How Did Gatsby Pursue The American Dream

Narrated by 29 year old Midwesterner Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby took place in Long Island and New York City during the roaring 1920’s. Nick was on a business venture from Chicago when he got the opportunity to reconnect with his cousin Daisy, eventually leading him to move and stay in New York. Nick’s new neighbor, Jay Gatsby, has had an obsession with Daisy since the day he met her as an Army officer stationed in Louisville right before the start of World War I. As time passed, the plot continued to become more complex and a truly great novel that represents everything Americans want to be and can be. Educator and NPR book critic Maureen Corregan stated that, ¨Gatsby´s magic emanates not only from its powerhouse poetic style - in

Granted, the American dream means something different to everyone, but that’s also the beauty of it. James Gatz had to work hard for everything he had earned, “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people...The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby didn’t want to live the life his parents had, he wanted to pursue fortune and fame, so he decided to follow his dream by running away and working his way through many hardships. This hard work and determination is what makes the American dream so unique because only in America can someone work so hard to go from being dirt poor, to having endless luxuries and living the life they want as Gatsby had done. Further, Nick was explaining his family’s lineage when he stated, “The actual founder of my line was my grandfather’s brother who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on today” (Fitzgerald 7). Nick was explaining how this portion of the lineage has more prominence than others because they truly achieved the American dream; they had obtained their wealth and respectability through hard work and determination, not through inheritance. It’s only in America where

Scott Fitzgerald should be considered a great American novel because it truly shows the way Americans want to be, and the way they are; while also displaying the American dream. America is unlike any other country in the world through the freedoms and potential of which the people hold. Further, anything is possible in the United States, and the novel reveals the way the country allows for all of this, which is why it should be considered a great American