Corruption Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Improved Essays
The corruption of the American Dream is a prevalent theme in classic literature, as it highlights the falsified illusions of social mobility and power commonly promoted during the early twentieth century. The motivation for socio-economic inclination is generally consumed by materialism and shallowness in an effort to satisfy the constant lack of self fulfillment, which inevitably leads to self destruction. Many people blindly accept the idealistic concept of social and economic mobility only to discover its unattainableness. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the corruption underlying the pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby. In an effort to captivate Daisy’s attention, Jay Gatsby publicly displays his wealth and …show more content…
Despite evidence of Daisy’s shallowness, Gatsby’s unrealistic desire to restore the past ultimately blinds him to the reality of his destructive relationship, as his infatuated pursuit of Daisy consumes his identity. In an effort to assimilate into the aristocratic class, Gatsby reinvents his identity under the illusions of pre-established wealth, despite his actual humble upbringing. His pursuit of Daisy ultimately resulted in his own downfall, as she fails to take responsibility for her automobile accident that evoked Myrtle’s death. Gatsby’s innocent and inevitable death ultimately highlights the unattainability and corruption of the supposed American Dream. Gatsby’s infatuated pursuit of Daisy ultimately unveils his preexistent figurative blindness, thus his inevitable death illustrates the corruption underlying the American …show more content…
During a conversation with Nick, it becomes evident that the underlying motive for Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is the ability to assimilate into the aristocratic class, as he claims that “her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 120). Gatsby’s tone of admiration ultimately emphasizes his desire to achieve wealth and status that is comparable to that of Daisy Buchanan. In Gatsby’s perspective, Daisy is the ultimate symbol of the wealth and power promoted by the American Dream. Gatsby’s unrealistic and infatuated pursuit of Daisy unveils his immaturity, as he is fascinated with the fictional concept of Daisy, which prevents him from developing dynamically. In an effort to validate his pursuit of Daisy, Gatsby permits an inanimate object to develop a profound significance over his life. The green light emitted by Daisy’s mansion ultimately symbolizes hope and the American Dream for Gatsby. Through the emphasis of color symbolism, the green light ironically suggests that regardless of wealth and power, the aristocratic class continues to suffer from

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Everyone has an American dream, it might not be planned out precisely but almost everyone knows what they want for themselves. For some it’s wealth and popularity, for others it’s happiness and an enjoyable life. Whatever the case is, the American dream is broad and it is not going away. In the novel The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Grant, Gatsby’s true American dream is to be with the love of his life, Daisy. The American dream that Gatsby is chasing is a possibility in today’s world because Gatsby is chasing love, which doesn’t change throughout the different time periods.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Illusion of the American Dream Richard M. Devos, a wealthy American business man, once stated,“Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none.” Multiple people in society base the success and meaning of a person’s life on the amount of money they posses. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, most characters make decisions based on how it will affect their wealth and reputation. One of the main characters, Daisy Buchanan, chooses money and status over others even if it hurts her and the people around her.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby Essay: Test In what way does Gatsby represent the American Dream and what does this say about Fitzgerald’s perception of the dream in the 20s and 30s? In what way do the themes of dreams, wealth and time relate to America at the time? In the story The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many themes and messages are portrayed through the character of Jay Gatsby.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a novel published in 1925 by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Midwest-born Nick Carraway details Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with the notion of being reunited with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he lost five years earlier. The novel particularly focuses on describing the disintegration of the American dream; the view that all people are created equal, and have equal opportunity in the pursuit for happiness. This definition of the American dream, however, is challenged by Fitzgerald; suggesting that the American dream became nothing but the pursuit for happiness through materialism (having a big house, car, etc.). This paper will explore and analyse the techniques that Fitzgerald used to undermine the American…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obtaining the Unobtainable Many people attempt to obtain the American dream, but end up disappointed at the end of the process. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby tries to achieve the American dream but in the end is left upset with the result. The author of the novel, Fitzgerald, demonstrates the loss of the American dream through a variety of symbols. Firstly, Fitzgerald uses the green light as a symbol; the green light’s meaning is constantly changing throughout the story.…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates Jay Gatsby’s perpetual optimism through his struggle to balance his ideals with the reality of the world around him. This optimism presents itself in three aspects crucial to the development of his character in the novel, Gatsby’s delusion, his burgeoning ammorality, and his irrational love for Daisy. Firstly, Jay Gatsby’s continuous attempts to balance his ideology with his actuality cause him to become deluded. During the beginning of the novel before the Nick has actually met him, he’s told many wild and extraordinary rumors about Gatsby, such as the one he hears from Myrtle Wilson’s sister Charlotte.…

