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Theme Of Destruction In The Great Gatsby

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Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the constant theme of obtaining the American Dream causes major destruction. The American dream is based off a myth told that every United States citizen has an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. However, in the novel, Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream is unattainable, with Gatsby representing this myth through his unfulfilled desire to obtain more and more. Through Gatsby's impossible journey to attain the American Dream, Fitzgerald shows how this dream creates false hope for a better life and replaces religious figures for money. In the world of the novel, money and possession have corrupted the mind leading to greed and destruction. Gatsby’s intentions for throwing wild parties were not for his own pleasure, but rather to lure Daisy, who represents his success, into meeting him again. Yet, like the American Dream, Daisy is unattainable, just like her mellow voice, …show more content…

Gatsby’s dream of loving Daisy is ruined by the difference in their social statuses. Gatsby ends up resorting to crime to make enough money to impress her, and materialism to match his lifestyle with hers. Yet the division between the two different classes causes major conflict. The aristocrats, such as Daisy, are born with an advantage; they have had money all their life. They know how to bribe their way out of trouble, while the people without the same privileges are left to suffer. They are both “careless people” who let others take the blame for something they did (174). Tom blamed Gatsby “the fellow had it coming” (178). Gatsby's failure to achieve his dream allows corruption and materialism to overcome hard work, integrity, and real love. The American Dream is unattainable, and people can never be

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, as Jay Gatsby delves into his pursuit of wealth and need for materialism, his hopes and aspirations become shattered in a world of unobtainable and unreachable possibilities. While Jay Gatsby confidently believes that material excess will ultimately bring about love, admiration, and prosperity, the audience understands that the possession of material objects does not always lead to the possession of these intangible virtues. The richest and happiest man is the one who sets the joy and happiness of others in the center of his wealth. As Jay Gatsby dedicates himself to winning over Daisy Buchanan and falls in love with her aura of luxury, Gatsby becomes overwhelmed with an unremitting desire for money and pleasure that eventually triggers his downfall. He has one purpose in life: to attract Daisy with his ornate house on West Egg and with his overflowing sum of money.

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