What Is The Great Gatsby's Destruction

Superior Essays
“I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American Dream” (Bruce Springteen). The American dream states that anyone can achieve their dreams no matter their race, gender or social status. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, fighting for the American dream is the biggest source for Jay Gatsby’s sadness and despair. Chasing after a dream that is unattainable only causes pain and ultimately results in destruction. Throughout the story, Gatsby craves Daisy Buchannan’s love and though he was a poor boy, that didn’t stop him from pursuing her. He has wondrous dreams of being with her but he faces barriers such as social status and money. Gatsby eventually realizes no matter how much wealth he …show more content…
Gatsby meets the love of his life just before leaving for the war, though at the time it was only meant to be a casual relationship. As Gatsby falls deeper in love he realizes he would do anything to be with her. While talking to Nick he states: “Well, there I was way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of a sudden I didn’t care” (Fitzgerald.143). Gatsby has ambitions and aspirations to become wealthy and live a luxurious life and after meeting Daisy, these goals become intertwined with wanting her affection. After he leaves for the war Daisy gets married to a well-to-do man named Tom Buchannan leaving Gatsby five years to build his empire and accumulate enough wealth to, in his eyes, sweep Daisy off her feet. When Jordan is telling Nick Mr. Gatsby’s story she states: “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald.76). Here it is realized the amount of devotion Gatsby has for Daisy. At one point Jordan also points out that the reason he throws these parties is for Daisy. Jay hopes that Daisy would wander into one of these parties and bump into him though this is not entirely true. He throws these parties, not only to attract the attention of Daisy, but also to show off his wealth to her. He wants her to realize that he has the means to support her and their future. Gatsby has smaller dreams of amassing …show more content…
Gatsby assumes that the only reason Daisy is not marrying him is because he was penniless but he fails to realize that there is a difference of classes between them. Daisy is from old money, meaning there is value to her name and she is married to a man who is also from old money. Gatsby is from new money, meaning though he is as rich as Daisy his money carries less value because his name carries no value. Even within the upper class there are differences and discrimination. When Tom and Gatsby are arguing over Daisy, Tom states: “…next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (Fitzgerald.124). Though Tom says black and white, he does not mean it in that way in the situation. He means to say anybody of his status or class being married to anyone below him, which includes Gatsby as he is from new money, is unworthy. During that same heated argument Tom gets upset and insults Gatsby, he says: “Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger” (Fitzgerald.127). Tom is saying that though Gatsby may have a lot of money, it is not worth as much as his in value. He is saying that Gatsby would not be able to afford and financially support Daisy as though Jay’s money is not real. Jay Gatsby spends five years making money

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    He had wealth but he was not happy with his wealth because all that he had done to earn his money was so that he could do things and have expensive possessions so that Daisy would notice him and fall for him again but she never did. The American Dream has three central assumptions to it which is that America is a land of bounty, beauty and unlimited promise, the second is the belief in progress and being optimistic, and lastly the triumph of the individual. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows throughout his novel The Great Gatsby that the American Dream cannot be achieved if you follow these three assumptions. He shows the reader how the American Dream is not promised to anyone who can follow and succeed in these topics, but that many that do accept the challenge of achieving the American…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior 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
  • Improved Essays

