Category: The Great Gatsby

The Illusion of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

Gatsby’s Pursuit of the American Dream

The Great Gatsby is one of the best pieces written in American literature. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist, and writer who shows the American Dream that is represented by Jay Gatsby, a character in his book The Great Gatsby. Gatsby has a humble background and works to gain wealth and build his social status. He believes that by achieving all of this, he will be accepted by the first class; instead, he is rejected and then later killed after mingling with them. Fitzgerald blames the notion that America is a country where anyone can surface from immersed poverty and grow to the top with enough hard work and dedication.

The American Dream is believed that any person, despite age and social status, class, and nationality, can be successful and bloom in America only if they fulfill the American Dream and work hard enough. The dream assumes crucial aspects of tax evasion, income, and class equality when the country has a well-established hierarchy of classes. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is from a very poor family that makes little to nothing, and the only thing that his father is good at is farming. Gatsby falls in love with and young girl named Daisy, but she does not want to marry him because he is poor (Fitzgerald 44).

The Corrupting Influence of Wealth and Morality in the 1920s

This then motivates Gatsby to work hard and earn a lot of money with the thought on the back of his head that when he returns to town, he will ask for Daisy’s hand in marriage again. This time Gatsby hopes that Daisy will accept him now that he has wealth, but to his surprise, Daisy gets married to another man with wealth named Tom. Gatsby’s wealth is corrupt with dirty money. He is involved with many drug stores that are connected to prohibition, but when his guilt awakens and torments him, he consoles himself by saying that he is doing it all for Daisy. The Great Gatsby and 1920 had powerful and rich people who had bad morals ranging from cheating, bootlegging, and even murder.

They were full of shameless and corrupt people who hid behind their wealth when things went wrong. Later the people would resurface when all the pressure had gone away with their illegal activities. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated into their money…(Fitzgerald 187). Both Tom and Daisy cared little about other people’s life and, as shown in the book. Daisy drove into Myrtle and killed her by accident. Daisy was so heartless that she did not stop at all, even to see who she hit and if the person was okay, and if she needed any help to save her life. But Tom knew that he was the downfall of Gatsby and his death when Tom mentioned Gatsby as the murderer of George’s wife, Myrtle.

Wealth, Morality, and the Pursuit of the ‘Elect’ in the 1920s Society

Tom felt no remorse for the mess he started. The Buchanans hid behind their wealth by traveling out of town until the murder story of Myrtles dyed down. It is shown the level of irresponsibility by not owning careless actions. In 1920, the United States endorsed immigrants, which brought with them their own culture, like “The Doctrine of Elect” by John Calvin. John believed that the human race was subjected to downfall because of the sin Adam & Eve committed. Due to this, the humanity people could not be saved. John called it” The Elect” If someone failed to have a hardworking life and rich life, God would leave them and forget their status. It made humans more aggressive for money against the fact they had been instructed it was impossible.

After a lot of research, it was concluded that material wealth could be an explanation for their prayers, and dedication had finally been answered. Goodliness and money were the basic claims for one to be considered an “Elect” They set up a basic in which if a person did not earn or allow them was not only considered damaging but also a sinner. An example of this is if you did not dress in classy clothes, lived in a big house and attended a certain school, or drove an expensive car, you would be considered lesser than everyone. It was the right amount of motivation for people to strive and work to gain wealth and status within their power. It would turn and improve their ideal ways of living and empower them to have more comfortable lives by attempting the original sin and helping the human race.

The lifestyle was very different in ways where they threw a lot of parties. An individual would be recognized by the amount of cash they spent on alcohol and fancy clothes. In the search for wealth and people that lost their morals. They battle to be the best in everything, like their status, the position they have, and the amount of wealth they are worth. In chapter 4, Jordan Baker tells Nick the story of Gatsby and Daisy (Fitzgerald 22). Daisy was so dazed by the idea of gaining wealth and becoming famous. She fell in love with Gatsby but would not marry him because he had no money and was poor. Gatsby was motivated to work very hard and had the view if he got money and built up his social status, Daisy would accept him. Fitzgerald was showing how it is to portray his money and unique lifestyle that makes people lose their ethics because they are to do what they have to achieve it.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925.
2. Bloom, Harold, editor. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Infobase Publishing, 2010.
3. Bruccoli, Matthew J. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina Press, 2002.
4. Mizener, Arthur. The Far Side of Paradise: A Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
5. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925. (For page references, e.g., Fitzgerald 44, Fitzgerald 187, and Fitzgerald 22)
6. Johnston, Carol Siri. “The American Dream in The Great Gatsby: A Critical Consideration.” American Literature 76.4 (2004): 751-782.
7. Kazin, Alfred. “F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Man and His Work.” The American Scholar 21.1 (1951): 33-47.
8. Hochschild, Jennifer L. “Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation.” Princeton University Press, 1995.
9. Truslow, James Adams. “The Epic of America.” Little, Brown, and Company, 1931.
10. Leuchtenburg, William E. The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-32. University of Chicago Press, 1958.
11. Scharnhorst, Gary, editor. F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Critical Reception. Camden House, 1984.

