The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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Gatsby’s romanticization of the past, and life in general, renders him incapable of obtaining Daisy. Daisy represents what Gatsby wants most: wealth and social class; thus, he cherishes his memories with her so much that he remembers the past as more than what it really was. His dream possesses “colossal vitality” and his unsatisfiable heart is “ghostly” because of the extent of his romantic idealization (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 95-96). Daisy unwillingly becomes Gatsby’s motivation, his grail, to make money and rise up in the social hierarchy (Person, 1978). Gatsby also glorifies life, since he believes in a happy ending for himself and Daisy. He decorates his dream with “creative passion” and uses “bright feathers” to create his ideal life with Daisy (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 96). Gatsby only picks the glorious ideas …show more content…

Ultimately, Gatsby dies because his dream collapses; similarly, the American Dream diminishes because of the corrupt social and moral values in the 1920s. People prized money and pleasure instead of hard work and prosperity. Americans previously dreamt about success as being able to live comfortably, whereas success in the 1920s was defined by wealth and social class. The American Dream becomes a dim and worthless ideal after Americans hollow it of meaning. Even after meeting Daisy again, Gatsby does not realize that his illusions have exceeded what is possible in reality. He started deceiving himself long ago when he fabricated a story about his past because he was ashamed of being poor. He thought that throwing himself into his illusion with a “creative passion” would allow him to advance toward his dream (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 96). However, even Nick, the objective narrator, deems Gatsby’s wild story unbelievable and judges Gatsby for lying. Gatsby’s expectations become more unrealistic when his plans for his future with Daisy are unveiled; he expects

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