How Does Fitzgerald Present The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Throughout history, many have concluded that wealth is the only way to achieve happiness. Such an idea would be the great American dream of the 1920s, which aimed to achieve vast wealth through the social mobility of lower working-class people. The American dream is depicted in many works of art and writing, such as The Great Gatsby, a novel by Scott F. Fitzgerald about the misconception led by the American dream. The novel displays the colors yellow, green, gray, and black to demonstrate that achieving happiness through wealth, as the American dream projects, is impossible. By using various colors to represent his characters in his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald develops the concept that the American Dream is an illusion, through the

Although Gatsby has great wealth and status, he still has the intention of appearing like the traditional ‘old money’ because he has yet to achieve happiness. With Gatsby representing the failed American dream, Fitzgerald demonstrates how the American dream is unachievable. In the middle of the novel, Fitzgerald portrays the American dream as an illusion through the use of gray atmospheres to symbolize depression, particularly through the character of Daisy Buchanan, who belongs to the wealthy upper class. When Daisy finally appears at one of Gatsby’s huge parties, she finds herself not being able to fit in with the ‘new money’ guests. Nick describes Daisy’s isolation when pointing out that “a breeze stirred the gray haze of Daisy’s fur collar”(108). The color gray represents separation and old age, which further symbolizes Daisy’s inheritance of ‘old money’. By separating Daisy from the rest of the partygoers, Fitzgerald projects the color gray as a representation of separation. Although both classes are extremely wealthy, they can never be the same, making status and happiness not fully obtained through the American

The garden represents Gatsby’s vast wealth and the lifestyle he maintains to impress Daisy. Fitzgerald reveals that even with everything and almost Daisy within his grasp, Gatsby is not fulfilled, similar to how the American dream can never be achieved only through materialistic objects. Gatsby’s mission to get Daisy was the whole reason he fought for his wealth. With Daisy finally saying she can never be with him no matter how much wealth he has, Gatsby has failed; further emphasizing that happiness cannot be attained through wealth, as the American dream suggests. By showcasing the dark emotions and settings of Gatsby's lively parties, Fitzgerald establishes the color black to convey the idea that pursuing wealth as part of the American dream does not bring fulfillment. At Nick’s first big Gatsby party, he describes one of the main singers who begins to cry while singing just after she fights with her husband. Nick states that the tears on her face created “an inky colour, and pursued the rest of their way in slow black rivulets”