The Great Gatsby Research Paper

The American Dream was a revolutionary ambition in the 1920s, a select few were lucky enough to achieve this ideology and others died trying. It can be said that The Great Gatsby is the 1920s in a nutshell, however the key thing to come of this novel is the prominent theme of idealization. Through the character development of Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, demonstrates that truth cannot exist in an individual who has lost themselves to their ideals which does not generate satisfaction.

Despite the luxury one is promised while following the pursuit of the American Dream; whether it be a big house, many cars or the social status that comes along with this dream, many fall victim to the illusion of it all. Some begin to fabricate

“I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time even then his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people.”(98) Gatsby is fed glimpses of the lifestyles of the wealthy living the American Dream. Although he was born poor, he knew he was destined to be more than what he'd been dealt with. In order to achieve his pursuits and gain respect from the higher social class, Gatsby went to extreme measures to obtain it such as taking on illegal labor, bootlegging, and even projecting lies about himself to others since they all saw a fancy man with a luxurious education and a wealthy family lineage. Gatsby was repulsive towards his life growing up, and felt the need to feed people in the upper class with misconceptions to

“ ‘.. she doesn't understand,’ he said. ‘She used to be able to understand.’” Disappointment is the highlight of Gatsby’s emotions as he begins to feel as his lover, Daisy Buchanan, is no longer the ideal he once longed for; she becomes all too real and the effects of this are starting to catch up with him. Gatsby's insignificance to Daisy becomes apparent after his untimely death “I called up Daisy half an hour ago after we found him, called instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken their baggage with them.” which illustrates that Daisy had decided that Gatsby was no longer someone she cared to know, and turned her back on him even in death. It was announced that Gatsby was only ever a second choice to Daisy, and his entire journey leading up to his success was nothing compared to the respect and class Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan, carried. At the parties Gatsby hosted in attempts to reunite with his lover and blend in with the wealthy, it was clear that he himself was oddly over enthusiastic about the powerful people that joined in and did not know how to act upon their expectations. However, this came off in the wrong way for people who looked in from the outside, “‘My God, I believe the man’s coming,” said Tom. ‘Doesn't he know she doesn't want him’” Tom Buchanan was truly in