The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis

The American dream is a set of ideals in which every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success. This is a major theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Generally, the pursuit of the American Dream is represented by ambitious, self-sufficient people who work hard to become successful. However, In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby were destroyed by their pursuit of the American Dream.
Myrtle was destroyed by the American Dream because she desired to live a luxurious life. This desire is what led her to have an affair with Tom and, in having that affair, damage her marriage with George. Myrtle’s interest in Tom begins because he represents the life of the rich and glamorous, and she aspires
Despite Gatsby’s fancy house and glamorous parties, he is missing a crucial part of his American dream: Daisy. While Gatsby was fighting in the war, his one true love, Daisy, married Tom, who was wealthy, so Gatsby figured that in order to win Daisy back, he needed to have money so he could provide her everything she wanted. Nick explains, “He hadn 't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs” (Fitzgerald 91). This evidently shows that Gatsby cares a lot about Daisy, and what she thinks of his mansion. Also, it proves that all of his costly items are to win Daisy over. Gatsby became obsessed with Daisy and devoted all his time to getting her back. Nick and Jordan 's conversation shows just how obsessed he was with
However, with Daisy destroyed by her American Dream, it made it impossible for Gatsby to achieve his American Dream because she viewed love as just another materialistic item that somebody can possess. His focus on the past prevents him from seeing how the American Dream has changed Daisy. Gatsby’s was in love with the idea of Daisy, because her love gave him an identity as a wealthy young man who was successful. To preserve that identity, he had to have her. Gatsby is symbolic of the destruction of the American dream, for he cheated in order to appease Daisy and win her over with his illicit money. In this way, Gatsby symbolizes the American dream, or, rather, what is left of the American