The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Over the course of this semester in Later American Literature, we have been looking at the American Dream. What is the American Dream, the Webster's dictionary says “an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity; also: the prosperity or life that is the realization of this ideal.” In the beginning of the semester, I thought something similar, I believed the definition of the American Dream was to create something for yourself and do as you please, as long as it doesn’t affect anyone. As the semester went on and we read The Great Gatsby, The short stories of Hemingway, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and finally, we watched Lala Land, my definition changed. Now I believe that the American Dream is the force that drives us to be better and make a better life for ourselves. Each of these books has at least one character who displays this definition of the American Dream.

Nick moved away from all his family to start his work. He is going to be a bondsman with very high ambitions. “"What you doing, Nick?" "I'm a bond man." "Who with?" I told him. "Never heard of them," he remarked decisively. This annoyed me. "You will," I answered shortly”(pg 5-online copy). We can see that Nick’s dream is to make a name for himself and wants to tell others. He has a plan and his dream, the “American dream” is to better himself and be known by others. Gatsby offers Nick a job later in the book, “‘I thought you didn’t, if you’ll pardon my—you see, I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of sideline, you understand. And I thought that if you don’t make very much—You’re selling bonds, aren’t you, old sport?’...‘I’ve got my hands full,’ I said”(pg88). Even when Nick is offered a way to make lots of money, he says no because he wants to work on his own. Here we can see that Nick is being driven by his want to achieve his