The Illusion of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”

Gatsby’s Unfulfilled Love and Daisy’s Compromised Marriage

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby has many themes, such as it being a tragic love story, a mystery, as well as a social narration of American life or, as some would say, the American Dream. The story is told based on four wealthy characters who are observed and judged by Nick Carraway, who is the narrator of this story. This story takes place in New York, going back and forth between the East and the West Egg back in the 1920s. Nick Carraway is a young man from Midwest who received an education from Yale and moved to New York to learn about the bond business. At the beginning of the book, Nick’s father tells him, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald,1 Chapter 1).

Gatsby opens up to Nick about his past when he met Daisy, and when he fell in love with her. In chapter eight, he pretends to be able to take care of her because he loves her, but he knows he can’t. At that time, Daisy also loved Gatsby, but things didn’t work out to plan. When he went to war, Daisy wanted him to come home, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t.

This left Daisy being forced to marry someone else who was wealthy, and that could take care of her, which resulted in her marrying Tom Buchanan. “She never loved you, do you hear?… She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart, she never loved anyone except me!” (Fitzgerald; 130, Chapter 7). The reason Gatsby opens up to Nick is because Gatsby does not want Nick to think he is a bad guy for leaving Daisy when he went to war.

The Unveiling of Carelessness and the Retreat from Deception

Nick refers to Tom and Daisy Buchanan as careless people in chapter nine. He says this because he witnessed and observed many things over the summer, such as them ruining other people’s lives and hiding behind their wealth while other people go and clean up their mess. Nick has seen Tom Buchanan control George Wilson as well as having an affair with his wife without George even knowing. “When almost immediately the telephone rang inside…The butler came back and murmured something close to Tom’s ear, whereupon Tom frowned, pushed back his chair, and without a word went inside” (Fitzgerald; 13,14 Chapter 1). Nick also saw how Daisy carried on an affair with Gatsby and played games with his heart but ended up going back to Tom once she found out Gatsby was a bootlegger.

After Gatsby died and Daisy stayed with Tom, I don’t think there was really much left for Nick in the East since he had no use for misleading impressions anymore. “After Gatsby’s death, the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction. So when the blue smoke of brittle leaves was in the air, and the wind blew the wet laundry stiff on the line, I decided to come home” (Fitzgerald; 176, Chapter 9). Nick returns to the MidWest to get away from memories and drama that happened while he was in the East, things he couldn’t unsee and that disgusted him. After the death of Gatsby and Myrtle, Nick realizes that the East Coast, as well as the American Dream, was misleading, fake, and only really based on greed. He believes the Midwest to be innocent when compared to the East.

American Dream’s Pursuit and Disillusionment

We mostly think of the American dream or, to some, the American Society, to be someone who comes from nothing and reaches fame and wealth. Gatsby represents the American Dream because he came from nothing into privilege, wealth, and power, even though his money and power came from illegal activities. In The Great Gatsby, you also see another way to view that dream. Many of the characters in the book are popular and wealthy, but unfortunately, they’re not happy with their life or themselves.

If you pay attention, even Gatsby himself isn’t truly happy or satisfied with where he is in the society he lives in now. The death of characters symbolizes the destruction of the American Dream. Each character chases this dream till the end of their life yet fails in its success because they value materialistic things instead of pure ideas. A lesson that is learned in this novel is that sometimes when we get what we wished for, we find out in the end that it isn’t truly what we wanted it to be.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Scribner, 1925.
2. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Chapter 1, Page 1.
3. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Chapter 7, Page 130.
4. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Chapter 1, Pages 13-14.
5. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Chapter 9, Page 176.
6. Bloom, Harold, editor. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.” Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
7. Cowley, Malcolm, editor. “F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays.” Prentice-Hall, 1963.

Water Symbolism in The Great Gatsby: Struggle and the American Dream

Gatsby’s Pursuit of Love, Belonging, and the Turbulence of Obstacles

The classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, tells the tale that belongs to the book’s narrator Nick Carraway. How the roaring 1920s were unforgettable as he retells the summer of 1921 when he comes to live on West Egg across the water from his former college classmate, the arrogant Tom Buchanan, and his wife, Nick’s distant beautiful, and sophisticated cousin, Daisy Buchanan and their palace of a home on the wealthier East Egg.

