Great Gatsby Essay

Is it possible to go from having nothing to having all the money, relationships, and social status you ever wanted? While optimists would agree with this, the truth is revealed in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which explores the brutal reality of how the American Dream inspired false hope during the Roaring Twenties. Set in the 1920s, the novel examines the lives of the super-rich and the social classes they are separated into. The rise of Jay Gatsby, the main character of the novel, resembles the American Dream. Tom Buchanan, the main antagonist, however, inherits his wealth, power, and social standing. The main conflict in the novel is over a woman named Daisy, whom both Tom and Gatsby are trying to win over. Gatsby's failure to

There are two main types of wealth portrayed in the novel, with the two peninsulas of East Egg and West Egg representing the city's richest people. East Egg portrays the concept of "old money", while West Egg represents "new money". Gatsby lives on East Egg, representing the "new money" concept with his lavish parties, while Tom Buchanan's estate is located on West Egg, portraying him as "old money". While Tom did not have to work to get his money, Gatsby did. Gatsby's source of income is a mystery to the characters throughout the novel, although he sometimes talks about how he made his money. However, Gatsby clearly has something to hide, proven by his fabrication of a poor lie about his success. I thought you inherited your money. I did old sport, he said automatically, but I lost most of it in the big panic - the panic of the war. I think he hardly knew what he was saying, for when I asked him what business he was in he answered: 'That's my affair.' before he realized that it wasn't an appropriate reply."

Highlighting Daisy's affiliation with wealth, Gatsby says, "'Her voice is full of money' [Gatsby] said suddenly. That was it for me. I’d never understood that before. It was full of money — that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl." (92) Gatsby views Daisy as so wealthy that he connects everything about her to it. Throughout the novel, Daisy is the main thing fueling Gatsby, driving him to do everything he does. Yet, his poor origin and self-made success, symbolizing the American Dream, separate him from Daisy and Tom's class. Gatsby's failed pursuit of Daisy confirms the reality of money and success not being the only things required to be regarded as "wealthy" or "old money". The Great Gatsby as a whole gives a summary of how much of an illusion the American Dream was during the 1920s. The main characters, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, reveal the marginal difference between hard work and success and the harsh reality behind social