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Why Is The Great Gatsby American Dream Flawed

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Many readers see The Great Gatsby as a promising novel that explores the American Dream, but The American Dream has often been flawed throughout the book. The book takes place through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a discerning young man who tries to prove his honesty but, at the same time, serves as an intermediate for most conflicting characters. Multiple points of view are shown throughout the book and possibly take on whether characters in this book exploit the reputable American Dream. The leading man, Jay Gatsby, tries hard to live out his dream but falls short of the values America always backs to that restrain upon the American Dream. In Fitgeralzd’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream can be seen by some readers as attainable because …show more content…

The rise of fame Gatsby elevates very quickly because of his illegal business, but the reader does not learn this until midway through the book. The Dream has a natural flaw because of Gatsby's value of material possessions. He values possessions like his house because he needs them to prove to himself the reality of his wealth, backed up by illegal doings. Owl Eyes, A character in the book, pokes around Gatsby's mansion for the truth about his wealth. He is distraught when he realizes Gatsby's books are not made of “nice durable cardboard”(Citation ). The fact that he searches Gatsby's house and expects to come up with emptiness because of his fault uncovers the American Dream as an unreliable fraud or temporary life position. Also, the dream will never reach attainability because of America’s social classes, set in stone by the aristocrats who built the country. Also, Gatsby lives for his previous life, with regret every day. This regret roots from the kiss that struck his life, he kissed a wealthy girl, Daisy Buchanan, and has been spell broken for her love ever since. The Past, along with a faulty business, stirs a crack in The American Dream, and when Gatsby is at his peak, his Dream snaps. Gatsby is late to realize this and metaphorically reaches “out his arms toward the dark” by participating in the corruption of society through illegal means of wealth. This snaps when he reaches too far into the past

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The notoriously known American Dream takes dedication and perseverance to accomplish. Gatsby shows determination throughout this novel; however, his circumstances play a toll on his ability to obtain his dream. In Gatsby’s case, he is trying to accomplish the impossible; he has a visionary outlook on the American Dream. Gatsby is unsuccessful in his effort to obtain his American Dream in the sense of love; however, he successfully obtains his American Dream in the sense of wealth. Gatsby’s partial failure does not mean the American Dream is impossible to accomplish.

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Gatsby has worked hard, struggled, and ultimately triumphed, journeying from humble origins to the peaks of wealth. “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong.” Though Gatsby has fulfilled his American dream, it is corrupted by crime and desire. Gatsby represents a polluted American Dream, one that was initially pure, but has been compromised by crime and eventually crumbles like a house of cards. Nick Carraway follows The American Dream in a different and more virtuous way than Gatsby.

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1645 Words | 7 Pages

The American Dream’s widely recognized components are personified in Jay Gatsby. From an ordinary background, Gatsby worked hard to amass wealth and status. He is a self-starter who believes he can accomplish anything with diligent work. However, Gatbsy’s dream is to win Daisy over rather than amass wealth for himself. Even when Daisy stops talking to him, he begins to clutch at some last hope that nobody can shake him free of, further linking him with the delusion of those who believe in the American Dream.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

“Gatsby goes to spectacular lengths to try to achieve what Nick Carraway calls “his incorruptible dream” (Sutton1). Gatsby’s moral decline through his life shows his failed attempt at the American dream. “The collapse of Gatsby’s attempt to win Daisy proves that dreams, money, and blind faith in life’s possibilities, are not enough for a man to reach his goals”

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624 Words | 3 Pages

As Nick put it, Gatsby's dream sounded so possible and simple for him, for from the perception of others, it's a dre am that's way too far for his reach. Although all the characters seek the pursuit of the American Dream, th ey do n't all achieve what they're seeking for. Indeed the characters that formerly have the life of the Amer ican Dream aren't happy with it. In the novel, we read about the life of the characters of Tom and his wom an

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674 Words | 3 Pages

If Gatsby is meant to represent the American Dream, the reader can assume that the American Dream had become corrupt; that it could only be achieved through illegal deals and lies that got him the life he wanted but didn’t deserve. The American Dream through Gatsby is built upon deception and sooner or later, the truth must

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1756 Words | 8 Pages

Gatsby was a man who came up from essentially nothing by gaining his money through bootlegging and other illegal acts in order to gain a reputation in society. Gatsby’s constant desire to accomplish more in his life demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream. It is evident that Gatsby has had a thirst for the American dream since a young age, this is shown when Gatsby’s father says: “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind?