Back in West Egg, Nick meets his neighbor Jay Gatsby, a mysterious but infamously wealthy man who throws massive parties each week when he receives an invitation to those parties. He goes and runs into another member of the Buchanan household Jordan Baker, a cynical, competitive golfer, and spends the evening with her until he finally meets Gatsby himself and learns his true motives. Nick begins to now narrate the journey that is Gatsby chasing after his old Love, Daisy’s hand.

In a way, that very hand is symbolic of the American Dream. The way Fitzgerald eloquently describes the pursuit of one’s ultimate goals through Gatsby’s pursuit of his true Love and his eagerness to fit in with the crowd can be traced right back to Maslow’s third tier in his hierarchy of needs, Love, and belonging. However, in any and most journeys to success, there must be some sort of conflict or obstacle. In this case, it can be represented through water.

Connecting and Dividing Gatsby’s Dreams in Fitzgerald’s Narrative

In the novel, the first mention of Gatsby is when he is reaching his hand out to the “dark water in a curious way” at the end of his dock, looking at the green light across the bay on Daisy Buchanan’s property. Gatsby is separated physically from Daisy at this moment by the vast stretch of water between their two homes. Another example can even come from humble beginnings, like when Gatsby’s past is finally revealed, his claim to fame was when he was on his boat during a storm helping the alcoholic, tremendously wealthy Dan Cody dock his ship.

In doing so, he caught his ride out of what he once was and used this to become who he was. Unfortunately, the water comes back to separate him once more from his dream of Daisy In the form of a swimming pool when he requests his butler to “Don’t do it today” when the butler mentions draining the pool before the leaves start to fall. One can argue had Gatsby not decided to swim that day. He would not have been shot and killed while waiting for his dearest Daisy to call him and come to him finally.

F. Scott Fitzgerald has a way of showing that even in the chase of your dreams, there is always a but. Choosing to share this example through Nick’s eyes of Gatsby’s aim to finally get the girl and fit in with the wealthy people he always dreamed of being a part of but also choosing water to symbolically represent the struggles and obstacles that will stop that feverous pursuit in its tracks. Showing how everyone has a dream and can work their hardest to achieve it, but in the end, not everyone can succeed.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925.
2. Maslow, Abraham H. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, vol. 50, no. 4, 1943, pp. 370-396.
3. Tucker, Lindsey. “Water Symbolism in ‘The Great Gatsby’.” Study.com, 15 Jan. 2021, www.study.com/academy/lesson/water-symbolism-in-the-great-gatsby.html.
4. Berman, Ronald. “The Green Light at the End of Daisy’s Dock: A Vision for Gatsby.” The Arizona Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 1, 1972, pp. 57-64.
5. Wulick, Andrea. “The Great Gatsby: Study Guide.” Course Hero, 25 Jan. 2017, www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Great-Gatsby/.
6. Donaldson, Scott. “Possessions in The Great Gatsby.” Modern Critical Interpretations: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, 1986, pp. 63-78.

The Illusion of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”

Unveiling Gatsby’s Pursuit of the American Dream

In the story, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator Nick Carraway tells the long-awaited story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby, originally known as James Gatz. People heard many stories about this man, but none of them seemed to be upright because there were many different ones that he used to cover up the truth. People just thought of him as the wealthy guy who inherited all of his wealthy family’s money when they all passed. But the real truth is Gatsby was actually born into a poor family and didn’t become wealthy until he started working with Dan Cody, who was a millionaire. But, behind everything people do in life, there is always a hidden reason for the person’s determination to accomplish a goal, and in Gatsby’s case, it was his love for Daisy Buchanan after many years.

This shows the American Dream in the story, which is the ultimate life goal that can be achieved through a good work ethic and determination. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby shows the American Dream when he completely changes his life and his goals for the better just so he can have a chance to get with her after many years. In the end, he was able to accomplish the wealth he desired, but unfortunately, he was never able to fully win over Daisy. When in reality, his love for Daisy was what caused the destruction and conflict in his life. In the novel, Gatsby is constantly trying to achieve something that is better than himself, which gets to be dangerous for him because he starts to burn bridges with people who mean a lot to him.

