The treatment of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald brings a picture of the
American society during the 1920`s. The 1920`s were a time of parties, drinking
and having fun. Many longed to be rich and to become a member of the upper
class. Although this was the dream for many Americans of this time, it seemed
almost impossible to become a part of this social elite unless born into it.
Fitzgerald criticizes the American Dream by creating characters from new money,
old money and the working class, who all fail in gaining life, freedom and
happiness. This is a critical period where the view of the American Dream has been
transformed from the ideal dream to a materialistic dream.The old American
Dream before corruption allowed you to gain wealth, power and high status
through hard work and dedication. However, times have changed, so do values.
The American Dream transformed into a materialistic dream. Materialistic
possessions determine success which shows corruption has taken root in society.
Fitzgerald shows this by portraying the division of classes.He does this by showing
to the readers where the new money and where the old money lives. West Egg is
home to new money, those who have acquired their wealth recently and lack an
established social position. East Egg is home to old money, those who possess
wealth that has been inherited through several generations. Fitzgerald talks about
how people from the more wealthy side of town, East Egg, have more rights and
are treated with more respect than those from West Egg.The main character Jay
Gatsby lives in West Egg implying that he has not been able to complete his
transformation into a member of the social elite. He tries to fulfill his American
Dream by trying to fit in with the elite. Gatsby`s only goal for gaining wealth is to
win back his old love Daisy Fay. Gatsby first met Daisy in Louisville and
immediately fell in love because of her wealth, beauty, and charm. Realizing that
Daisy would reject him if she knew of his poverty, he decided to lie about his past
and his circumstances.Before Gatsby went off to fight in the war, Daisy had
promised that she would wait for him. But she broke her promise, she got married
to Tom Buchanan, who was her social equal and the choice of her parents. Gatsby
was devastated and so he decided to become a bootlegger and started making a lot
of money because prohibition had started. When Gatsby moved to West Egg, he
became very close with his neighbor Nick Carraway because he was Daisy`s cousin.
He realized that the only way to see Daisy is to ask Nick to arrange a meeting
between himself and Daisy at Nick`s house.When Daisy saw Gatsby again she had
realized that she still had feelings for him. Gatsby showed her his grand house and
she was impressed by it. The two ex-lovers began to re-establish their old feelings
for each other and Gatsby began to plan their future. However Gatsby`s dream was
crashed down when he failed to win back Daisy and was not accepted by the upper
class. Gatsby saw himself as a failure when Daisy had chosen Tom over him. He
achieved his materialistic dream but his idealistic belief in money and life`s
opportunity turn his dreams and life into meaningless existences based on lies.
Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald shows how dreams are ruined, no matter what
the dreams consist of, money, social status or just simply to be happy or loved.
Fitzgerald also shows that the failure of the American Dream is inevitable in a
sense that nothing can be as perfect as one could imagine. In The Great Gatsby
all the characters attempt to become happier and more satisfied with their lives.
Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the wealthy couple, seem to have everything they could
possibly want. However, they are still unhappy because their lives are empty and
without purpose. Gatsby`s American Dream to become wealthy comes true but he
ends up alone and empty.Despite the fact that human beings will inevitably fail,
we are still full of hope and optimism. Throughout the whole novel Gatsby hopes
that he will be reunited with Daisy one day. That hope keeps him going and gives
him a purpose to achieve his American Dream. Fitzgerald uses the green light at
end of Daisy`s dock as a symbol of Gatsby`s hope and dreams for the future.

For Gatsby there was a belief that the past could be repeated and recovered. He
can`t forget the past and move on with his life. He tried so hard to get Daisy back
that he lied, stole and did many illegal things to get a house across the bay. On the
other hand, Nick dreams to return to another age when mankind settled in the New
World hoping to find a better life there. This dream, for Nick, connects Gatsby
with Columbus and represents the moment in which mankind arrives at a place full
of opportunities and new beginnings. The new continent offers the last great hope
for mankind to make a fresh start and correct the mistakes of the Old World. There
are multiple identities of America, personified in the character of Jay Gatsby and
revolves around the idea of the dream and the new beginning.Like the New World,
The Great Gatsby also presents a world that promises but at the same time
threatens to destroy everything people have, everything they know, everything
they are. It is a world of glamour and corruption, of struggle and contradiction.
The world in which Gatsby lives is corrupted but it is also glamorous. Gatsby`s
world can be seen as corrupt as the people who he is surrounded with appear to be
phony. Gatsby`s dream is that he will one day win back his love Daisy Buchanan
and that she will return his feelings in love. However the people around Gatsby
have no purpose and dreams in their lives, this is shown when Daisy tells Nick that
she wants her daughter to become a beautiful little fool, because that is the
best thing girl can be in this world. Although Gatsby has acquired his fortune
through bootlegging and conducting suspicious business deals, his heart seems pure
and untouched by the moral evil that surrounds him.By analyzing high society
during the 1920s through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald argues that
American dream no longer means noble pursuit of progress; instead it has become
largely materialistic and corrupt. But the worst qualities of the modern American
Dream are represented in Tom and Daisy Buchanan. They live without any hopes or
regrets because the foundation of their character is money and prosperity. Nick
describes Buchanan`s as such: They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- They
smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their
vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other
people clean up the mess they had made (Fitzgerald, 1986:80). Daisy cares only
about herself and her reputation. When she accidentally runs over Myrtle Wilson,
Tom`s mistress, Gatsby takes the blame for her, which in turn, he dies for her
mistake. She doesn`t do anything to protect Gatsby because her reputation is more
important than he is. When Gatsby dies, any chance of the old American Dream of
surviving in the immoral and corrupted modern world is destroyed with him. The
death of both the rich and poor man who try to achieve their goals symbolize the
death of the old American Dream. Through the tragic story of Jay Gatsby and his
failed attempt to achieve his dream, Fitzgerald also describes the tragic death of
American values. The upper class in The Great Gatsby are examples of
Fitzgerald`s message- the original American Dream and all of its pure and moral
values have been replaced with money, greed and materialism. Fitzgerald
deliberately makes all characters with money appear to be unhappy, corrupted and
arrogant thus contradicting standard idea of the American Dream.The collapse of
American Dream in Gatsby`s life is mainly due to his moral downfall throughout the
novel. Instead of becoming a honorable man after acquiring his wealth, he
becomes a fake member of Tom and Daisy`s crowd through, trying to live up to the
material culture of that decade.