Examples Of Disillusionment In The Great Gatsby

The underlying theme of the disillusionment of the American dream in The Great Gatsby sets a darker tone in the novel and being aware of its presence adds depth to the reader's interpretation of the way the characters interact with each other as the story unfolds. The great Gatsby is supposedly a story about Nick Carraway during the summer of 1922 that was spent partying with his cousin Daisy alongside her wealthy friends and neighbors but by the end of the novel, it is a story of a tragic summer that Nick remembers not too fondly. As we read roaring twenties turns out to be filled with disloyalty and the corrupt people flaunting their status and worrying mostly for themselves. In The Great Gatsby, the disillusionment of The American Dream

These parties are thrown by him in an attempt to find and impress Daisy which is a huge part of his personal American dream. At one point in the novel Daisy finally does come to one of these parties but she is not impressed by it. Jay sadly confides in Nick expressing his fear that Daisy did not like his party. “‘She didn’t like it,’ he insisted. ‘She didn’t have a good time.’” (Fitzgerlad 109) Jay coming to the conclusion that Daisy did not enjoy his party certainly shakes his confidence in his own American dream. He had fought so hard to go from nothing to something for his American dream and it is starting to look like his new money isn’t enough for Daisy who is his own personal American dream. In an article by Atika Mohammad Hasan Ismael and Muntaha Farah Sulieman Samardali from the Al-Salt collage for human resources the authors discuss how Daisy is Jays American dream and then move on in another paragraph to write about how the illusion of the American dream is that anyone can be anything no matter where they come from, what race or gender they are or what class they are from but this is all an illusion as equality doesn’t really seem to truly exist in America. “The American Dream is the notion of success and equality to all people regardless of their gender, race, or class. On the surface, the American Dream seems as an ideal belief but the reality is that equality is a myth.” (Symbolism in The Great Gatsby 42-43) This claim that equality is a myth shows Jay's delusions in a different light. He can fight to become something he was not born into but his new wealth does not impress Daisy, his own American dream, and really makes it look as though if you were born with nothing then you will continue to be nothing despite your making your dreams and efforts a