Similarities Between The American Dream And The Great Gatsby

Zeenat Ahmad
Mrs.Stele
Ap English and Composition
March 15, 2023
Gatsby and The American Dream
What is The American dream? Now this question has many answers, in Gatsby's terms it is at a skyrocketing point of success and living the perfect and in the modern day it is the ideal in which all Americans have equal access to opportunities, enabling them to pursue their best dreams and objectives. But how does Gatsby's American dream relate to today's American dream? And how are they the same or different? The American dream and Gatsby's American dream hold the same ideology because they both consist of working toward wealth, going after happiness, reaching success, creating connections, and being able to be financially independent.
To begin

In article C the text says “Portraits of a nation in search of a better life” (Source C) This refers to people living in America looking for a more triumphant existence in the United States. This is significant because Gatsby too was in search of a victorious upbringing in his dream. In article C the author mentions “Yet for the immigrants themselves, who have to see their wealth grow and their freedoms multiply by crossing the border” This proves how when immigrants come to the United States, they come here partially for the benefit, by seeing their money and rights increase they are filled with pleasure and satisfaction which makes them happy. This connects to Gatsby's American dream because when he was a little boy and was born into a poor family he believed that money would cure all his problems and he had the greatest passion to pursue it. In Article C others may claim that “The American dream is dead because we don’t have any values anymore. People only care about possessions, about things, about money, not happiness.” (Source C) But this is far from the truth since most people chase The American dream in search of happiness from their depressing lives as it would be a form of escape from harsh reality. Moreover not only do both goals consist of the pursuit of happiness but also

Article A, states that "for Gatsby, Daisy is the Ultimate status symbol." This describes how Daisy is Gatsby's American dream that he so passionately wants. This connects to Gatsby's ambitions for success because Daisy is clearly of high value to him and this drives him crazy in love and motivates him to accomplish achievements behind the ideology of how he wants to be better for daisy. The American dream also consists of the ambition for success because the idea behind it is for a better future and being able to reach their goals if one puts the work into it. According to Article C, the text says, “I was traveling around the country asking people about The American dream, and when I asked them they answered without pause, a rapid-fire succession of desires for wealth and fame, obtained via the NBA, NFL, and hip-hop.” This proves how people’s ideology of The American dream consists of being victorious as they list jobs that people of higher social hierarchy status would have. This is significant because Gatsby’s American dream additionally surrounds the fact that he too wanted to be successful in the manner of wealth to be able to compete with that Tom Buchanan had to offer. Others may argue that Gatsby and The American dream do not consist of success because 59% of people who were surveyed said it is out of reach. (Source E). But that is not