    Fantasy can lead to destruction mentally, spiritually and physically. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is driven with obsession with Daisy Buchanan. Daisy was not willing to wait for Gatsby who at the time was poor and left to war. She went off and did her own life with Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man who gave her the life she wanted. In consequence, Gatsby is physically destroyed by fantasizing a life next to Daisy that eventually never happen.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The “American Dream” is one of the defining principles on which the culture of the United States is founded. It is the idea that just being a U.S. citizen gives one the ability to work one’s way up from the bottom and end up being successful. This promise draws many people to work very hard to better themselves in an attempt to attain this success that they believe is theirs for the taking. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby does just that.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To him, she’s not only incredibly beautiful and wealthy, but has a voice “full of money” (120). This shows the true reason Gatsby wants Daisy so desperately is the same reason Gatsby changes his name to Jay Gatsby and practiced how to act like a upper class citizen: because he wants to obtain the American Dream. Having Daisy by his side will further illude the idea that Gatsby is a part of the upper class. This is an example of Gatsby’s appearance vs. who he really is. When he and Daisy first reunite at Nick’s house he makes sure to get the grass cut to make Nick’s shack appear nice.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jay Gatsby is a very wealthy man in the booming city of New York in the 1920s. He did not always start out wealthy, he was a poor boy in North Dakota for his childhood, but he always had high hopes of being wealthy and sophisticated. After dropping out of college, he joined the Army and whilst in the Army, he met Daisy Buchanan. After they were in love while he was in the Army, he went away and they drifted apart. What drove him to be wealthy was Daisy’s love for him.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald touches on several themes, but the one of most importance is the one relating the to the pursuit of the American Dream. The American dream was defined as the ideal lifestyle. If you lived the American dream you had wealth or fame, a steady job, a family, and a grand house. It seemed as though, if you were living the American dream, you were living a life of unbroken happiness. America was thriving in the 1920’s.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He gradually made his way to living in the East of the United States, and along the way, fell in love with Daisy. He was mesmerized by her luxurious lifestyle, and she became Gatsby 's one and only motivation. He did everything to win back Daisy. He didn 't care whether Daisy was married or not, he was still lost in their past. Gatsby has always been in denial as he questions Nick "can 't repeat the past?"(110).…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Destruction Fee As Jay Gatsby attempts to win over his golden girl, he is oblivious to the fact that he is hurting himself and the people he cares about along the way. Not only is Gatsby blind to not see the incongruity of his goal, but he fails to realize that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, has other aspirations for her ideal life that Gatsby will never be able to fulfill. Much like the way Gatsby thinks and acts, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson struggle to be mollified with what they already have. These naïve hopes of a textbook life cause all of the key characters in The Great Gatsby to cause hurt and destruction.…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great 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
  • Improved Essays

    Gatsby desires a life with Daisy, and amasses an incredible amount of wealth because of his objective. Gatsby purchases a house right across from Daisy, and holds lavish parties just in an attempt to fulfill his dream. It is later discovered that Daisy is just an extension of Gatsby’s dream to become great; Nick in regards to Gatsby’s statement about Daisy, states “It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…. High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 128). It turns out Gatsby was attracted to Daisy, largely because of her wealth and status, and by being with her, he elevated himself; Gatsby wanted the American Dream, and being with Daisy would symbolize his “divine ascension.”…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When they last saw eachother five years before, Gatsby did not think he was worthy of her love. He was not wealthy at the time and had little except for his experiences in the army to make of himself. Once Gatsby had earned a large sum of money and built an impressive life for himself he knew he could finally try to win her love. When Daisy moved back from Chicago, he did whatever he could to get close to her. Gatsby 's motivation with his money is hard to follow until the Narrator, Nick Carroway learns of his true motivations.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • 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
  • Great Essays

    Democracy, freedom and equal opportunity have long been the ideologies associated with the American mindset, and as a result, the United States came to be recognized as one of the few countries in the world where anyone who worked hard enough could become successful and therefore fulfill the American Dream. However, through The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald confronts this sanguine mentality. That which defines success in the 1920s, the time during which Fitzgerald’s novel is set, is no longer the “pursuit of happiness” that the Founding Fathers had established in the Declaration of Independence, but instead, the acquisition of a maximized amount of wealth and material possessions. Yet, such monetary success does not imply satisfaction,…

    • 1214 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby and Daisy were in love, however, she never saw Gatsby as an option for marriage, because he was yet to be rich, so she moved on to Tom. Because Daisy came from old money, it was expected of her to marry in the same social tier, but Gatsby never gave up hope. Everything he did after he met Daisy to become successful was for her. When they were reunited it was apparent that Daisy was the one in control of Gatsby, even if that wasn’t necessarily her intention. Gatsby was much more concerned with impressing Daisy than she was impressing him.…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays