Negative Effects Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream Maya Lin once said. “The American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.” Having this in mind, everyone’s personal dream is very different as no two people are driven by the same things. With that, a huge controversy amongst our modern world is whether or not the American Dream is in fact dead or not. This speculation is instead ludicrous though as there is evidence to support that the American Dream has always only been a dream. Based on the evidence found in The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, it can be concluded that the American Dream has a negative effect amongst the people of the world.

The American Dream is a negative

The whole story was about Jay Gatsby, a motivated man whose life goal was about reviving his love with Daisy. When talking about her he announced, “When I first met her I knew in a moment I would have to spend the next few days re-arranging my mind so there’d be room for her to stay” (Fitzgerald 64). With that, his American Dream was all about her and one day making it possible for them to be together. The first struggle of this was Daisy was only involved in things for the money. This meant if Gatsby really loved her, he must make something out of himself before he could pursue her once again. He of course did and was able to rekindle his relationship with Daisy. They actually loved each other once again and had plans of running away together. Eventually the day came where Gatsby told her to explain to her husband that she did not ever love him but she cried out, “Oh you want to much... I loved you now isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past” (Fitzgerald 126). Gatsby had a tantrum and did not represent his worth. He lost his one chance with Daisy to a new rule that declined the belief of the American Dream: Old Money being way better than New Money. As described by an analysis on

In The Crucible, each character wanted to be respected, but due to gossip and the situations in the community, their dream fell through. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s only goal was to get Daisy. His goal was denied though due to the fact he could not control his natural habits and idea that he was new money. Finally, in Of Mice and Men, each character’s dreams were diminished due to the idea that the strong constantly feed on the weak, never allowing them to break from the constant cycle or stereotypes associated with them. Keeping all this in mind, as a reader, people should now caution themselves when it comes to dreaming. Many times, dreaming leads to failure and are things that were never obtainable. With that being said, are your goals something you can actually accomplish or something that will ultimately lead to your