Gatsby’s Evolution: From Humble Beginnings to Lavish Pursuits

The character Gatsby and the way he acts is a very good example of the American Dream, like how he was born poor and worked very hard to be where he is now. Nick explains how “[Gatsby’s] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people… For over a year, he had been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior as a clam digger and a salmon fisher or in any other capacity that brought him food and a bed.” (Fitzgerald, 98) This shows that in life, there are always opportunities for people to improve themselves. Although Gatsby didn’t have his ideal life when he first started, with a little hard work and determination, he was able to turn his life around completely. To be successful, Gatsby worked with the millionaire Dan Cody in hopes of winning over Daisy with his wealth and charm.

To Gatsby, it seemed like nothing else mattered in the world. If he had Daisy all to himself, she was his world. To contrast, the way his life was when he was poor to how he lives in his mansion now is shown when Nick talks about his well-known mansion. “It was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.” (5) To any normal person, what Gatsby has seems like more than enough, but to Gatsby, nothing in this world is enough if he doesn’t have Daisy, and he won’t stop until he wins her over.

Even though Gatsby achieved the wealth he desired, he still wasn’t completely satisfied because he was still missing one thing, Daisy. One thing that could be shown about the American Dream is that it doesn’t always guarantee happiness, and what you accomplish may not be how it was when you expected it. Very frequently, Gatsby would host these extravagant parties for hundreds of people to get together and have a good time. Nick explains that “At least once a fortnight of corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden.

Gatsby’s Elaborate Parties: A Facade to Win Daisy’s Affection

On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys.” (40) Only a certain amount of people were invited to these parties, and one thing odd about them is that no one has ever seen Gatsby or has gotten a handwritten letter for him. Even though this didn’t stop people who weren’t invited from coming, they would still show up at the door, walk in, and help themselves to the huge variety of foods and drinks. As Nick is trying to find Gatsby, he goes around asking people where they could be, and they aren’t giving him much hope because no one has officially seen Gatsby before. Nick starts to hear rumors about Gatsby among the drunken guests at the party.

People would say, “He is a bootlegger… One time he killed a man who had found out that he was a nephew to Von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil.” (61) This gossip shows that there was no connection between Gatsby and the party guest, it seemed that he would only throw these parties to catch Daisy’s eye and for her to think highly of him. It seemed that he was putting on a show for her to fall in love with him, even though she is married, which Gatsby does not care about. But, the American Dream could distract people from what’s actually important in life, like the relationships you have with the people around you. Gatsby claims to be happier once he becomes friends with Nick and Daisy, and it isn’t because of his wealth.

The Ephemeral Nature of Gatsby’s Connections and the Elusive American Dream

Even though hundreds of people came to his parties, not one of them showed up to his funeral, which could be due to the fact that he never built connections with them. Nick explained at the funeral, “At first I was surprised and confused; then as [Gatsby] lay in his house and didn’t move or breathe or speak hour upon hour it grew upon me that I was responsible [for the funeral] because no one else was interested” (172) After Gatsby’s death, it seemed that his generosity from hosting all those parties was quickly forgotten because people started to value what was more important in life. The American Dream has illustrated a more self-centered and inconsiderate type of society because people start to be more focused on themselves and their dream than the people around them.

Which I feel has happened to Gatsby because when he died, it seemed that no one really truly cared about him; they just pretended to so they could go to his house and have a good time. This shows how society has changed because of Gatsby and the American Dream, and it would be hard to change people’s lifestyles and get things back to the way they used to be. Even though this happened, Fitzgerald still tries to convey to the readers that in the American Dream, it’s the constant striving to do better but to fully achieve your goal could be impossible. Even after Daisy expresses her love for Gatsby, he demands that she take a big step and tell Tom that she never loved him, which doesn’t end well in the least bit. Gatsby says, “Just tell him the truth that you never loved him.” (132). This shows how nothing is ever enough for Gatsby, and he always has the desire to do better. Once he accomplished his dream of winning over Daisy, it seemed like he already moved on to something more that he was trying to achieve.

The Illusion of the American Dream and the Tragic Unraveling of Gatsby’s Pursuit

Throughout The Great Gatsby, it was foreshadowed that the people living in the town weren’t living in the best society because people were living carelessly and didn’t really seem to care about anything except wealth and their dreams. This quickly led to disaster because nothing was really in control; people just did whatever they wanted without thinking about any of the consequences. At the end of the story, Nick looks back on Gatsby’s attempt to achieve his dream and how he failed. Nick says, “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 this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.” (180) The green light symbolizes the dream everyone hopes to achieve at some time in their life. The destruction of Gatsby’s dream for Daisy showed that sometimes dreams can be too big and impossible to achieve completely.

