ZoeMitchell

11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

TheGreatGatsby
andtheQuestfortheAmericanDream
The
GreatGatsby
isoneofthemostwellknownbookscreatedbywriterF.Scott
Fitzgerald.The story takes place duringthe1920s,alsoknownastheroaringtwenties,
characterized for the dramatic social andpolitical changesthat were takingplace.The
new, urbanmass culturethat wasbornduring this time is portrayedthroughthe lives
and adventures of Fitzgeralds characters.
The Great Gatsby
is set in Long Islands
North Shoreaswell as New YorkCity.It
istoldfromthepointofviewofNickCarraway,
ahumble man from theMidwest,yetthestorydevelopsaroundhismysteriousneighbor
known as Jay Gatsby. Nick and Jay live on the West Egg district of Long Island, a
wealthy area populatedby thenewrich,agroupwhomadetheirfortunes(asopposed
to being born into money) but have not established true social connections. In lieu of
these connections, Jay throws extravagant, over the top parties every Saturday night
hosting hundreds of people, almost all ofwhichJay has no connection to. Throughout
the book we see thatJays extravagance is notonlyafailedattempttobecomesocially
accepted intothe wealthy communities, buthiswayoftryingtowinovertheheartofhis
onetruelove,DaisyBuchanan.
Although this novel seems to detail and highlight thetricky, yetultimately failed
relationship between main characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, the major
themeofthisnovelis centeredaroundtheidyllicnotionknownastheAmericanDream
and whether or not it can be obtained. The American Dream was a quintessential

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

element of 1920s culture and fueled many of the choices, themes and characters
created by Fitzgerald in his famousstory.Throughoutthisclassictale,wearereminded
of the fortune and fame that await characters living the dream like Jay who worked
their way from the bottom to create the life they had always dreamed about. Yet not
everythingassociated withthisideaworked outin hisfavoreven after heacquiredthe
money, the house, the cars and everything else, Jay was still unable to complete his
dream a dream including hislifelong love, Daisy.It is through these failedattempts to
control one's stature and ultimate happiness, the hollowness and shallowness of the
AmericanDreamisexposed.
TheAmerican Dream isasetofidealsinwhichonehastheopportunitytoobtain
prosperity, success, and a rise in social status through hard work. During the 1920s,
this idea wasin full swingitwas believedthatany individual could achieve success in
life regardless of history or social status in exchange for hard work. In the book titled
Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity
, the author Roland
Marchanddescribesafigurethathefeelsrepresentsthequintessential 1920smanwho
is living the American Dream. He writes, Not only did he flourish in the fastpaced,
modern urban milieu of skyscrapers, taxicabs, and pleasureseeking crowds, but he
proclaimed himself an expert on the latest crazes in fashion, contemporarylingo, and
popular pastimes. After reading this description, youcannothelp butrecallJay Gatsby
alongwithhisextraordinarymansion,lavishpartiesandupscalelifestyle.
As far as anyone can tell, Jay Gatsby is living the American Dream. He rose
abovehis predetermined social class, obtained greatmaterialstatus aswellasmadea

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

name for himself in upper class society. Becauseof his hardwork he wasableto rise
above,bothinsocialandpoliticalstatus,whichhedisplaysthroughhismaterialwealth.
Jay lives in an enormous mansion with extravagant rooms and masses of
servants. Automobiles, which were a still relatively new technologyjust beginning to
become important in the wealthy culture, serve as another way for Jay to display his
massiveamounts ofwealth.Jayalsoshowcaseshismoneythroughthehugepartieshe
throws for the thriving upperclass. However, this impression of perfection is not
enough to convince the old money society, and furthermore, not even enough to
convince Jay himself. This is mostclear whenJay asks Nick questions like, Myhouse
looks welldoesnt it? Seehow the whole front ofitcatchesthe light. In thebook,Nick
refersto Jayshouse as an
incoherentfailureofahouseinpartbecauseitdoesnotfit
in withthe setting andstandsoutamongtheotherhousesonWestEgg.Hishousealso
serves as a metaphor for his socialfailurehe cannot fitintotheold wealth society no
matter howmucheffort he puts into appearing aristocratic. It isbecause of this wefirst
see the altering of the American Dream: the shift from the idea that anyone could
achieve success and happiness through hard work to the idea that the morematerial
wealthonehas,thehappier,moresuccessfulandfulfilledonewouldbe.
In this novel, two differentupperclassesare portrayed: the newmoneyand old
money. People belongingto old money,likeDaisyandherhusbandTom,areborninto
wealth. The Buchanans are described as Careless people...they smashed up things
and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or
whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the messthey

