The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in The Great Gatsby, wants more than being a janitor and a rich man; he throws parties every Saturday to attract Daisy’s attention, but lost everything in the end. Gatsby went from “new money” to “old money” to “no money”. Everyone does not have the same opportunity to strive for their American Dream because their opportunities depend on their family background, what they were born to be, proletarian or bourgeois. Daisy was the reason Gatsby worked hard to achieve his goals, but he destroyed his achievements through lies. Gatsby lies about his family background, but Tom later claims that Gatsby’s wealth comes from illegal businesses such as selling grain alcohol over the counter at the drug-stores. Gatsby’s dream came true when Daisy notices his social status and the extravagant parties he throws, but he lost her again when she found out about his illegal businesses; Gatsby dealing with illegal businesses is not a rule in the upper class society, and it represents …show more content…
The sense of not belonging to a specific social class is displayed in the novel as Gatsby, he tries to fit in a class where he is not accepted, according to the social standards of the time. Fitzgerald explains the possibility of having nothing to achieving almost everything. The film and novel stresses the importance of social class and how difficult it is to ignore a person’s social background. Gatsby can show is enormous wealth, but he still does not fit in the same status as the Buchanans. Wealth proves how important money and background are in the American upper class in 1920s. The Great Gatsby states the significance of social class and status in society; we can assume by looking at a certain lifestyle and understand that no matter how difficult a person tries to change the past to live the present, it is