Illusion In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the excessive romanticization of the American dream. Jay Gatsby had a personal version of the American dream that he held onto for five years. It was to marry Daisy and live out the rest of his days happy. His first opportunity for this dream failed on account of Gatsby deceiving Daisy about his true social standing. However, despite leaving for five years Gatsby still believed it possible for his American dream to come true. Gatsby had “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness… never found in any other person” (Fitzgerald 2). This gift is unfortunate because it lead Gatsby to believe in an illusion rather than a dream. His ability to hold on hope and look for new possibilities kept

his dream alive for five years. He spent five years building his dream up and hoping “he could once return to a certain starting place” (110). Gatsby's delusion led him to believe that his dream life with Daisy was still possible if he could return to that perfect time five years previous. The memories of that time are as vivid as if they were yesterday to Gatsby, he believed that if he could convince Daisy that no time had passed, that she had never married Tom, never had a child, she would come back to him and they could live as if their pasts had never happened. To be with Daisy was
not an unrealistic dream, at the beginning of their relationship the second time around Daisy was one step away from leaving Tom for Gatsby.

The part where Gatsby's dream turned to an illusion was when he convinced himself that it was possible to erase five years of his and Daisy's life, five years of memories and personal growth. Gatsby’s obsession kept him from moving forward with his life. He valued nothing that he had done or experienced over his five years without Daisy. Daisy on the other hand had moved on, found love and had valuable experiences that kept her from being blinded by a dream or illusion. It is unclear what kept Gatsby's dream alive, whether it was love or simply obsession. However, it is clear that even after Daisy had made it clear that she would not be leaving Tom to be with Gatsby, he still had hope that eventually she would love him again. One of Gatsby’s last remarks is an attempt to get Nick to confirm that his dream could still be a reality. He looked anxiously at Nick and stated, “I suppose Daisy’ll call too” (154). Until the very end Gatsby believed wholeheartedly in his version of the American dream. He could not see that there was nothing there for him. Gatsby’s gift of hope and romantic readiness lead to the failure of his own dream. Loss of hope too early is often the cause of failure but in Gatsby’s case his downfall was caused by his inability to give up hope and recognize the end when it had

come.