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

had made. Because Daisy and Tom were old money, they believedtheir actionshad
no consequences they never had to consider how their lifestyle affects others. Since
they beganin the upper class,theydidnothavetoprovetheirmoneyandthereforelive
a lavish yet laid back lifestyle. On the other hand is the new wealth community. New
money consists of people born into lower classes that had to climb the social ladder
through hard work to achieve success. Although these people have similar monetary
value to theold money,theyare separate and haveto tryand convinceothers of their
successthroughstatussymbols.
Jay Gatsby was part of the new money community, yet he did not earn his
fortune through hard work and determination. Jays fortune stemmed from his
involvement inthe infamousbootleggingcircuit thataroseduringProhibition.Prohibition
was a timein the early 1900s when themanufacturing, saleand consumptionofliquor
becameillegal. This leadto liquor'sillegalproductionandsaleknownasbootleggingas
well as a rise ingang violenceandcrime. Jaysshady earningsmakehimfeel uneasy
and compel him to lie about the origins of his wealth. This is another windowinto the
characters warped sense of the American Dream, a dream where originally it was
thoughtthatonlyvirtuous,hardworkingindividualswererewardedfortheirefforts.
Another portrayal of the American Dream in
The Great Gatsby
isthe Buchanan
Family. Tom and Daisy live a life of luxury in their quaint yet sophisticated East Egg
home. At first glance, they seem to most accurately represent the end result of this
dream. They have the money, the home andthe familyonthe outside, much like Jay,
they seem picturesque.However, this of course isnttrue inthisnovel wecanseethis

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

in Toms infidelity with his mistress Myrtle andDaisys sadnessand restlessness.The

AmericanDreampromised happiness and fulfilmentyetTomshowedusthevoidofthis
dreamthroughhischeating.
Throughout the book Jay Gatsby struggled to try and win the affectionof Daisy
Buchanan. He invites her to his overthetop parties and shows off his extraordinary
possessions. Inonescene,Nickdescribes how, he took outapile ofshirtsandbegan
throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine
flannel.Jaybelieved that the morematerialthingshehadtoofferDaisy,thebetterofa
chance he had of receiving love in return, and in turn, completing his vision of the
American Dream. This inaccurate perception is what led to most of the shattered
dreams in the novel.
Jays quest for happiness through illegal and superficial means
was ultimately the cause of his untimely death, and therefore the collapse of his
AmericanDream.
All of Jays possessions were bought to win Daisy, which he believed would
essentially lead him to the fulfillment and happiness that is the American Dream. It is
through this failureofhisdreamthatJayandhisidealsbegantodeteriorate.AfterDaisy
went to Jays party and was rather unimpressed, Jay sensed their relationship
weakening and immediately fired his servants, stopped throwing parties and let his
housego toruins.In the book,Nickdescribes Jayshouse:Therewasaninexplicable
amountofdusteverywhereandtheroomsweremustyasthoughtheyhadntbeenaired
formanydays. Thiseventmarks thecrumblingof Jay Gatsbyslifestyleandthedecay
ofhisAmericanDream.

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

Fitzgeralds classic book

The Great Gatsby depicts life in the 1920s and more
importantly the external American Dream. It shows the transition that the American
Dream underwent going from an ideal that anyone could gain success through hard
workto the ideathathappinessandfulfillmentismeasuredinmaterialwealth.Thebook
highlightsthis change through the life of Jay Gatsbyandthecharacters thatdothislife
like Daisy Buchanan.Thisbook depictsthedecayoftheAmericanDreamasawholein
the 1920s through the lives and interactions of its characters and their own personal
ideals. It is through this literary lense that the true perception and hollowness of the
AmericanDreamisrevealed.

ZoeMitchell
11thGradeHumanitiesHonors

WorkCited
1. Fitzgerald,F.(1996).
ThegreatGatsby
.NewYork,NY:Scribner.
2. AmericanDream.(2014,July30).RetrievedSeptember2,2015.
3. TheDemiseofthe1920sAmericanDreaminTheGreatGatsby.(2011,February
14).RetrievedSeptember2,2015.
4. Marchand, R. (1985).
Advertising the American dream: Making way for
modernity,19201940
.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
5. The Great GatsbyThemes, Motifs and Symbols. (n.d.).Retrieved September2,
2015.
6. TheRoaringTwenties.(n.d.).RetrievedSeptember2,2015.
7. Prohibition.(n.d.).RetrievedSeptember2,2015.