Rita Dove, an American poet, once said, “The American Dream is a phrase we’ll have to wrestle with all our lives. It means a lot of things to different people.” This quote perfectly sums up many of the main ideas depicted in The Great Gatsby. During the period in which the novel takes place, the American Dream was a highly sought-after ideal because America was seen as a land of great opportunity where any individual could gain wealth and status through hard work and dedication. This quote is so accurate in the context of The Great Gatsby, because each character has their own vision of what the American Dream entails. F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author in the 1920s who wrote on themes of wealth and lavish lifestyles. Fitzgerald himself lived quite …show more content…
This is apparent in the text when Nick describes that he wants to “pursue a career as a bond salesman” (Fitzgerald 3). He then describes how this is the vocation that most men of his age choose to pursue, which shows that Nick’s version of the American Dream is like the American Dream of many other young men in the United States in the 1920s. This is significant because it shows that Nick is still working towards getting his American Dream, even though he doesn’t necessarily need to work for it. Jay Gatsby is a character who differs from almost all the other characters in the novel because his upbringing was so different from the others. While Gatsby attempts to convince the other characters that he gained his wealth from the inheritance of his wealthy family, it is ultimately exposed that Gatsby came from humble beginnings on a farm in North Dakota. This is a secret about Gatsby that is exposed when the New York reporter arrives at Jay’s home and Nick states “Just why these inventions were a source of satisfaction to James Gatz of North Dakota isn’t easy to say” (Fitzgerald