Why Is The American Dream Important In The Great Gatsby

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Alex Johnson

Teacher- Ms. Maggert

English III

4/7/2023

The Great Gatsby Analysis of Wealth, Success, and Happiness

The book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story written in the period of 1922 that represents a search of the American dream. This story captures the exploration, life, thoughts, and daily living mostly of privileged entitled people attempting to arrive at a satisfied destination of wealth and social status. Most of the main characters from Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Tom

Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker are all examples of people having wealth and success with mostly temporary moments of satisfaction. The storyline serves as a reminder there is no direct proven correlation of wealth equating to

“His heartbeat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So, he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed like a flower and the incarnation was complete (Fitzgerald, S., The Great Gatsby, page 70).”

If only Mr. Gatsby had been able to hold reverence for himself in the way, he did in making others feel great. He held an iconic but misleading way of presenting greatness to others despite his innate self-defeating obsessive thoughts about himself. In Nick’s description of

Gatsby’s power in his smiled he captured his friends nature to be like and please others.

“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be

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There seems to be a trend on

Facebook, TikTok and various popular shows where the richest or finest of life is being portrayed even among those without much. People are more depressed as they compare themselves to others. Although the Gatsby story took place in 1922, many of the same social trends and mindsets are still maintained 100 years later. People are attempting the extravagant as a norm just as Jay Gatsby did all those years ago.

Gatsby’s funeral was example of how much of an illusion his grand parties were in comparison to the attendees to see him off at death. Nick was hard-pressed to find attendees for his funeral. If only Gatsby could have figured all this out and lived an average life of loving himself in a healthy fashion. I am sure he would have made better decisions and perhaps knew it was time to leave Daisy in the past. Just perhaps his life would have been spared as he would not have created a lie to hold up for her mistake. If Gatsby could have lived in the now, accepted himself for whom he was and had evolved into, perhaps he could have found a life partner.