The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis

The roaring twenties involved the rise of new technology such as the invention of new cars, which doubled people’s wealth. Also involved the rise of bootleggers, who were selling alcohol illegally. The major person behind bootlegging was Al capone who was a big time crime boss involved in the illegal act of business. F. Scott Fitzgerald writes The Great Gatsby which mainly takes place on Long Island and New York, during 1922. One of the major characters, Jay Gatsby, lived in North Dakota on a farm, to a  family that  was not well-to-do. He attended St. Olaf college, and year after he met Dan cody, where he got involved with bootlegging. Gatsby grew wealthy because of bootlegging, and now he lives in West Egg in a Luxurious Mansion. Gatsby was successful in gaining his wealth, but he didn’t achieve the american dream he hoped for because his money didn’t buy him happiness.

Within his acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the backdrop of the uninhibited, wealthy New York society of the Jazz Age to display his views using a cast of doomed characters. While it is a significant issue to the story, Fitzgerald does not directly address the concepts of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. In fact, you will not find the words "American Dream" in this novel. However, Fitzgerald subtly weaves into his telling of the tragic tale the severe consequences of the 1920's manipulation of the American Dream. Fitzgerald concludes his novel by killing or injuring all his characters who took short-cuts toward an American Dream dominated by materialism. From his writing, I believe that Fitzgerald embraces the old-fashioned or conventional American Dream that hard work and sacrifice yields success.

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.

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 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.

Through the decades, individuals have created a representation of how the American Dream should be. This dream as historian James Adams referred to as “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” However, during the time of Fitzgerald, the writer of The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. Furthermore, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a variety of literary devices to portray the American Dream. He introduces Gatsby, a poor man who hopes and dreams to spend a life together with Daisy, extending arms to reach the green light.

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:

What is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s view of the American Dream? Did The American Dream destroy people happiness? How?

The disillusionment of the American Dream is a frequent but important written theme in the American literature. Fitzgerald’s famous book The Great Gatsby is one of the most important representative works that reflects this theme. F. Scott Fitzgerald is best known for his novels and short stories which chronicle the excesses of America's Jazz Age during the 1920s. His classic twentieth-century story of Jay Gatsby examines and critiques Gatsby's particular vision of the 1920's American Dream. The Great Gatsby can be seen as a far-reaching book that has revealed many serious and hidden social problems at that time. As one of the most popular and financially successful

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes essential traits of human life: romantic love, genuine friendship, the importance of money, the significance of trustworthiness, and the worth of social classes through Nick Carraway’s views. As he portrays them, each main character’s goals are illustrated, and they each carry out different amounts of significance and a symbolism throughout the novel. This novel is mainly about Gatsby's attempt at an unattainable goal, winning Daisy's love back through power and money. In contrast to every main character, Gatsby has clear and well thought out dreams. Gatsby’s American dream, his desire to be wealthy and win Daisy back, is desperately ruined by Daisy. Gatsby’s goal that he tries to obtain by

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 story of a self-made man whose dreams of love and social acceptance lead to scandal and corruption”(Stephen). Jay Gatsby tries to attain a version of the American Dream. As he works toward his dream, Gatsby chases Daisy’s love and fulfills his lust for wealth. While doing this he harms others around himself because he is so absorbed in this dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s obsession with the American Dream, wealth and his desire for Daisy, causes many problems.

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.

When you think of the perfect American dream you may think of a white picket fence surrounding a big house, living in a neighborhood, having a family, and/or maybe even having a dog. You may also connect the American dream with having money and being happy because you’re wealthy. The American dream essentially can mean that anybody regardless of their class, race, gender, or nationality can be successful in America if they put in hard work. In the book The Great Gatsby that is exactly how the American dream is perceived but sometimes it is not as easy as just putting in hard work to achieve The American dream. Back in the 1920’s if you had money then you were seen as having friends, being happy, and having nothing to worry about (according to The Great Gatsby). In this book, it shows how a character who is one of the wealthiest people in the town become unhappy because he only wanted one girl who didn’t want him. The Great Gatsby depicts the American dream as the answer to happiness to the wealthy class. This shows the idea of how life could have been in the 1920’s. The book shows how the American dream specifically affects the main character.

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.