Introduction
The American Dream is one of the essential components of American culture, which has attracted the attention of researchers, writers, and critics for decades. The Dream is a set of the nation’s most important ideals – equality, democracy, freedom, and, most importantly – the pursuit of personal happiness (Hodo 299). Initially, the pursuit of happiness was understood as the freedom of self-realization, but in The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald shows several changes that have occurred with the pure and bright ideal of the American dream. The first is the change in social values that defined the Dream as a colossal craving for power and wealth (Hodo 301).
Second, society’s awareness of the social disparities and discrimination that prevent everyone from equally striving for the Dream (Hodo 301). Thus, the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby” becomes the embodiment of frustration in pursuing wrong values without moral guidelines and social justice.
Corrupting the American Dream
Jay Gatsby is the embodiment of the American Dream, which is why his story is at the center of the novel as a path of success and an inevitable fall into pursuing wrong, materialistic values. Initially, Gatsby appears to represent the American success story; he was born into a poor family of unsuccessful farmers and began his life in poverty (Fitzgerald 98). His strong work ethic, desire to win Daisy’s love and desire for something more led Gatsby to success and wealth. However, he was never able to achieve his girlfriend, so he plunged into extreme materialism and a hedonistic lifestyle.
The people around saw the Gatsby mansion, which was “a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy,” and the lavish parties, the embodiment of the American dream (Fitzgerald 5). This ideal has become purely material, with no moral, ethical, or spiritual ideas. In this format, the Dream turns into a senseless pursuit of entertainment and ends with the senseless death of Gatsby, symbolizing the futility of the pursuit of material pleasures.
Social Discrimination in the Way of Achieving the Dream
Fitzgerald uses the American Dream as a social critique, showing the wealth and excess of Gatsby and his entourage. These people could become patrons, solve social problems and help others achieve their dreams (Maruri). Gatsby initially reaches for the green light – that is, a personal vision of his goals and desires, but society creates an image in his head that achieving wealth and power is the way to get what you want. In pursuit of the formalized characteristics of the Dream, the characters of the novel forget about the world around them. The real values of work, mutual aid, altruism, and the achievement of self-realization, which are embedded in the American dream, elude them (Maruri). In this format, not everyone can achieve their dreams since everyone cannot enter the one percent of the wealthiest people. The consumerist nature of the new American dream makes the owner unhappy and the people around them.
Reasons Why the American Dream Is Unattainable
The American Dream, founded in the 1920s, is still alive in America as a materialistic fantasy and a constant striving for the better. Fitzgerald shows how society in the 1920s became increasingly insensitive and corrupt. The constant pursuit of material leads Gatsby to death and American society to the Great Depression. Fitzgerald suggests that the materialism and fanaticism of the Dream is a path to destruction. True happiness is to be found in other aspects of the Dream – democracy, self-fulfillment, and the value of relationships.
Conclusion
The American dream theme, revealed in the novel “The Great Gatsby,” remains relevant for modern society. The capitalist consumer society is more focused than ever on material values as a source of happiness. Through the story of Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates how such an approach corrupts a person and his environment, making him insatiable and dissatisfied. The original meaning of the Dream has been perverted by false values that destroy society and individuals.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Scott. F. “The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition” (2004). Scribner.
Hodo, Zamira. “The Failure of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”-Fitzgerald.” European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 2.7 (2017): 299-305. Web.
Maruri Pérez, Garbiñe. “The Great Gatsby: An Analysis of the American Dream.” (2020). Web.