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

The American dream stands as a symbol for hope, prosperity, and happiness. But F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, examines the American dream from a different perspective, one that sheds light on those who contort these principles to their own selfish fantasies. Fitzgerald renders Jay Gatsby as a man who takes the Dream too far, and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality. This 'unique ' American novel describes how humanity 's insatiable desires for wealth and power subvert the idyllic principles of the American vision. Jay Gatsby is the personification of limitless wealth and prestige, a shining beacon for the aspiring rich.

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772 Words | 4 Pages

Just as the American Dream- the pursuit of happiness- has degenerated into a quest for more wealth, Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy has become the motivation for lavish excess and criminal activities. He used his dream to escape from his past, but then was stuck on hold for when he lost Daisy the only part of the dream he really cared for. Gatsby made a dream just for Daisy so she could be apart of his, but saw the meaningless of it when she didn’t choose him in the end. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of the American Dream. Written in 1925, the book tells the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, whose main driving force in life is the pursuit of a woman called Daisy Buchanan. The narrator is Gatsby’s observant next-door neighbor, Nick Carraway, who offers a fresh, outsider’s perspective on the events; the action takes place in New York during the so-called Roaring Twenties. By 1922, when The Great Gatsby takes place, the American Dream had little to do with Providence divine and a great deal to do with feelings organized around style and personal changed – and above all, with the unexamined self .

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

The Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby In an era of greed and corruption, the American dream became less important in the 1920’s as social values decayed in people 's lives. Materialism became most important in society, resulting in selfishness and carelessness. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby shows this reckless behavior with Tom and Daisy Buchanan, a spoiled couple married for the wealth. The failure of the American dream is represented in The Great Gatsby with the upper class’s overindulgence and recklessness with material objects . F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the difference between old money and new money in The Great Gatsby with the East and West Eggs and the residents who live there.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, the characters strive to reach their own ideas of the American dream, a dream which is unattainable due to the expectations of others, the cost of success and their false ideas of reality. The expectations of society, the fear of being rejected or isolated from society causes people to lose sight of their dream. He deceives and evades his past in order for him to achieve acceptance; “Gatsby... remains utterly disconnected from any sort of verifiable geographic background, a fact that poses a dilemma for those like Tom trying to read Gatsby. Nick eventually associates Gatsby with his West Egg home... insisting instead on the absolute autonomy of Gatsby 's manufactured identity” (Beuka).

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483 Words | 2 Pages

Gatsby is just like many people in the 1920s because they all chase after an elusive dream

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911 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby’s Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Dreams are seen as a positive way to keep people going forward through their lives. However, dreams can blind people and not let them to see the truth. The novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the idea of The American Dream of not being able to be achieved. Gatsby is one of the characters in the novel that tries to achieve The American Dream. The pursuit of the American Dream brings negative results to Gatsby because he becomes greedy, unrealistic, and dishonest, which shows that chasing dreams can destroy one’s life.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby has the American Dream of being successful and wanting to marry the girl of his dreams. However, Fitzgerald argues that The American Dream is a paradox because dreams aren’t supposed to be achieved, and are better off to remain in one’s imagination. For example, Gatsby wants to marry the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Sadly Gatsby sets such a high standard for her that she will never be able to live up to. Gatsby envisions Daisy as the golden girl, and once he put his plan into action, he realizes

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