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The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

738 Words3 Pages

The American Dream is a goal placed on the people of America. This dream is especially noticeable in the 1920s when businesses were skyrocketing and nationalism formed from the pride of Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald proves this dream to be false, later leading to the demise of his characters in The Great Gatsby. Each character represents a new unfulfilled goal, making the dream present as a lie. Everyone has impractical expectations such as thinking they can become wealthy quickly and can climb social ladders, rekindle love in an instant and many more and that is almost impossible to reach, showing that the American dream is unachievable. One of Fitzgerald’s troubled characters, Daisy, wants security, Something she cannot receive. Daisy has the wealthy lifestyle she always dreamt of while being married to Tom, but she is still feeling unsatisfied with this. She's in …show more content…

Gatsby wishes to marry Daisy, yet lives his life in ignorance, giving himself false hope and believing that he can win her over even when it's definitely not possible. “You can’t repeat the past.” “Can’t repeat the past?” [Gatsby] cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby tries to go around the truth by presenting his new illegally obtained wealth, in hopes of Daisy deciding to settle in with him but it isn't that simple. Gatsby can’t hide the fact he was always poor, and he even denies the fact that daisy has a child. His idealized version of the whole situation blinds him and creates obstacles for him to accomplishing his American dream. During the five years Gatsby was away from Daisy, he created a version of her and her future in his head. He wants her to fall back in love with him immediately and leave the life she has after seeing that he is no longer poor and has gained wealth. For that reason, the Daisy that exists will be different from his

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Her destructive hamartia is the constant internal struggle against hedonistic desires. Daisy’s inability to resist temptation in pursuit for pleasure is shown on the day before her wedding when she indecisively says, “Tell ’em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: ‘Daisy’s change’ her mine!’” (Fitzgerald, 76). This is her epiphanic moment; she realizes a decision must be made that will impact the duration of her life — the choice between the ambition for wealth or true love.

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