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American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, love, and the American dream go hand in hand. Love is described to be the intense feeling of affection for another person, and often causes people to go out their way to achieve high ranked goals, thus the American dream. The novel differentiates between the two communities, East and West Egg. East Egg is the place of those who are born into wealth or have inherited it from generations. However, those living in West Egg work hard and persevere in order to become successful and wealthy. The main character, Jay Gatsby, lives in West Egg, working for his success in achieving the American dream with a view of getting back with Daisy, his former love. Every weekend, Gatsby prepares several extravagant …show more content…

As a child, Gatsby grew up without much money or status. After losing Daisy to Tom, her wealthy and high ranked husband; he knew that he had to do something to win her over. After several years of working,Gatsby buys the mansion that he wanted to impress Daisy with. He became extremely wealthy living in West Egg and bought a fabulous house, “... —it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion” (ebook 7). As evident, Gatsby’s mansion is the result of his experience losing Daisy. The appearance of the mansion determines the depths that Gatsby went to achieve the American dream as a means of winning over the love of his life. Gatsby does not attempt to lure Daisy in with the appearance of his house, but also by organizing parties every weekend, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay…I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties…”(85 ebook). Ultimately, he hopes that being across from Daisy would increase the chances of her noticing him, his wealth, his extravagant lifestyle and …show more content…

Fitzgerald emphasizes, “‘If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock’”(Ebook 99). During the separation, the green light on her end of the dock was clear and visible. However after reconnecting, the green light is no longer seen due to the mist. One can infer that the green light Gatsby used to see indicated the distance between them. This symbolizes the distance that no longer exists between Daisy and Gatsby. Taken into account, Gatsby officially reaches the American dream as a way to get Daisy

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Despite Gatsby’s efforts of throwing big parties at his estate and living in an extravagant mansion, Daisy is not impressed and Gatsby’s fate leads him to a life without Daisy. Additionally, the parties Gatsby hosted “offended her — and inarguably, because it wasn’t a gesture but an emotion… appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing” (Fitzgerald 83). Daisy is unimpressed due to her old money status of East Egg, which provides her with stability and security. While, the new money of West Egg is illustrated in a way that Daisy is

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After realizing he lost her love when he came back from war, he devoted his whole life to winning her back, and reviving the relationship and feelings they used to have for each other. For example he, committed himself to the sense of obtaining and having money, which used to be his real dream, before he met Daisy. The problem was Gatsby wanted a lot of money fast, so instead of being a true honest gentleman, Gatsby received his money through selling liquor illegally, and teaming up with the con, “Meyer Wolfshiem”. Gatsby's intense desire also drove him to acquire a house presently near Daisy and Tom’s home, a place where Gatsby can gaze and praise from. Then Gatsby starts to throw very popular parties in hopes that Daisy may notice and come to one, but she never does.

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The glory of Gatsby’s home reflects his desire to impress and win back his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby uses his wealth to create a lot of success and sophistication to impress

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Gatsby hosts extravagant parties in an effort not only to boost his social status, but also to look for Daisy. Many wealthy, and often wild people attend these large social events held by Mr. Gatsby. Some of the guests even come lacking an invitation, “Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.” (41)

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Since Gatsby is obsessed over his relationship with Daisy, and connects it to his moral success, he wants to make sure that he accomplishes this. His American Dream, as mentioned in the thesis, is to win back Daisys love and this quote exemplifies the fact that he is disillusioned by his dreams which may lead him to failure. In an attempt to reconnect with Daisy, Gatsby purchases a mansion just across the bay from hers, in order to be as close to her as possible. When Jordan and Nick are talking about Gatsby, Jordan begins to mention to Nick how, although he doesnt want to believe it, Gatsby has an obsession with Daisy. As Jordan tells Nick, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78).

