The American Dream

The original American Dream is that if you work hard, you could succeed in life. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald has effectively illustrated the original American Dream as being just that, a dream, which is unattainable even to the most dedicated of people. In the novel, Fitzgerald has shown how this pure dream clashes with human materialism and greed and how it is inevitably corrupted by these foul traits. Fitzgerald compares and contrasts the traits of each character, using a wide variety of symbols, allusion and motifs. The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic dispute on America in the 1920's, in particular the disintegration of the American dream is an era of lacking prosperity and material possession.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald bombards the reader with allusions and symbols of this dream, foremost among them being the character of Gatsby himself. To reach his ideal dream of spending his life with Daisy, Jay Gatsby attains his millions in a corrupt way which help him to replace emotions, and tries to cover it up with lies throughout the novel. In order to become rich, Gatsby engaged in illegal occupations such as bootlegging and being involved in the Mafia. “He and this Wolfsheim bought and sold grain alcohol over the counter.” (Fitzgerald 134). This is the opposite idea of the American Dream, which states that only the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. Gatsby also lies his way through life to conceal his wrongdoing. Gatsby claims that he belongs to a rich family whom provides his way to Oxford and from whom he inherits his riches. “’I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now.’” (Fitzgerald 65). Only later on in the novel, does Nick uncover the truth that “his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people...” (Fitzgerald 99). Gatsby also relies on money to bring him the comfort of family. Gatsby’s musicians sing, “The rich get richer and the poor get-children.” (Fitzgerald 96). He attempts to reclaim the loss of family that he experiences through his wealth. Nick describes a story about how Gatsby, “agreed to pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family...” (Fitzgerald 89). Gatsby takes advantage of wealth to solve his