“The American Dream has become a death sentence of drudgery, consumerism, and fatalism: a garage

The American Dream, which remains till today, bases itself upon assiduousness and high morals. Many people from foreign and faraway countries view this "dream" as a reality and believe that America upholds these high standards. Yet, Fitzgerald clearly writes this novel to show that the linchpin that kept the dream alive has eroded away.

The American Dream, in essence, is but a faulty perception of the world. It attempts to find felicity in all that is gilt. And guilty is a society that bases happiness on something as worthless as gold; for what does the warm kiss of light on the skin and the taste of water cost man? It is this theme of misconceptions and blindness that recurs through Fitzgerald's work. It stares at us, scrutinizes us, like the gigantic, blue, spectacled and myopic eyes of Dr. Eckleburg. Fitzgerald gives us Dr. Eckleburg to accentuate America's blindness. America is not only blind, but also near-sighted; America lives for today, for pleasure and prodigality. She cannot

As the phenomenal politician Bernie Sanders once said, “For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.” In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by Scott Fitzgerald, the “American Dream” plays a crucial role in the plot. Gatsby devotes his life to accomplish his American Dream which consists of wealth and Daisy’s love. But is the American Dream actually what it seems to be? Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes the symbolic value of the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and the significance of the color yellow to constantly establish that opulence and the American Dream is deceiving as it leads to moral and societal corruption.

Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power.

In the 1920’s, American citizens were pursuing their dreams. Between desires of wealth and fame, many of these aspirations are outlandish. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us the consequences of chasing these unique American dreams. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald clearly communicates to the reader that people are failing to accomplish their dreams. The characters of Nick, Gatsby, Tom and Daisy all have ideas for a perfect life; however, none of them are able to obtain it. Fitzgerald shows the pursuit of the American dream as deceitful because it leads to poverty, depression, moral and social decay through highly unrealistic standards.

The culture of the wealthy Americans represented in The Great Gatsby was defined mainly by consumerism and excessive material wealth. Wherever given the opportunity, Jay Gatsby went over the top, as shown in his flamboyant style of dress and his huge mansion where he throws lavish parties. This is actually not all that different from Fitzgerald’s life. After his first work was published to great fanfare, Fitzgerald was the talk of the town. As was the case with Gatzby, many of those around him did not – and never would – actually know Fitzgerald. They wished merely to be close to someone famous. Fitzgerald shunned all the attention, eventually moving to France. It was there that he looked at the supposed American Dream from a different perspective. To Fitzgerald, it was clear that the sudden wealth that many Americans began to acquire caused leisure and idleness to replace traditional ethics like hard work as qualities that were admired. (Decker, 28) Certainly the Buchanans and Gatsby cared little about hard work once they had achieved their material goals.

In today’s society, people are judged by their values or are frightened to take sacrifices to better benefit their lifestyle. Characters like Gatsby, Tom, Daisy and Myrtle are shown as evidence of greed and how wealth surrounds their values. Fitzgerald uses social commentary to offer a glance of an American life in the 1920s. He carefully sets up his novel into distinct groups, but in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving powerful ideas for readers to adapt(add morals characters inhabit). By creating distinct social classes, old money, new money, and no money, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism running throughout every perspective of society. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays characters like Nick,

F. Scott Fitzgerald proposes that the American Dream is corrupt and also a mediocrity that anyone in America can rise from rags to riches as in the real

The greatest power in the world lies within those who posses the ability to immortalize their ideas and to defend their values against the test of time and watch them succeed. Such is the case in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, which focuses on the corruption of the American Dream. High society throughout the 1920s is expressed through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, who exposes the transformation of the American Dream, from a pure ideal of security into a convoluted scheme of materialistic possession. Exposing the faults within the American Dream, Fitzgerald illustrates in his tragic story that a once impervious dream is now lost forever, drowned by the decadence of a materialistic society.

