How To Achieve The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

In the Epic Of America, James Truslow Adams defines the American dream as "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement…. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." (p.214-215) In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third novel, The Great Gatsby, he describes three ways to achieve the American Dream: be born into it, marry into it, or work hard. Jay Gatsby strives to achieve the American

dream by hard work. He accomplishes this by different opportunities and obstacles. Nick Carraway also tried to work hard at achieving the American Dream, but he did not have as much motivation as Jay.

Jordan Baker had to work to become a professional golfer. Tom and Daisy Buchanan were born into it. Tom and Daisy never had to worry about working or anything in general. Myrtle Wilson had thought she had married someone who had almost accomplished the American Dream but she quickly found out that she had not. After eleven years, she decided she had enough and was trying to get out of that situation. That’s when she found Tom, she tried to have him support her. She wanted to live the good life that George Wilson was failing to provide. George Wilson owed his own auto mechanic shop and though he had it good, until he found that his wife was no longer happy. He tried to provide her with anything she wanted, but nothing was good enough for her. The theme of The Great Gatsby, is to achieve the American dream, even though the characters are faced with economic disparity, social injustice, and cultural upheaval while still trying to achieve the American

Dream.
Jay Gatz was not born wealthy.

He was a farm boy growing up in North Dakota. While he was seventeen, he worked on Lake Superior. During an approaching storm, Jay spotted a yacht and rowed out to warn them about the storm. He then meets Dan Cody, who was a wealthy copper Mongul. He is pleased that Jay went out to warn him. After this encounter, Dan offered Jay a job as an assistant on his yacht. Jay was employed by Cody for five years. Dan Cody inspired the name Jay Gatsby and introduced Jay to the life of luxury. When Dan died, he left Jay a small fortune, but because of Dan’s wife, he could not receive his fortune. Dan Cody was his very first inspiration to achieve the American dream. Jay Gatsby then decided he would strive for wealth and the life of luxury. In nineteen-fourteen , World War II begins, Jay goes off to fight in the war. He is stationed at a camp in Louisville in October nineteen-seventeen. During his time in Louisville he meets Daisy. They were together for about a month. During this time, he lied to her and said that he was very wealthy. She was the true reason he wanted to become wealthy and established. “Gatsby may be more creative and romantic in pursuit of the American Dream than Tony because he does all for the sake of a woman rather than merely aping another man's success. But Gatsby, like Tony, cannot transform himself into a true gentleman. Misreading the signs of American gentility, Gatsby moves to West Egg, a community of the nouveau riche,

instead of the more elegant East Egg.” (Roberts) Jay came back from the war in nineteen-nineteen. He went back to meet Daisy in Louisville, she was still on her honeymoon with Tom. He wanted to win Daisy back. He threw parties in hopes that she would wonder into his home. He wanted to impress her by his big house and fancy cars. She never wondered in on her own. She did however attend a party and was not much impressed so Gatsby fired all his staff and hired new. He wanted to impress her so bad so that he could hopefully win her over. Jay would do anything to get Daisy and keep her happy, even if it meant taking the blame for killing someone. After they left New York, Jay allowed Daisy to drive, thinking it would calm her down after their feud with Tom. Daisy had hit and killed Myrtle instantly. She also did not slow down or even stop. Once Nick and Tom found out about Myrtle, Tom blamed Gatsby. He did not realise at first that Daisy was driving. Although, he would not care who was driving he would still blame Gatsby.

Work Cited
Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Little Brown, 1931.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Penguin Books, 2000.
Pumphrey, Kimberly. “God Bless America, Land of The Consumer: Fitzgerald’s Critique of the American Dream.” Bridgewater State University, vol. 7, no. 22, 2011.
Roberts, Marilyn. “Scarface,’ ‘The Great Gatsby,’ and the American Dream.” Literature Film Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 71–78.
“Wealth Inequality in the United States.” Wide Eye Creative, 2006. Institute for Policy Studies. Inequality.Org
Wulick, Anna. “SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips.” The Best Great Gatsby Timeline, blog.prepscholar.com/the-great-gatsby-timeline.