Paper 3- 12 Hours

English 101

18th September 2015

The Great Gatsby: A Failed American Dream

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby mainly depicts the collapse of the American dream as seen with its hero and other characters. The American dream has been pursued by many even by those who are away from the US because of its promising and fulfilling nature that has kept people crossing the oceans to be in an environment that facilitates it. The Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby depicts the concept of American dream but in a twisted manner that left many characters with unfulfilled life. Many characters in the novel such as Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby set on journeys to pursue happiness in wealth but they are all mislead by their materialistic mindsets that leave them unhappy souls. In the early periods, the American dream provided hope to many people that have allowed them to achieve fulfilling lives, but as Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby points it out this is no longer the case

First, the American dream has gone through many transformations since its inception in the 1770s by the Royal Governor of Virginia. However; it is also noted that the concept that shaped the American dream was the pilgrim that arrived in the United States to look for a better and much fulfilling life. Despite going through many changes, the ideology of the dream has remained that of a land with much better, richer and fuller life for every citizen. The dream grants everyone equal opportunity according to their abilities so that they can achieve a better and a much fulfilling life. The dream was even enshrined in the United States’ Declaration of Independence which held definite truths to be self-evident. The statement holds that “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." In his book, The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams notes that the dream is quite challenging to comprehend especially amongst the European upper classes and some who people have become too weary and mistrustful of it. James notes that; “the dream is of social order that features every man and woman being in environment that allows them to attain to the fullest stature of which they are intrinsically capable of.” (Adams, 404). The author also notes that the dream depicts an environment where people are fully recognized of their capabilities and what they are without considering the fortuitous incidence of birth or position. In order for a person to realize the American dream, they have to generally hard work and remained determined in their pursuit of the dream. The pursuit of the American dream can be traced back to factors that prompted the first immigrants to come to the United States. The immigrants were in the pursuit of the American dream when they came to the United States to look for liberty, better life and happiness. The same applies to the homesteaders who left their big cities of the east in search of happiness in the wilderness. The pursuit of the dream is even exemplified with the World War II veterans who sought to settle down, have families, build their homes and live a peaceful life. All these scenarios show the nature of the American dream; to obtain a better and much fulfilling life. However; as the time goes the America dream is evolving and taking diverse forms with people mainly pursuing material gains. Many Americans nowadays work more hours in order to get bigger cars, affluent homes and prosperous families that they do not get to enjoy their affluence. The dream is also considered to have gone beyond the reach of the working poor who strive for survival. However; many people still have the dream to live a simple and fulfilling life without pursuing much financial gains.

Second, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, depicts the American dream in different perspectives. In the novel, the author’s family is reported to have lived in affluent neighborhood in the Middle Western city for three generations. This shows the dream to stay wealthy just as provided in the American dream. In order for this affluent life to have been achieved, the family had to work hard and remained determined to achieve a greater life just as required in the American dream. “Their affluence originated from wholesale hardware business that was started by his grandfather’s brother and continued by his father.”(Fitzgerald) This is an indication that the dream was not achieved easily; it was difficult and the family strived for it. The novel shows how living the American dream effortlessly can lead one to adopt a materialistic mindset. It has also been used to show how people underappreciated and take advantage of the American dream. The author and his family lived in a rich New York neighborhood where people had translated the dream to partying and living extravagant life. The settings of the novel illustrate different the commonness of the American dream despite from different levels of life. This is shown by underdeveloped taste of West Egg and the affluent East Egg who are both striving to achieve the same American dream. Even though these two have little, they have strived and they all aspire to fulfill a higher wealth status by becoming getting familiar with the social order, which is a vital factor that would propel them to achieve the American dream. The novel continues to explore how the American dream of pursuing for a much fuller life had turned into reckless living because of the old money that had been inherited from generations. Some of the people in the East were living posh life without any struggle. These people depended on the inherited money. Having so much money made some people to lead an extravagant and aimless life as seen with Nick’s cousin and her husband. The two spent a year in France for no reason and came back to effortlessly enjoy their inherited riches in the East. Because they did not work for the inherited money they adopted an extravagant lifestyle. This goes against the American dream for it does not promote careless or extravagant living. The novel depicts fulfilling the American dream as living comfortably without striving. This is not the actual American dream as provided in the Declaration of Independence Statement.

Third, the collapse of the American dream is visible throughout the storyline in the characters of Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby. Each of these characters exhibited a lifestyle or mentality that went against the American dream. These three characters sought to find the American dream inform of wealth and status. However; in the long run, it becomes impossible for them to enjoy their prosperity in happiness. Right from the start, when Gatsby character comes on stage, he is depicted to be a man of extravagance yet not well known amongst his associates. People doubted his source of wealth for his level of richness was wonderful. Gatsby had all the opulence that he could ever dream of. He partied well and interacted with the top notch in the society. His wealth gave him much power but he could not achieve the level of happiness he wanted. He pursued the material wealth with the thought that they will bring him everything. In the long run he died a lonely and unhappy person. This is not how the American dream depicts a life to end. Gatsby pursued material wealth right form his teenage but in the long run he did not get happiness. He struggled with personal insecurity and dissatisfactions till he died unhappy soul. The character of Daisy Buchanan also shows a dream pursuit that depicts the collapse of the American dream. Daisy loved Gatsby but because she was pursuing material wealth, he could not marry him for he was poor by then. In her pursuit of materials wealth she married Tom Buchanan because of his opulence but the marriage lacked love and happiness. Daisy likes wealth and thus only chooses suitors who live extravagant lives but in the long run she can’t find peace and happiness even with the Toms riches. The character of Myrtle Wilson also shows how the American dream has been affected by the pursuit of material wealth. Myrtle despised her husband Wilson because he was not rich. To her those who do not have opulence are below her class and she considers them losers. She values money and her constant pursuit of wealth left her an unhappy soul.

In conclusion, the American dream has always been held in prestige for centuries for its promising and enriching nature but as the time goes, it is visible that it is evolving and changing in perspectives. As seen in the Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, people are now pursuing material wealth instead of a much fulfilling life as the dream initially directed. Through the characters such as Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby, the novel has pointed out how bending away from the dream may result into unfulfilling life. Based on the provided insights in the novel, the American society should realign itself to the original American dream and refrain from pursuing material wealth that in the end does provide a much fulfilling life.

Works Cited

Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1931.

Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.