The Great Gatsby: The Habits Of The American Dream

The American Dream is defined as the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. During the period known as the “Roaring 20s,” this was the ideal American citizens were chasing; however, their American Dream was different. Many thought that it meant being wealthy and famous which led them to be unsatisfied and greedy. In The Great Gatsby, the endless search for something greater portrays this greediness, resulting in the corrupt reality of the rich and the famous. From the eyes of onlookers, the lives of the wealthy look glamorous and enchanting, but what these people do not see is the ongoing crave for something more. The truth behind the American

In the midst of the search for wealth and fame, one often loses sight of what really matters. Due to their likely high social status, individuals take pride in themselves, and too frequently take all credit for themselves. Many allow their pride and ego to prevent from “recognizing the contributions of others” (Source F.) The idea of a ‘self-made man’ is amusing, for more often than not there are many people that contribute to a single man’s success. By allowing oneself to take all credit for their successes, it gives them a false security of accomplishment. Adding to that, most people reaching for the American Dream do not take an honorable approach. Each individual has the opportunity to “choose to build a career at the expense of others, or by helping others” (Source

The feeling of fulfillment is much more powerful than the money in one’s pocket. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the main character, Jay Gatsby, has purchased every substance he could dream of; however, the only person that will make him happy is his long lost love, Daisy. This part of the story plot is very representable of the irrelevance of tangible goods. No matter how many imported shirts or butlers Jay has, he will not be satisfied until he is with Daisy. Though money holds power, it cannot purchase feelings. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Jay tries to impress Daisy with is abundant wealth. Despite his extravagant displays, Daisy still chooses her mundane life without Gatsby in the end. Gatsby has every single resource imaginable, yet he is still not able to win over Daisy’s love. The glamorous lifestyle of the rich fools many. In the The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby owns a very luxurious house that towers over the rest. This fools Nick at the beginning, but after getting to know Gatsby he uncovers the scandalous truth of his life. To anyone who did not know Gatsby, they would assume that his life was put-together based on the looks of his house. The same is true in real life when people see the new car or huge house someone just bought, they jump to the conclusion that their life is flawless. Though money can buy tangible goods that make create temporary happiness, it will never be able to purchase fulfillment and true