American Dream In The Great Gatsby And Tender Is The Night

What really is the American Dream? It seems to be a very simple concept, everyone in America has an equal opportunity and that opportunity is to work hard and become wealthy. But is the American Dream actually possible for everybody and is wealth the only factor? In The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night both male protagonists become very wealthy individuals seemingly because of the idea of the American Dream however they still encounter many issues. Through the aspirations and subsequent failures of the protagonists in The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes a commentary on the American Dream, conveying to the reader that the American Dream is just an unattainable and fictitious idea, focusing on material wealth rather than happiness. Jay Gatsby is the true rags to riches type of story which the American Dream is built upon. Over the course of his short he has amassed a huge wealth through multiple different business ventures, mainly

Throughout his entire life he experiences loneliness, he never had any close acquaintances during his entire time in New York City besides his short affair with Daisy and a short friendship with his neighbor Nick Carraway. The point at which Gatsby's loneliness is made very clear is at his funeral, Nick Carraway narrated his burial as “About five o’clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery” (The Great Gatsby 186). The small three car procession is comprised of his neighbor Nick, his father Mr. Gatz, and few servants. This shows how many people truly cared about Gatsby during his life, and that is most likely only one person, his father, who he hadn't even been in contact with for awhile. Although this is only one example in Gatsby's life, Fitzgerald purposely points out the flaws in Gatsby's life, showing that wealth does not create a problem-free life like the American Dream may