The American Dream is still demonstrated in the world we live in today, and people will still continue to make mistakes like Gatsby did if people aren’t educated about it. Gatsby sacrificed everything in his life just for a possible chance to be with Daisy, and he never gave up even when things got hard. The way he went about it could be considered a little bit extreme for ordinary people because not everyone would do anything in the world just for a girl. Unfortunately for Gatsby, nothing he expected became his reality at the end. He expected that his plan would work and he would live a happy and healthy life with Daisy.

One thing he realized is that in life, nothing goes exactly to plan, and unfortunately for him, his life ended with him having no friends to support him because he was only focused on Daisy. He forgot about some of the most important things in life and sacrificed them all for Daisy just for her not to want to be with him. At the end of the day, the American Dream is just a goal people like to accomplish sometime in their life, and just because you have a dream doesn’t mean you have to give up your whole life for it. This could be why everything went wrong for Gatsby, and now he’s dead, and no one showed their love and appreciation to him because he didn’t give it to anyone else except for Daisy in the first place.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925. This is the primary source, the novel itself, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
2. APA Style, Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. Scribner.

The Illusion and Disillusionment of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”

The Illusions of Unattainable Dreams

What is the American Dream? Well, the American Dream for me is fame and fortune. We get to read about the 1920s and the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and their journey while they pursue the classic American Dream. The novel is told by a young man named Nick Caraway, who is also Daisy Buchanan’s cousin. As we read through the novel, we learn about Jay Gatsby and the different people that surround him as they attempt to try to have the American Dream. Fitzgerald illustrates the lifestyles of the human beings that pursue the American Dream and the effects of the pursuit all through his portrayal of Jay Gatsby’s life and the humans who encompass him.

Firstly, the novel depicts the American Dream through the many characters as they are described through the eyes of the novel’s narrator, Nick Caraway. “It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word, she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room” (144). With this quote, we get to see the perception of how Daisy’s husband, Tom, is so unhappy and unfaithful to Daisy in his marriage, and yet he tries to protect what he and Daisy have made in life so that Daisy won’t just leave him.

Even though Daisy knows that her husband is constantly cheating on her, she continues to be with him. She is always sad, but she stays with him to keep her reputation. Jay Gatsby pursues a dream that will never come true, and everyone knows it except him. “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 this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180). His dream of being with Daisy, who is a married woman, was impossible. Nick had it correct, Gatsby’s dream was so feasible and simple, but others see Jay’s dream as being too far out of reach.

The Elusive Happiness Within the American Dream

Next, while all the characters are seeking the pursuit of the American Dream, some don’t obtain what they strive for. Even the people that have the American Dream cannot be happy in their lives. Within the novel, we read about Daisy and Tom and how they live together. “Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven—a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax. His family was enormously wealthy—even in college, his freedom with money was a matter for reproach.”(8)

Tom and Daisy have it all: wealth, reputation, and everything anyone ever dreams of. They do have problems that they continue to hide from the world. They are not happy in their marriage, and Tom even cheats on Daisy. Daisy’s dream is not complete with simply wealth or fame, but it is additionally about keeping an excessive status. She continues in her marriage with Tom, despite his infidelity, just so she can keep her status in the community. Tom does love Daisy and stays with her, so she can keep her reputation. With their pursuit of the American Dream, Gatsby cannot be with Daisy and achieve his dream. With others chasing the American Dream, it can ruin the chances of another’s dream.

Thirdly, at first glance, you would think Jay Gatsby, who is rich and very famous, is all but happy with his life. He only wants one thing, Daisy. “His heart beat fast and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star.

The Tragic Pursuit of the American Dream in the Twenties

Then he kissed her. As his lips touch blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete” (134). Gatsby only wants to be with Daisy Buchanan, who is a married woman with a sufficient life for her. When people discovered that Jay became rich through criminal ways, it changed their view of him. Now without his highly respectable reputation, he cannot have the woman he has always loved and wanted. Daisy can never ruin her perfect reputation by being with a damaged, lying man. Gatsby only wanted one woman for his entire life, but she only wanted fame and fortune and not true love.

In conclusion, all throughout the twenties, people only wanted the American Dream. People see the American Dream as many things, but the most common is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Throughout The Great Gatsby, we learn about each character’s pursuit of the American Dream. We are told everyone’s story by Nick Caraway, one of the main characters throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book. We are told about their individual lifestyles and how badly each of them wants to win over everyone else and needs to have the best lives. We also get to get see how their fighting to achieve the American Dream can destroy people and their lives.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Scribner, 1925.
2. Bloom, Harold, editor. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: Modern Critical Interpretations.” Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
3. Bruccoli, Matthew J. “Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.