The Great Gatsby Research Paper

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby The American Dream is a big part of the novel, The Great Gatsby. This “dream” is something that everyone in America wants to achieve. Once it is reached, people are then accepted into the wealthier side of society and all of a sudden their old, worthless, and poor life is forgotten and they become important to society. It isn’t always reached by those who want to be important in society. This is where the American Dream for many people is just that, a dream. In, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the American Dream to portray the glamorousness and recklessness of his characters lives in a relatable way for the audience. The novel, The Great Gatsby, was published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

1), which is about how the American Dream affects people’s lives. It is also saying that everyone is subject or has the right to equal opportunities that aren’t based off of class ranking and wealth. The American Dream is a chance for people to gain economic independence and become wealthy and important in society. In order to obtain this, however, American’s need to have the ambition, motivation, and want to work for the American Dream life. “In the traditional American mindset, any man or woman can achieve whatever he or she wants as long as there is the drive and will to obtain it” (Putnam para. 1), nothing will ever be simply handed to you until you work hard for it and essentially earn it. Over the years, the American Dream took a quick turn from being about hope to being all about money and success. If a person didn’t have success or money, they were cast out of society and looked upon as unimportant. People started focusing on

Many characters, like Myrtle and Gatsby, want to be at the top of the social rank. Myrtle wants to be a high-class woman, so she cheats on her husband and has an affair with Tom Buchanan. Myrtle wants so badly to have wealth and status that she doesn’t leave after, “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). Myrtle would rather and does go through physical abuse at the hands of Tom just so that she can get expensive gifts from him. Myrtle believes that she belongs with the wealthy people, instead of with Wilson who is a poor car shop owner that barely makes enough to get by. People are so blinded by the fun of being high-up in society and don’t see the downfalls of their actions. Tom and Daisy are so caught up in their own world and what they want that they don’t seem to care or realize that they’re destroying other people’s lives. Daisy and Tom are so caught up in the American Dream and that, “While America promises economic opportunities for everyone, the characters in the novel demonstrate the difficulty in moving among classes by doing so recklessly and without regard for people who may be hurt along the way” (Verderame para. 3), they seem to disregard the feelings and importance of other peoples’