Themes Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream in the 1920’s revolved around the accumulation of wealth. Jay Gatsby believes he can buy happiness, which to him, consists of having Daisy to himself. He believes he can do this by achieving a level of respect in East Egg; known for new money. His goal was to make fortune to please Daisy.

During the first chapter we learn that from Nick that Gatsby is a very optimistic and hopeful man. He's done his best to prosper in life but we learn that he has hopes for more. Also we learn that his hope is what drives other characters. Then we find out through Jordan that Gatsby wants to meet with Daisy but is afraid. That is why he always holds such lavish parties, Jordan tells Nick,"I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties..,but she never did.". Later in the story after Gatsby has spilled the beans of he and Daisy's affair he hopes and waits for her to come to him. In the end she does not and this is where we actually see a genuine act of despair in Gatsby, "Nothing happened.., I waited, about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute..". Overall, Gatsby goes through having his hopes crushed entirely by the end of the novel. But the hope he actually had was false because all along he knew what he had dreamed for wouldn't really work out and you can see this in many chapters of the book.

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively portrays 1920’s America and its twisted, unsavory values. The novel has been called “the American masterwork,” by Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post, because of the novel’s characterization of the Jazz Age and all of it’s unsatisfactory glory. One critic has written, “The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American dream.” Fitzgerald’s work validates this statement. The Great Gatsby wonderfully depicts the death of the American Dream through the loss of humility and rectitude. The American Dream is the ideal that anyone, regardless of race, class, or gender should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The death of this dream is demonstrated in the novel through rich symbolism as Fitzgerald uses extended metaphors and personification to portray the corruption of the Jazz Age. The American Dream is demonstrated through the color yellow, which symbolizes not only wealth but death. The American Dream is also demonstrated through characters Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson, and Jay Gatsby, as well as their tragic endings while trying to achieve the dream. Tom and Daisy Buchanan achieve money without having to work and the carelessness that results from it.

It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” (George Carlin). George Carlin, criticizes the dream of prosperity, a promise to any individual for happiness and material success, if they try hard enough, Carlin realizes the reality of the unobtainable dream. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald offers an insight to the lavish life of the 1920’s, or as he coined, The Jazz Age. The novel follows the character of Nick Carraway as he learns the tragedy of an excessive lifestyle that is lived by Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald is able to see past all the luxury and grandeur to expose the unhappiness and misery that tells the reader that money does not bring true joy. The novel describes

For centuries in this country people have believed that through hard work, talent and ambition anyone can acquire great wealth and success regardless of their social class and background, a concept later named “The American Dream” in 1931. However, people have been questioning whether this idea of rags to riches really is attainable to all who work for it, or if it is merely a fantasy and a myth. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to illustrate the death of the American Dream.

Gatsby spent most of his youth working really hard to become rich, after Dan Cody had passed away. Gatsby deeply desired Daisy even after she was married. She was the reason behind the parties he was throwing every week. While Jordan and Nick where talking, Jordan says, “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night but she never did” (Fitzgerald 77). Gatsby was spending enormous amount of money throwing parties every week just hoping that one day Daisy will pass by to see, but it never occurred. When Nick agrees to arrange a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby was so excited that he had a makeover to Nicks place. When Daisy finally meets Gatsby for the first after a long time, it was an awkward moment for both of them. Daisy out of nowhere says, “We haven’t met for many years” (Fitzgerald 84). Gatsby replies, “Five years next November” (Fitzgerald 84). It’s kind of fascinating that Gatsby even remembers when it’s going to be five years since they have met. He desire’s Daisy so much that he even remembers the days that he hadn’t met her. Gatsby became rich so that he can win Daisy back. That was his only desire. Living lavish lifestyles, throwing parties just to get noticed by Daisy which sadly never occurs until the meeting. This creates compassion for Gatsby

Gatsby’s real motivation in making himself into a new man was his love for Daisy. His chase after her began soon after the creation of a new persona – James to Jay. Even though he finally has everything anyone could ever want, he was missing the things that mattered most, his past love. Temporary neighbor Nick Carraway, who Gatsby befriends, observes, “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). So