The “Roaring 20’s” was a time period where material and wealth mattered even more to people. Greed consumed people and the thrill of the time devoured people as well. Parties occurred daily and wealthy members of society appeared out of nowhere. The American Dream, of what once was a dream of self, became corrupted. The opportunity to be oneself became the opportunity to become rich and powerful. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies the corruption of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, an upper-class member of society, allows the thrill of the American Dream to take over his life and determine his actions, in his extravagant plan of winning back his old love, Daisy. This corruption of the American Dream destroys not only his ideals and inevitably, his life but also sabotages Daisy as well. Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby’s versions of the American Dream are a true example of the hold and destruction that the American Dream had on people. Fitzgerald’s way of incorporating the American Dream reflects the truth behind the dream and shows the damage that it did to millions of people during the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby is a criticism of the American Dream and how monetary greed and excess destroy the characters’ attempts to find true happiness.

Novelists such as Willa Cather and F. Scott Fitzgerald used themes of desire of wealth as a fundamental element to motivate their characters. In their novels, the theme is reflected by the rich Americans who primal desire is to obtain more and more wealth. These characters are so infatuated with and blinded by money that they no longer regard the more noble qualities of life. In each of their works, these authors present intricate, self-conscious characters that desire wealth in order to attain their dreams. In reality, wealth cannot buy people, ideas or even time.

The wealthy upper class has continually been associated with corruption. There is no more explicit instance than in the Jazz Age, when wealth and prosperity became the destination of the American Dream. The decadence of both the old money and new money accentuates the flaws of the American Dream. Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby utilizes the embodiment of Jay Gatsby to illustrate the pursuit of wealth and the corruption associated with it. Jay Gatsby’s aspirations to become wealthy in order to impress Daisy, and the ultimate failure to achieve his dream portrays Fitzgerald’s theme that pursuit of monetary success, while encouraged in society, eclipses morality and ultimately leads to destruction.

The Roaring Twenties is when the Americans, especially wealthy people, are being so wasteful on spending money and are addicted to alcohol and drugs. During that time, many people have hopes for the American Dream. The American Dream is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work. Different people have different understandings of American Dream and different ways to pursue their dream. Some key ideas of the American Dream are equality, rights, opportunities and the pursuit of happiness. In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the American Dream is an unattainable illusion and the materialism led to the corruption of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties. Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle all have been fail to achieve their dreams in the book and destroy by the American Dream.

Fitzgerald’s success came along with the roaring 20s, also known as the Jazz age. His fame and fortune skyrocketed during this era with his first novel, This Side of Paradise being a hit. However, the lifestyle of the rich and famous during the Jazz age would prove to provide an insurmountable heartbreak. Fitzgerald claims that the Jazz Age “flattered him and gave him more money than he had dreamed of” (qtd. In “Broken Dreams” 42). With this new fame and money, he began living very recklessly. He threw extravagant parties and “rode on the roofs of taxi cabs and jumped into fountains... and got drunk at countless parties.” Fitzgerald said, “I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again.” (QUOTE). He finally had a taste of the glamor of the American Dream, and he absolutely loved it. However, this lifestyle was expensive, one that Fitzgerald, even with all his money could not afford. He lived so irresponsibly that he was often in debt. He wanted more of this lifestyle, but it was the lifestyle of the American Dream that eventually lead him away from the American Dream. He began chasing the American Dream just so he could

After World War I, America offered the potential for boundless financial and social opportunities for those willing to work hard—an American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Establishing fame, becoming wealthy, having lavish luxuries, and a happy family would come to symbolize this dream. For some, however, striving for and realizing that dream ruined them, as many acquired wealth only to pursue pleasure. Even though the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby appear to relish the freedom of the 1920s, their lives demonstrate the emptiness that results when wealth and pleasure become ends in themselves. Specifically, the empty lives of three characters from this novel— George Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan—show that chasing hollow dreams results only in misery.