitzgerald has one of the characters represent the American Dream, showings us what the American Dream is like during the 1920s, and how it explores the idea of America.

One of the most influential writers of the early 20th century was a man named F. Scott Fitzgerald. The biggest topic that he wrote about was the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses many different aspects of writing to get his opinion across, such as the outcome of stories like The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams”. He also uses the setting and to explain his beliefs. Based of his work, Fitzgerald believes the American dream is not only unrealistic, but also unattainable.

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

For generations many have immigrated to this great nation know, as the United states of America, all seeking for their share of the American dream. The American dream is the philosophy that anyone can become successful through hard work and perseverance. The 1920’s embodies this concept like no other decade in American history. It is also during this time frame that one sees the perversion of this dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests in his novel, The Great Gatsby that there is a right and wrong way to obtain the American dream. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is symbolic for the materialistic nature of the American dream and its corruption in the 20th century.

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 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.

The American Dream undertones the entirety of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Though exceedingly cryptic in America today, this concept of upwards mobility centers on the belief that hard work and determination will ultimately and inevitably lead to wealth and success. Fitzgerald tirelessly embeds the concept into his text to highlight how the American Dream fails; that regardless of one’s socio-economic stance, it lies forever distant and unachievable. The novel explores discrepancies that emerge in American society that contribute to its unattainability, such as discrimination and the tendencies around how privileged humanity perceives itself. After individuals achieve what those below would effortlessly define to be the height of the dream, not only do they feel stagnant and purposeless in society, but often, they never fully accept the fact that they are living the American Dream.