Examples Of Identity In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream and Identity Represented in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the quintessential American novel because of its examples of the American identity and the American dream. The novel boasts extravagant displays of materialism and social status. Both of which were primary attributes to the dream and identity of America in the 1920’s. Fitzgerald created a piece that overflows with opulence and debauchery where the only thing that mattered was the pursuit of material success and constant entertainment. F. Scott Fitzgerald successfully created the representative American novel by displaying an abundance of dissipation and self-indulgence that captures the whole of America in the 1920’s. One of

With the large menagerie and grandiose lifestyle, individuals like Tom Buchanan start to theorize about how Gatsby ,one who is rather young, attains such wealth. There are many hints towards Gatsby’s connection to the dark underbelly of America such as when he went to lunch with Nick and Mr. Wolfsheim. During this lunch, Mr.wolfsheim is revealed to be a gambler known for fixing the World series in 1919 which already creates hints towards Gatsby’s dark connections. Additionally, Mr.Wolfsheim states to Nick, “I understand your;re looking for a business gonnegtion.” later being corrected by Gatsby stating, “ Oh, no… This is just a friend. I told you we’d talk about that some other time.”(Fitzgerald pg. 71). From this exchange the reader assumes that Gatsby has some dubious connections with people in the ‘NYC underworld.’ Later in the novel, it is revealed that Gatsby made his fortune bootlegging as stated by Tom Buchanan, “I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.. He and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.”(Fitzgerald pg.133). Fitzgerald displays that pursuing material success is often followed up by the negative costs that are associated with