The first way Fitzgerald proves his belief of the American Dream is how he shapes the outcome of the stories he writes. This quote from The Great Gatsby shows the failure of Gatsby’s dream at the end of the novel. “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to his blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know it was already behind him …” (Fitzgerald 180). The main character, Nick, explains how Gatsby was so close to his dream but didn’t achieve it. All Gatsby wanted was to be Daisy but couldn’t achieve his goal. This quote from “Winter Dreams” also depicts Fitzgerald’s views on the American Dream. “‘Long ago,’ he said, ‘long ago there was something in me, but now that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone, that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.’” (Fitzgerald 639). Dexter had a dream to be with Judy but now that dream is no longer with him and he can’t get it back. These endings to some of Fitzgerald’s stories show that he believes the American Dream is something that cannot be obtained and will always fail.

Because he cannot rewind the past to make Daisy love him again, he will never be truly happy because he does not have everything in his American Dream. While he has the money and the respect from certain people, he does not have the one woman that matters to him, which is a key element to his definition of success. His American Dream was so unattainable that “[his] ambitions . . . [led] him into a life of crime and unsavory ‘gonnegtions’. . .” (Del Gizzo 80-81). Although he did everything for Daisy, it would never be enough for her, for Daisy wanted a man with old money, which Gatsby could never provide considering his poor upbringing that results in Daisy being unwilling to run away with him. Overall, Gatsby’s dream corrupted him; he turned to crime to try to achieve his dream, not understanding the true extent of what he’s doing for the woman of his dreams. No matter how hard he tries, Gatsby could never attain his American Dream because besides Daisy, he wants too much. From wanting too much, his dream will never become reality because his beliefs have corrupted the dream he tried so hard to attain.

Gatsby came from nothing and being a poor person which had a part in his motivation. All of his shallow behavior and materialism was in his struggle to reinvent himself and win the heart of Daisy Buchanan. To Gatsby Daisy represents money and eminence and he fell in love with her without knowing what complications she would cause him. After many years from their first interaction Daisy grew tired of waiting for Gatsby to reunite with her and she ended up marrying a man from old money, Tom Buchanan. Gatsby was a good man even though he lied numerous times about his past and attempted in stealing another man’s wife. Gatsby just craved the challenge that he got with other men for Daisy’s love and we learns this on Page 141 in his conversation with her:

Social-historical background The novel the great Gatsby is a story about the poor pursue power eventually fail. For Gatsby's tragic ending, the society has unshirkable responsibility. In that society, class distinction is clear, so Gatsby’s death is is a predestined tragedy in that society. In fact, even though Gatsby had a luxury life by by squandering his illegally wealth, the deep-rooted social hierarchy still rejected him.

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.

In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. If you have a dream in America, you can achieve it with old fashioned hard work. Whether it’s going from rags to riches or finding love, the American Dream can offer it. But the ever-popular American dream is easily corrupted. This is greatly shown in the novel The Great Gatsby as it explores both the beauty and the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald includes many aspects in the story which show how the pursuit for the American Dream affected

This literary study will provide a character examination of the theme of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters in the Great Gatsby provided a profile of the hopes and dreams of American life that are inevitably defined through the class status. For Jay Gatsby, the envious desire to win the love of Daisy Buchanan is based on his quest to rise from poverty to the upper classes. More so, Tom Buchanan defines the hubris of the wealthy elites, which are always barring individuals from the lower classes, such as Jay, from entering high society. In this context, fleeting hopes of Jay’s ascension into high society is defined in contrast to the elitist identity of Daisy and Tom Buchanan. These are the limitations of the American Dream as defined in the conflicts that arise between Jay, Daisy, and Tom in the plot. In essence, a character analysis of Jay, Daisy, and Tom will define the fleeting instances of hope in the American Dream that are presented in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The American dream is the idea that socioeconomic class mobility is possible; a person with nothing could rise and become someone great. Few Americans, like the character of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, will fulfill this dream. But, average Americans, like the character of George Wilson, will remain in their parents’ class for the entirety of their lives. Class mobility is an integral facet of the American dream, and while possible, it is not often achieved. Only a select few super-achievers can attain the rags to riches, American dream of an ascent to wealth and power, but the majority of Americans will live their lives perpetually stuck in the class that they were born into.