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Gatsby has spent his whole life trying to prove to Daisy and everyone around him that he is worthy of her. The only way to be on the same social level as her is to turn himself into new money. Since this is not possible, he has to try to convince to others that he truly is old money. To do this, he becomes rich, and lies about his past, but the only way for him to complete this idea is if he is with Daisy. She is the final piece in his American dream.

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His residence is, incidentally, located directly across the Long Island Sound from Daisy's house. At this point, Gatsby's American Dream would have played out nicely how he had hoped; although, the fact that he was not with Daisy corrupted it. Everything in his life was a fantasy because he had to imagine a life with her, as opposed to living with and being with her. He had a spectacular mansion that was the replica of the Hotel de Ville in Normandy, a very unique Rolls Royce, and he threw incredibly large, crazy, elegant parties; Gatsby did all of this for Daisy. At one point he says to Nick, "Can't repeat the past?

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At the end of Daisy’s dock there is this green light that is always on, all day, and all night, no matter what. Gatsby is with Nick as they are looking out into the bay, “Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 26). The light was far away, as is Gatsby from getting to be with Daisy. The light being far away from where Gatsby lives is significant because it is signifying to chase your dreams no matter how far away they are. A dream of Gatsby’s is to have his dream girl Daisy, so he needs to keep chasing after her and never giving up no matter how far away from him she may seem.

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Gatsby travels back to the first time he saw Daisy at her grand home and goes into vivid detail of her house, “There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than the other bedrooms of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year’s shining motor cars and of dancers whose flowers were scarcely withered”. Gatsby goes into the nitty-gritty details of Daisy’s home, calling it ‘beautiful’, ‘gay and radiant’ and ‘breathing’ in order to demonstrate how symbolic the home is to him. This is the first taste of the upper class that Gatsby has ever experienced and serves as the true epitome of wealth to Gatsby. He falls in love with the newness of her home and the activities of the rich. Because of Gatsby’s love for the home, when he sees Daisy become consumed by her own luxuries, he feels betrayed; “She vanished into her rich house, into her rich full life, leaving Gatsby-nothing”.

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“If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,” said Gatsby. “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.” (99-100) The green light symbolizes how Gatsby Thinks Daisy has been in love with him all these years as he has with her, he doesn’t feel any self-conscious admitting he watches her dock at night. Gatsbys American dream includes Her love and affection being won over.

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While he lived his outgoing and almost unreachable life he grew a need for a delightful appearance. When Gatsby talks about his mansion he draws connections from his incredible life that he lived. In conclusion during Gatsby’s parties he put on full display his wealth and need for a good look and

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(Fitzgerald 98). One obvious literary device Fitzgerald uses to describe Nick’s view of how Gatsby is close to reaching his American dream by using a simile, comparing how stars are close to the moon as Gatsby is to Daisy’s dock. The green light on Daisy’s dock is a symbol representing Gatsby’s American dream, and how he is trying to reach and grab it once again. However, that American dream slipped right through his fingers in the past. Gatsby turned his life around so that he would have a chance at getting back

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So, Gatsby bought a huge mansion across the bay from Daisy and threw magnificent parties each night, hoping that one night among the crowds Daisy’s face would appear, “He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths so that he could “come over” some afternoon to a stranger’s garden” (Abbey 83). Gatsby must have truly believed that he loved Daisy to spend this much time and money in order to be with

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The mansion is also a reminder that the American Dream cannot always get you all of your desires, but only monetary ones. Gatsby is empty, just as the house does not have much furniture because it is frequently used for parties. Even though he throws the parties, Gatsby is still alone. He isolates himself at the parties and only throws them to show off his extravagance so maybe Daisy would come over from her house at West

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Just as the American Dream- the pursuit of happiness- has degenerated into a quest for more wealth, Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy has become the motivation for lavish excess and criminal activities. He used his dream to escape from his past, but then was stuck on hold for when he lost Daisy the only part of the dream he really cared for. Gatsby made a dream just for Daisy so she could be apart of his, but saw the meaningless of it when she didn’t choose him in the end. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….

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