The Decline Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Cody Liu

Mrs. Kelly

GT English 11

13 March 2016

The Decline of the American Dream

The 1920s were a time of profound change for many Americans. The American dream was the quintessential goal of the 1920s because it was, and still is, the ideal perception that an individual can achieve prosperity in life regardless of family, background, or social status. The era, however, was full of greediness, dishonesty, and temporary pursuit of contentment. This lead to the decline of the American dream because people based it all on materialistic possessions and not on the other aspects of the American dream such as honesty and love. Individuals of the upper class in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s novel The Great Gatsby, epitomize the decay of the American

As stated by Mr. Gatz, Gatsby’s father, "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he 's got

Tom believes in materialistic values much like Gatsby as he borrows the “circus wagon” (127) when they went into town to show off his “car collection” to George Wilson. Gatsby’s car is a cream, luxurious, flashy car that is very hard to forget as the events reach the climax as it ultimately decides Gatsby’s fate. Tom aggravates Gatsby in saying, “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that 's the idea you can count me out…. Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they 'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (137). “While this quote can clearly lead to speculation about Gatsby 's race, the more likely explanation was that during the 1920s, groups that were considered to be "true" whites, such as upper-class Anglo-Saxon Protestant Americans like Tom, derived their whiteness, and also class authority, from all "non-whites" against whom they could be compared and deemed socially dissimilar. Because they lived and worked comfortably with immigrants and minorities, working-class Americans, including rags-to-riches, self-made men like Gatsby, were also considered "non-white," and culturally unfit for inclusion within the ranks of high society” (Jacobson 57-58). After Gatsby’s death, Nick has a new perspective of the