The Importance Of Dream In The Great Gatsby

If there is one thing that defines the human experience, it is the ability to dream. No matter the place of origin, or background, every human dreams of something greater. People dream of jobs, acceptances into prestigious universities, love, wealth, and more. However, often times we are taught from a young age to never give up on our dreams. In reality, that mindset can often hold us back. Our dreams live in an idealistic world, limited to ourselves, but the reality is a pragmatic world, inclusive to the setback and hardship of real life. In the Great Gatsby, there is a preview of the life of the poor and the life of the rich. Those who are poor often have limited movement from their social status, causing their dreams of wealth and success

Gatsby achieved wealth, and one would say that he did, in fact, complete his dream. However, when a wealthy person isn’t acknowledged at the same level of importance as other people of high status, it is difficult to accept it as the truth. During a fight with Gatsby, Tom states, “the latest thing is to let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” (130). This shows that even though Gatsby was wealthy like he wished, he would never be able to fully accomplish that goal because he was “new money”, meaning earning wealth later in life, rather than being born into wealth. The people who were born into wealth, or the “old money”, consider themselves to be of higher class because they never struggled to be powerful and all that they had was handed right to them. Therefore, Gatsby put a vast amount of energy into his dream of wealth, but by not having old money, he would never be able to achieve the same status and respect as those with old money. He was blind to the fact that even though he was as wealthy as those with old money, like Tom and Daisy, he would never be equal to them. Thus, he held onto a dream that never had a chance to fully reach