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The Great Gatsby Empty Nature Of The American Dream

3089 Words13 Pages

Hoang Cong Anh Duc - Felix
Ms. Nicole Burdick
World Literature - D4
23rd March, 2023

Imagine a society in which anyone, regardless of colour, class, gender, or nationality, is capable of achievement if they work hard enough. A society so “lovely" that it ignores issues such as systematic racism and misogyny, xenophobia, tax evasion or state tax avoidance, and wealth disparity. That is the American dream; it is unrealistic, and it is frequently the subject of many laments. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of those who has a strong opinion on this compared to most authors in the 1920s. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald criticises those who are a part of high society and those who chase after them for the American dream.

Fitzgerald builds up Gatsby …show more content…

The dream is beautiful in Gatsby's perception, but it is surrounded by dark water, there’s nothing but Gatsby’s greed for money, love and that is what makes it so empty and meaningless. The American dream is empty, there’s nothing there but a meaningless greed and Fitzgerald criticises those who are greedy and empty enough to chase after the American dream. Fitzgerald ends his book with the motif of the green light to emphasise on the empty nature of the American dream. The motif is repeated one last time at the end of the book when Nick has already left New York after Gatsby’s death. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.” (Fitzgerald 138) The word “believed” was used exclusively here to suggest Gatsby's faith and surmise in becoming an old-money upper class by bootlegging and winning back Daisy. However, there is an oxymoron that Fitzgerald places there, to “believe” is to think that something is true, but the green light contradicts that, it’s a false dream that reflects a future that doesn’t exist. This actively critiques not only Gatsby but those who are also striving for the American dream

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