Gatsby and American Dream

Abstract
The paper explores the corrupted idea of the American Dream in one of the greatest novels
written The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The following of the American Dream
judgments from the idea of hard work and success that is pure and truthful. Jay Gatsby’s
approach in achieving it leads to his death. His relationships with other characters, especially
Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan were corrupted because of the morally corrupted notion of
the American Dream.
Keywords: American dream, Gatsby, pure, truthful, death, corruption.

Introduction
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a novel that illuminates the American culture in the
1920s. The Great Gatsby has connected the beliefs, values, and dreams of the American
population during that era. The American dream can be explained differently by each person's
freedom of class, race, and religion. The American dream is a dream of wealth, money,
prosperity, and gaining the happiness that would come along with the growing economy, and the
quick rich schemes that built the underworld of the upper-class society in America. In the novel,
Fitzgerald shows how the American dream is a shallow concept of perfection.

Literature Review
Gatsby is the brief of the American dream. Gatsby is the perfect example of what Fitzgerald is
trying to portray about the idea. Gatsby shows he executed the American dream, he can never be
happy because the American dream has no boundaries.

Analysis and Discussion

Fitzgerald depicts the roaring twenties as a time of impaired ethics and extreme depletion
of morality, especially when it came to obtaining a wealthy status. The underworld of the upper-
class generated a moral decay within civilization that served as the impetus for ruining the
dreams and hopes of all. Throughout the novel, a sense of greed and need of materialistic items
is expressed. Each character is blinded by their attempts to find their desired place in the social
world, ultimately ending up trading their beliefs for the hope of being accepted.
Fitzgerald illustrates the rough twenties as a time of impaired ethics and decrease of morality.
The underworld of the upper-class generated a moral decay. In this novel, a sense of greed and
need of materialistic items is expressed. Each character is blinded by their attempts to find their
desired place in the social world.
Jay Gatsby is a prime demonstration of a character who became morally corrupt while on
the hunt to achieve the American dream. He is is a character who rose from an impoverished
childhood in North Dakota and became extremely wealthy in an immoral way. Gatsby’s life as
an elite consisted of hosting extravagant parties at his house every Saturday, in which he invited
the richest people and made sure everything was perfect. He had the best food, alcohol, music,
and overall set up, as he wanted everyone to be happy and enjoy the benefits of his lifestyle.
Although Gatsby’s life appeared to be flawless on the outside, it was far from perfect on the
inside, as he committed many crimes, such as bootlegging and conducting business unethically,
to support his lavish way of life and allow himself to climb up the social ladder. His tainted
moral code was also portrayed when he repeatedly chased after Daisy, a married woman, in
hopes of having an affair with her. Daisy serves as the personified version of Gatsby’s ultimate
American dream because she symbolizes his desired social status. His feelings for Daisy were
very strong as “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.” (Fitzgerald 134).
Gatsby’s overall actions show his willingness to disregard his morals and place hopes for
perfection over what is ethically right. Despite everything Gatsby owns, including a luxurious
mansion and an extreme amount of fortune, he remained unsatisfied and desired more.
Jay Gatsby is a prime character in this novel. He became morally corrupt while on the hunt to
achieve the American dream. He is who rose from a poor childhood in North Dakota and became
wealthy in an immoral way. Gatsby’s life as a prime attended of hosting uneconomical parties at
his house every Saturday, in which he invited the richest people and made sure everything was
perfect. He had the best food, alcohol, music, and overall set up. He wanted everyone to be
happy and enjoy the benefits of his lifestyle. Gatsby’s life rose to be flawless on the outside,
committed many crimes. Gatsby’s actions show his willingness to neglected his morals and
place. His corrupted moral code was portrayed when he repeatedly chased after Daisy. Daisy
serves her personified version of Gatsby’s because she symbolizes his desired social status.
Fitzgerald said Daisy was very strong,

“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.”
Gatsby’s trust to Daisy and his love for her can make him an American romantic hero. The
illusion of his senseless love for a woman that is outside his social class tempts him to follow a
morally corrupt path in achieving a status which is tainted by the evils of the socially
materialistic American dream. Tyson said that:

“If Gatsby is the novel’s representative of the American dream, however, the dream
must be a corrupt one, for Gatsby achieves it only through criminal activities, a fact
that severely deflates the image of the honest, hardworking man that the dream is
supposed to foster.”
Myrtle Wilson is aa another character who is very similar to Gatsby because she also disregards
her morality for wealth and materialistic things. She and her husband are working class people
who try to improve their lifestyle. George takes action his work while Myrtle takes action
negativism with a character named Tom. Myrtle wishes to live the life of the luxury with Tom
but she is already married. She is corrupted by materialism that she develops an unhealthy
realization on money that ruins her marriage.
Love, sex, and desire are major motivators for every character on their individual exploration to
achieve the American dream. Fitzgerald portrays major relationships love and desire between
Daisy and Tom, Gatsby and Daisy, George and Myrtle, and Tom and Myrtle. Each character
develops the story and represents the author’s portrait of love. The Great Gatsby is a tragic love
story and it serves as satire and review of the American dream.
The American dream is connected with a lack of success. Fitzgerald made comparisons between
The Great Gatsby character’s understanding of the American dream and the reality of the
American dream. Fitzgerald tries to the readers could see the dream as a fight and movement of
reality.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to say that The American dream holds several different meanings for
different persons. The Great Gatsby was written to express the cultural elements that manage the
downfall of our community, hopes, and dreams. Fitzgerald revealed that it was about
comparisons between wealth and the social classes.
 Work cited
1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Books, 1950.
2. Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Blue Ribbon Books, 1941.
3. Gray, Richard J. A Brief History of American Literature. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
4. Hearne, Kimberly. “Fitzgerald's Rendering of a Dream.” The Explicator, vol. 68, no. 3,
2010.
5. Keller, Jurg P. The American Dream Gone Astray: Critical Realism in American Fiction,
1920-1940. Peter Lang, 1995.
6. Truslow Adams, James. The Epic of America, New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1931.
7. Warner, Lloyd W, et al. What Social Class Is in America. Maryland: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, 2006.