Examples Of Ambition In The Great Gatsby

Ambition is what propels people forward. It is what gives a person the drive and the passion to go after whatever he or she desire. It is also what helps an individual to strive for greatness and become a superior version of themselves. However, in certain cases, dreams and aspirations do not always end up beneficial to a person. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald sheds some light on the negative consequences of a person’s pursuit of ambition. The novel displays the havoc caused when an individual’s morals are left unchecked for the pursuit of their material desires.

The text centers around the character named Jay Gatsby. A young man that came from a poor farming family in North Dakota. Gatsby hated being poor. He always wanted

to get out of the life that was chosen for him. Thus making himself wealthy his main priority. That dream heightened when he met Daisy Buchanan.

A beautiful young lady that possessed the aura of grace, luxury, and sophistication. Attributes that the poor “midwestern” boy always wanted to attain. Gatsby saw Daisy as an embodiment of all his dreams and he instantly fell in love with her. In an attempt to impress Daisy, Gatsby lied about his social status. Claiming he was a wealthy “oxford man”, so that she will see him fit as her sweetheart. They fell in love with each other, but Gatsby had to leave for the war. Daisy did not wait for Gatsby’s return and married a young man from an aristocratic family named Tom Buchanan. The news broke Gatsby’s heart and he decided to dedicate most of his life pursuing Daisy and acquiring the wealth he believed is necessary to win her back. On the earlier parts of the novel, the author made the readers feel such admiration to Gatsby’s relentless pursuit for love. Making his rags to riches tale the epitome of the American dream. From his hard work to earn all the wealth he has, to all the extremely lavish parties he threw for Daisy to notice. The text suggested that Gatsby’s ability to dream and make it seem real

made him “great”.

However, through the author’s technique of delayed character revelation, it was revealed how Jay Gatsby, whose real name was James Gatz was ruined by his ambitions. It was later in the novel that the author started to expose Gatsby’s real identity and how he acquired his wealth. In order for him to obtain all the money he believed he needed to win Daisy back, Gatsby got involved into some suspicious business. He engaged in bootlegging and selling illegal bonds. One of his major business partners was Meyer Wolfsheim, the man who reportedly fixed the 1919 world series. Gatsby’s demise caused by his dreams of Daisy escalated when Daisy’s husband, Tom found out about her affair with Gatsby. The news about the affair was followed by a huge confrontation, In a hotel room in scorching heat. With everyone disoriented because of the weather and the events that happened, Gatsby asked Daisy to abandon Tom and run away with him. But Daisy, dazed and confused chose her cheating husband over Gatsby. That is when Gatsby’s aspirations shattered without him even knowing it. However, without realizing that his dream of Daisy is gone and Daisy not being worthy of his dreams, Gatsby blindly continues his chase. It was exhibited how

his blind pursuit of his dreams of Daisy caused his downfall when he took the fall for Myrtle’s death. Eventually leading to his destruction when Myrtle’s husband, George, shot him, believing that Gatsby was the one responsible for his wife’s death. It was exhibited how Gatsby’s ability to dream, the ability that separated him from the others, ended up causing his downfall when he made Daisy and his fantasies of the past with her the center of his dreams. Therefore when that dream was long gone, the ability that made him great left him stuck in the past with no means of moving forward.

The whole novel played around the concept of the American dream in the early 1920’s. Just right after the end of the first world war and with the stock market rising at unprecedented rates, it was a period when every individual believed that they can be what they wish to become. People also believed that they could obtain everything they wanted as long as they are willing gain it by any means. It was also the time when the upper class people can do whatever they desired without any care about the consequences. The time was mostly associated with immense wealth, aristocracy and flashy living conditions of the wealthy people. But behind the cover of all the extravagant parties and all the material possessions money can buy was moral emptiness, blind pursuit of pleasure and the lack of compassion towards one another. The consequence of the people’s blind chase for wealth was associated with one of the geographical locations in the novel. The valley of ashes, “a dismal, barren wasteland”. The valley represents the devastation that is caused by people’s excessive greed. It serves as a picture of the aftermath of people’s immoral pursuit of their own representations of the American dream and with the judging eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg always watching over them, it was the grotesque reality that even the grandest of properties surrounding it can not possibly conceal.

The novel seemed like a sobering reality of what damage can ambitions inflict to an individual’s life. The author made it seem like the idea of the American dream was just another representation of people’s insatiable greed. That Gatsby reaching for the green light in Daisy’s dock was a portrayal of people always reaching for what they can not actually grasp. Thus making their own versions of the American dream an endless quest for more wealth. From the valley of ashes, Myrtle’s accident to Gatsby’s tragic death. It was exhibited how can an individual’s dreams can easily be corrupted. Therefore making their uncomplicated quest a wild goose chase.