Essay About The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

So many things have been said about the American Dream; so many people worked hard and devoted their lives to this dream. For example in the novel The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald shows us how Gatsby, Daisy, and George Wilson dedicated their lives to the American Dream. The author Fitzgerald shows us that chasing hollow dreams only leads to misery.

One character who chases an empty dream is George Wilson, the owner of a garage. George is a lifeless, exhausted owner of a run-down garage. He loves and idealizes his wife Myrtle, who is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. George thinks that every time Tom comes to the garage he is going to sell him a car but he is actually there to see Myrtle. “When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into this

light blue eyes.”(29). George Wilson can see how the world is a cruel, and unfair place, but he still has hope that one day his dream of being successful are going to become true.

Another character who holds tightly to an illusion is the character Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a hopeful young man who stakes everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unrealistic, he held on so tight to his past. Such as being in love with Daisy Buchanan even though she is a married woman. “You can’t repeat the past.” “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (116). Gatsby wanted to relive the past and attempt to restructure it until it was perfection rather than accept what his past actually had been and for that matter accept his life as it was.

Unlike Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan seems perfectly at ease in her wealthy social circle.

Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan. She is a rich socialite who married an equally rich man, Daisy had a chance to marry Jay Gatsby for love, but she made the shallow and expected choice and married Tom because that ensured her position in society and her wealth. She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except for me.” (137). It is important to Gatsby to believe that Daisy has never loved Tom because Gatsby needs self-assurance that Daisy only wanted Tom for his money. This is because Gatsby can always acquire money. However, if Daisy likes Tom for who he is as a person, then Gatsby can't change this, and he can't make her stop loving him. Gatsby believed that Daisy was the only reason why he pursued the American dream of being wealthy and high class.

In conclusion, The desire for something sometimes causes people to be someone they are not and this usually does not result in a positive outcome. The American Dream is defined as someone who works hard to climb the economic ladder .Most characters in the novel The Great Gatsby all wanted money, wealth and happiness and would do anything in their power to get this, but they did not realize that money cannot buy you

happiness.