The Downfall of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a novel that stands throughout time as one of the great modernist works. In this novel, Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby to struggle with the illusory concept of the American Dream as Gatsby struggles to make his own wealth and then fails to get the girl he wanted. The Great Gatsby also deals with the opposing concepts of wealth in America and spirituality.

Throughout the novel, Gatsby’s main drive is to win Daisy for his own. They had been together at a younger age, and then Gatsby went away to war. When he returned, Daisy was gone. Now, during the time of the novel, Gatsby has made himself plenty of money, though his money is old money, and he lives outside of the city, yearning for Daisy. “He stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 16). This green light, we find out later on, is on Daisy’s dock in the city, and this is a perfect depiction of Gatsby reaching for what he wants yet will never attain. This constant struggle to grasp the impossible is the darkness of the American Dream that Fitzgerald is capturing.

By the end of the novel, Gatsby has come to realize that he is never going to be with Daisy—she has chosen to stay with Tom. Perhaps she stays with Tom for material security, perhaps because she truly loves him. Either way she does not choose Gatsby in the end, the one man who, in the whole novel, seems to encompass most fully the American Dream. Gatsby “has humble beginnings and works in order to raise his station. He has a dream, a desire, to find the girl he loves; and that is what motivates Gatsby” (Dawson). However, he also is representative of the corrupted American Dream because even though he works diligently to achieve his goal, he never does get it, which seems to crush his spirit, his hopes and dreams for an ideal future, at the end of the novel.

In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is corrupted by excessive wealth and materiality. Many of the characters in the novel are only interested in their money and power, as well as finding ways to attain more money and power. Though Gatsby’s dream seems to be more pure than those of the other characters, the American Dream still fails him. Fitzgerald leaves the reader with the understanding that “the problem with The American Dream is that it never fulfills, it never satiates, it never satisfies, and it leaves a trail of heartache in its wake” (Dawson). No matter how much of anything these characters acquire throughout their lives, they are always reaching, always earnestly grabbing for more.

Works Cited:

Dawson, Charlene. “The American dream and the Great Gatsby.”{http://www.helium.com/items/804056-the-american-dream-and-the-great-gatsby?page=3}

Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.

Images:

Green light-- {https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5rx_vTPX8RQHnN8OopIbfLDrB4V1w4N0ViNBF4KQIXTg2x-RiHFBcvBnnk0yR8QL4aT4bk30SCiTWVnRiBtsAHnopzeJdARw5_jtFvqWUenIs-2PcAEqWwnKo6nOA1ZsllA1WMzAQg/s400/stoplight-green-light_~AA022292.jpg}

Great Gatsby Cover-- {http://bibliojunkie.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/great-gatsby1.jpg}