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The Great Gatsby And The American Dream

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Dreams are viewed as only the symbols of the unsatisfied or the repressed desires of the id. Since dreams are the expression of id, and the id is the source of sexual desires, dreams are usually interpreted in terms of repressed sexual desire (Boyce). In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby seems to be one of the main pursuers of the American Dream. For him the American Dream means; rising from rags to riches, power, enough luxury to ensure a lifetime of security. At first, it seems that Gatsby had it all - the wealth and he seemed to be winning Daisy. However, from Nick Carraway’s perspective, it seemed as though Gatsby was far from his true dream. Gatsby came from a poor family and became a very successful person, that gives the impression that …show more content…

This dream offers people the unique possibility of gaining success regardless of one’s race, religion or family history which on the surface becomes appealing. Nick Carraway was also one of the character striving to attain the American Dream. His goal was to make more money by selling bonds, that was the main reason he had moved out to the East. “Everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supposed it could support one more single man” (Fitzgerald 5). In the East, he ran into people like Tom Buchanan, Daisy, and Gatsby, who similar to him, were struggling for their American Dream. Along with these people, Carraway witnessed many tragedies like Tom’s mistress, the lies of Baker, Daisy’s irresponsibilities, and finally Gatsby’s death. After witnessing these tragedies along with how people never truly cared for each other in the East, he realized the uselessness of his American Dream. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald 162). Nick was not as ignorant as the others, it was unrealistic for him to achieve his dream in a society as brutal and toxic as the one in the East. The cruelty and inhumanity of the other people destroyed

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