    • 1752 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    "I found myself on Gatsby 's side, and alone" (Fitzgerald 164). The American Dream is viewed differently from person to person, but overall, the American Dream is the ability to forget about the past and become the person you have always wanted to be. Through hard work and determination, an American can become anything or anyone they want to be. This idea can often become corrupted and misinterpreted. Gatsby, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has a corrupted view of the American Dream.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents many varieties of themes; however the most symbolic one relates to corruption in the American dream. The American dream starts out with individuals having a low economical and social status, but are working hard towards fame and wealth. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby however does demonstrate the importance of the American dream and how much it can impact people like Gatsby for many reasons. The novel not only has the American dream cause Gatsby to die with a unhappy state of mind, but this dream also caused major destruction in the book.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As of now, more than half of the total world population, which is relatively three billion people, are living on under $2.50. Shockingly enough, roughly 80 percent of humanity live on less than $10 a day. In the United States alone there is a poverty rate of 14.8 percent that equates to approximately 50 million people. America is the land of immigrants and upon immigration, America is seen as the land where streets are made of gold as dictated by the American Dream. Today, the American Dream is mainly a lower class mentality that encourages them to go from rags to riches but it is all a figment of their imagination.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby and The American Dream In the 1920’s the American dream was what people were aiming to reach throughout their lives. In the book The Great Gatsby by, F.Scott, one of his main characters known as Gatsby is trying to fulfill his American dream. Gatsby fails to reach the dream of reliving his past.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The American Dream is universally sought after and coveted, after all the possibility of becoming anything and rising above one 's meeger beginnings is tantalizing. However, the American Dream can also produce destruction and devastation. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the destructive nature of the American Dream through his characters Myrtle, Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, and Wilson and through his symbolic use of dust. Set in the Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald’s novel focuses on these characters, who are intimately woven together through an intricate web of affairs, and dreams. Fitzgerald uses the relationships that each of these characters have to each other and their relationships to dust to reveal the true price of the American dream, and how those who idolize it will find themselves destroyed by it.…

    • 1761 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jay Gatsby is usually a controversial character on whether he is defined as a tragic hero or a romantic hero. From my point of view, one thing being certain is that Gatsby is a romantic character drowning in the world of reality. Gatsby funded everything he has in the purpose of winning Daisy Buchanan, a woman in his dream. In the book The Great Gatsby, the protagonist, Gatsby, is a romantic hero in a modern era of realism since he is dominated with the pursuit of the American dream, completely preoccupied by Daisy and wanted to remake the world, that his idealism predestined him to death.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Great Gatsby

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many debatable issues over which people base their opinions. Human beings are made to have their own personal views on different ideologies and practices; no one ideology can fight against all other views and say that factually and morally their way of viewing things in life is the only right way. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald illustrates the concept of the American dream. Through the use of characters like Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Tom and Daisy Buchanan and many more other characters. The Great Gatsby is a story of the defeated love between a man and a woman.…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby narrates the story of a man, Jay Gatsby, and his perseverance to achieve his dream to win over his love, Daisy. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s life comes to an abrupt end, along with that dream. All of this is seen through the point of view of Nick Carraway, a man who moves to New York to learn about the bond business. The book takes place in the 1920s, a time of economic prosperity, with many people striving to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is the ideal that Americans have the opportunity to achieve wealth and prosperity through hard work and dedication.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    James Truslow Adams’ publication, The Epic of America, defines the American Dream as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (Adams 214-215). Yet, The Great Gatsby portrays the Roaring Twenties as an era of decayed social and moral values, as the author explores, as well as reveals the decline of the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald develops a plotline that appears to be a romantic account of an interrupted relationship—due the World War I—between Jay Gatsby and Daisy (Fay) Buchanan. In conflict, Jay Gatsby faces hindrances that prevent the revival of his love affair, mostly due social and moral degradation that surfaces in the…

    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays