What Is The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream of Jay Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby is a mysterious man who throws large extravagant parties. He owns an enormous mansion, and lives a luxurious lifestyle. Gatsby was not born this way. He was born to a poor family who didn’t own more than the dirt on their shoes. Gatsby wanted more to his life so he indulged himself in the American dream. While Gatsby was born poor, he always wanted to live extravagantly. Gatsby took advantage of every opportunity that arose. One opportunity he took advantage of was going to rescue a millionaire by the name of Dan Cody. Cody’s yacht was on the verge of being sunk so Gatsby went out and rescued him. The narrator stated, “To the young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, Cody’s yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world.”(Fitzgerald 106). As Cody realized what happened he decide to hire Gatsby as an assistant of sorts. As Gatsby and Cody sailed the seas, Gatsby began to experience his life and begin his journey on the quest to attain the American dream.

Being Dan Cody’s assistant he met a lot of powerful people. He used these connections to assert himself in the world of crime. With the era of prohibition being in this time, Gatsby became an associate of a notorious conman, Wolfshiem. Gatsby made an abundance of his money selling alcohol. While this profession of choice is illegal, Gatsby had soon earned the title of a “millionaire”. The downside of this was he also earned the title of a “Criminal”. Tom Buchanan stated, “He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.”(Fitzgerald