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Essay On The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The “American Dream” has been the “Holy Grail” for Americans for centuries. Consisting of the well-known saying “If a person works hard, that person will have success”, the “American Dream” is misleading and destructive. Different signs all point to the underlying condition that the “American Dream” is impossible, or at best unlikely. Sure the opposing side can say that Oprah Winfrey beat poverty or that Elon Musk has created one of the most popular social media formats in the world; however, these are just two people out of seven billion people in this world. There are many other ways to gain money without having to work for it. For instance, inheritance or just being lucky with the lottery tickets. As research has shown, and will continue …show more content…

Some families are born into an affluent society through inheritance, while others work for their money. Whether that is through legal or illegal means, there is still a fine line separating the two sides of the rich. For example, Tom and Daisy were both born into the upper class. Fitzgerald wrote, “His family was enormously wealthy” (10). Tom did not work for anything he was rewarded with, it was all inheritance. That is blatantly the reason why the “American Dream” is a false advertisement because Tom did not work hard to succeed, he was gifted with the opportunity to grow. Women, unfortunately, did not have the opportunity to accomplish the American Dream”; however, they were forced to be a part of it. To men, the dream was having it all which included women and money. Fitzgerald illustrates how women were used as a part of the “American Dream” stating, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams. Not through her fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusions” (95). Daisy fell short of Gatsby’s dream because she was expected to be amazing and priceless, which shows that the best aspects of the “American Dream” do not live up to expectations. Fitzgerald, later on, writes about the recklessness of wealthy people. Fitzgerald says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-” and “-retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together-” (179). They take all of their quandaries and suffocate them in their money, while also causing other individuals to be depended on to clean up the mess that they left behind. The Great Gatsby is a sublime rendition of how the “American Dream” is consistently short of the expectations of white men. It also discriminates against women as they are used as an object, not a

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