The Unattainable American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The unattainable American dream

American dream is a concept whose roots can be traced in the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 which states that “ all men ... are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights … life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Initially the American Dream featured three main basic rights to its citizens; right to life, liberty and happiness. However over time when this notion reached a much larger audience, people also approached it from different dimension. In 1931 James Truslow Adams defined American Dream in his book The Epic of America as “ that dream of a land where life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or

This idea is shown through the picture of Gatsby pursuing Daisy. At first Daisy is the ultimate goal for Gatsby and he relentlessly works hard to obtain her love and affection. However when he finally wins over her heart he expects her to leave her husband and elope with him. This can be identified with American Dream because just like Gatsby, the dreamer keeps looking forward to one goal after another. When he attains one, there is always another to achieve. Thus this pursuit never ends.

Another similarity that can be correlated to the American Dream and Daisy is that both act as a distraction and it disorients the mind. As Fitzgerald sees American Dream, it is merely a state of mind that confuses the humanity and poses a threat to the progress and prosperity of the society. Gatsby's constant and blind pursuit after Daisy arose complexities and brings his life to a stand-still. In fact Gatsby is emotionally a dead man madly going after a married woman which finally brings him nothing but disappointment, resentment, sadness and even his own