The Great Gatsby Research Paper

The American Dream

“The term "American Dream" first was used by the American historian James Truslow Adams in his book "The Epic of America" published in 1931. At that time the United States were suffering under the Great Depression. Adams used the term to describe the complex beliefs, religious promises and political and social expectations.” In The Great Gatsby, characters search for the American Dream of wealth, stature, and power, however, since then, the American Dream has become a term used to describe daily American life. However, is it realistic? The American Dream cannot truly be realistic, for there is no set definition for the “Dream”. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby searched for a dream that was never realistic.

For example, Jay Gatsby worked very hard to achieve what he had, but he is still unsatisfied. This is because the “Dream” at that time was so unattainable, that even when Gatsby had wealth, he was searching for more. This shows that Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream was not realistic, even though others may have thought he had already achieved it. To add, many people may have thought that Gatsby had already achieved the American Dream, but his dream was not realistic. He wanted more wealth, and more power so that he could impress Daisy. This was fueled by his dream to return to the past, which is clearly