The Great Gatsby captures both the emptiness, and allure of the American Dream. The American Dream in the book is about the pursuit of happiness, social mobility, and success. Gatsby embodies these characteristics. Gatsby grew up poor, and was able to reimagine himself into a better life through hard work and ambition. He always knew that wealth and status were the keys to the life that he had always dreamed of having. Gatsby’s dream was to repeat the past, and he felt the only thing in the way of him doing that was money and connections. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s tragic end to question the very idea of the American dream. His wealth was built on lies, illegal activities, and a fixation of an idea that would ultimately be unattainable. Gatsby’s dream would never work due to it being a flawed dream to chase. He threw elegant, lavish parties to attract daisy believing that success and wealth will allow him to escape his past. It prioritized wealth over genuine connection, and by doing so tampers with what true happiness would be. The American dream is revealed to us as a uninspiring hollow chase through the story of Gatsby. Fitzgerald conveys to us through his book the idea that anyone, no matter their background, can achieve success through determination and hard work as nothing more than a old fools tale.
January 31, 2025
The American Dream in The Great Gatsby
Stockton Thurman
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Comments by Stockton Thurman
Money and Morality in The Great Gatsby
Thanks, Chloe! I appreciate your insight about the strict social ...