Is The American Dream Real In The Great Gatsby

Jordyn Watts

Mrs. Smith

English 11, 6th period

March 27, 2023

Lost in a Fantasy

What is the American Dream, and is the American Dream real? The American dream is defined as a perfect life with great success, but is this immaculate life authentic? Many people rely on their dream, assuming they will make someone proud by achieving the dream. In The Great Gatsby, there are numerous individuals with many dreams, but many of those dreams never come to life, and some lead to destruction. In The Great Gatsby, the characters in this book all had dreams to reach and most of their dreams were just for them to be examined as upper class and have the money they never had. Gatsby is the main character of the book The Great Gatsby and has the biggest

The only person he wanted to be noticed by was Daisy. The only reason he would throw these extravagant parties was to be able to see his Daisy and for her to notice how successful he is. Money may seem like it fixes everything, but in the end, you get so attached to money it destroys you. In the end, when you die, money does not go with you and it is left behind, so there is no point in holding on to money thinking it will fix all your problems because it will not. Gatsby lives in his fantasy of trying to win the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, but he never seems to catch her eye (Jasmin 20). Gatsby thought so badly that his dream would succeed, so he never had any more dreams to rely on. He never really moves on from her to find someone else he is and will always be in love with the girl he thinks she is (F. Scott Fitzgerald). He never even tries to make friends, the only person he was friends with was Nick, and he kinda uses Nick to get to Daisy. Gatsby uses Nick by asking him to invite Daisy over for them to hang out (The Great Gatsby 55). Gatsby never really cares how he views himself; he only cares about how others view him. Gatsby throws extravagant parties only to try to impress Daisy to be noticed by her. Gatsby never even cared to get to know the people at his parties as long as Daisy was there, and even the people at the parties never took the chance to get to know who Gatsby was. Gatsby always kept his distance from people at his parties, and

He begins to believe that being wealthy is the only thing that matters to him and it is changing him for the worse (Hussain 2). Gatsby has a hard time letting go of the past and looking for the best in the future. Daisy may have been the girl of his dreams, but she has changed so much since the past. Gatsby needs to move on from the girl that does not exist anymore, but he can not realize that the old version of her is gone. Gatsby never cares about anything or anyone's feelings except for Daisy’s; he makes his whole life revolve around her (Anderson 3). Gatsby wanted great fortune, so Daisy would notice him more. Gatsby then became very wealthy so he would be noticed. Money does not only consume Gatsby's mind, but it also consumes everyone else's. Daisy is so dazed by the money it is the only thing she will ever fall in love with (Taylor 2). Daisy is a very heartless person, she does not care how she makes people feel in the end, just as long as she gets the money. She only finds happiness in money, and this is what she believes her American Dream is (Anderson 3). Additionally, Myrtle Wilson searches for happiness in a better lifestyle by betraying her husband, George Wilson, to have an affair with a more upper-class man, Tom Buchanan (Anderson 2). Myrtle is just like Daisy, selfish. She hurts her husband just to be noticed. They all lose themselves to find success in their own eyes. The greatest downfall of Gatsby is his pining for the love he wants