It was one of the most sought after things in America for the longest time; it included wealth, family, and happiness. It is more commonly known as the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald tackles this subject in The Great Gatsby while telling the story of Jay Gatsby’s last summer. This novel represents the struggles he faced while chasing his American Dream. Jay’s fictional story reaches a deeper level and shows how little Fitzgerald believes in the American Dream. It makes the reader really think about what their idea of it is and ponder over whether he or she sees it as an achievable goal. He also delves into the moral decay of America during this time period and uses many different things to symbolize just how bad things had gotten in America by this point in time. …show more content…
The last line of the book says “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter - to-morrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning-- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald 180) This unforgettable quote shows just how hard someone has to fight to achieve the American Dream. It is always so close but still so far out of reach. Gatsby’s past with Daisy was keeping him from achieving true happiness because she would never love him the way he loved her. The fact that Gatsby managed to amass such wealth was impressive itself, but even though he managed to do that, he did not achieve his goal. This is proof of how unattainable the American Dream was in Fitzgerald’s opinion. Cook 2 In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses different scenes and characters to symbolize the decline in most American’s morals during this time. One of the major things symbolizing