Significance Of The American Nightmare In The Great Gatsby

The American dream, wealth and fame, has been sought since the conclusion of the American revolution, yet the often less noted and more unappreciated way of living is usually considered the American nightmare. However, the American nightmare doesn’t only come to the working class, a moderately well off person can fall into its deadly, inescapable grasp as well. Fitzgerald shows both sides of this motif in many ways ranging from places to people, and even to individual ideologies. He shows that the ever clichéd thought of dream and nightmare don’t always have to fit into certain parameters and can affect anyone. I believe that in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan represents the ideas of the American dream while his wife, Daisy, experiences the American nightmare. Tom and Daisy live a life of complete luxury, they have servants to wait on them and a large mansion and although we don’t get to see much of the house during The Great Gatsby when we do see it, we see that is it lush. He lives on a large estate with “French windows, glowing… reflected gold” (6).Tom has a beautiful wife and daughter, but he still desires more. It is revealed that not only does Tom have a current mistress, but that he has had many …show more content…
They are forced into their roles by each other, without Daisy, Tom wouldn 't have the American dream and vice-versa. Fitzgerald shows that a stereotypical American dream and nightmare isn’t all that is available, you can share the good and the bad side of each. Even in our modern time, people are still trapped within what they believe is to be their inescapable existence. People still feel cornered and pushed into roles they don’t want to be in, but they believe that they can’t do anything about it. This motif will always be relevant even as the times change, because people will always have a dream, and many people will have to live a