The Great Gatsby: Gatsby/American Dream: He embodies the idea of the American Dream as the American Dream is a promise that anyone can become whoever they want regardless of where they came from. Gatsby's American Dream involved gaining wealth as he came from a poor family and Daisy would represent money and the upper class for him which is part of the reason he is so attracted to her. But this would all disprove this American ideal as in the novel Gatsby tries to gain back Daisy after the war which is just Gatsby not being able to let go of the past where his poorer self was able to make a rich girl fall in love with him and the fact that Gatsby had turned to crime to become the person that he had wanted. This further proves that the American …show more content…
Superficiality: This is recurrently seen in characters like Myrtle and Gatsby. In Ch.2, when Tom, Myrtle, and Nick go on a train to New York, Myrtle was seen to buy a puppy but not because she showed any affection towards it but to create a superficial view of her as wealthy as she would also horribly attempt to look how she thought wealthy people would act. She would be quickly shut down by Tom Buchanan though and be reminded by him that she is poor and should stay and act poor. This superficiality is seen in Gatsby too as he acts as humble but seems to be playing a facade by hiding what his goal is and his identity and origins. Time: Time acts as an antagonist against Gatsby's American Dream in a multitude of ways. Gatsby idolized this dream of gaining back Daisy for a little over half a decade. With time, his dream becomes progressively more unrealistic to the point past where Daisy can meet his expectations. Time also acts as an antagonist because of Gatsby's inability to let go of his obsession with the past. Gatsby was not able to see the realization of his dream and would never have because he was not trying to build and reach for a future. Rather he was trying to rebuild his