The Problematic American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

The Problematic American Dream In the early 1920’s, social and economic tensions rapidly grew. Several americans searched for the American Dream- a desirable way of life to rise in social class, from rags to riches. Additionally, the Declaration of Independence manifested and described an attitude of hope. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” This created a time of great prosperity and optimism. However, in the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald argues that the American Dream provides the people searching for this dream with great struggles and hardships. In contrast from what many …show more content…
In the novel, five years before the actual setting, Jay Gatsby meets Daisy for the first time. In this section, Nick Carraway is describing what Gatsby told him about his past and his encounter with Daisy. First, Fitzgerald uses biblical language. He uses the phrase “secret place above the trees” to show what Gatsby saw out of the corner of his eyes- that is the blocks of the sidewalks forming a ladder to a mysterious destination (117). This secret place above the trees represents heaven. Because Gatsby met Daisy on this evening, he characterizes Daisy, and her wealth, as being “his heaven.” Additionally, this ladder is representing his connection to the Upper class and way up the social hierarchy. By showing that heaven is above the trees and is not actually in sight, Fitzgerald can relate heaven to being similar to the American Dream. Fitzgerald also shows the reader the story behind Jay Gatsby and his life from rags to riches. By illustrating this, he can then argue that the heaven, Daisy, can’t be reached because of the difference in wealth. At the time, Gatsby was still very poor while Daisy was wealthy. This difference in wealth and social class results in his inability to “climb the ladder” up to his happiness. Then, Fitzgerald explains why the physical attraction between Gatsby and Daisy becomes a factor in Gatsby’s inability to achieve his American Dream. On the same night, Gatsby …show more content…
At the end of the novel, Nick Carraway reflects on his experiences in New York and his encounter with Gatsby. He believes that Gatsby was the only person that was exempt from his negative reaction towards New York. He says that Gatsby believes in the green light that represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates Daisy with that light, and prior to his death, he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding beacon to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s desire towards Daisy is associated with the American Dream, the green light also symbolizes that dream. Fitzgerald compares the green light to how the American Dream looked to early settlers of the new nation by using the expression “blue lawn” that represents the ocean that the settlers voyaged across (189). The ocean can symbolize the separation between the American Dream and the settlers. At the beginning of the novel, Gatsby looks out across the bay standing on the edge of his dock. He reaches out as if he is grabbing the green light that is all the way on the other side of the body of water, at Daisy’s place. By using the expression “blue lawn” and relating it to the body of water between Daisy and Gatsby and the settlers and America, Fitzgerald can argue that the distance, the vast body of water, between one and the American Dream, is why