The American Dream in the Great Gatsby

After a long time, my first post will be in the field of literature.
It is time to talk about the Great Gatsby!
It was written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. I will tell you about the characters briefly.

The narrator of the novel Nick. Gatsby is one of the protagonists. He believes the American Dream's tricks. Gatsby makes money with illegal activities to gain Daisy. He loves Daisy who is very selfish and she cares about money and social status. Her husband, Tom, is very rich and disloyal. His mistress is Myrtle and her husband is Wilson.

I offer you a video that briefly summarizes the novel, but I definitely recommend to read the novel.

(click the picture)
It's time to tell the American dream of the novel.

The American dream promises equality to every human being and promises to create a good life by making money regardless of which social class you belong to. The Great Gatsby is an example of the corruption and decline of the American Dream. The story’s American Dream is based on materialistic and money. The characters misinterpret the significance of the material world and it causes the corruption and amoral desire for money and pleasure; they want more so they can not stop because of their greed. They start so break laws, cheating, and killing.

-Gatsby creates an idealistic and illusory goal to achieve wealth and status. He represents endless hope. His American Dream is to win Daisy by making money and re-create past. Gatsby's betrayal of moral values begins with his involvement in illegal activities, betraying his honesty to reach the woman of his dreams. Gatsby sticks to hope and determination to reach his dreams. Gatsby believes that everything is possible with money and he can win Daisy's love because he defines her voice as full of money. Gatsby shows his luxurious home, his expensive clothes to Daisy, he gives big parties, he says '' I have graduated from Oxford.'' All of these aims is to show his richness for deceiving Daisy. Gatsby does not understand that his efforts are empty even if he does everything to win Daisy. Past can't be re-created.

- Myrtle 's American Dreams are to live a forbidden love for Tom and access a more luxurious life. She wants to get rid of the Valley of Ashes where the poor live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality like George Wilson. The corruption of her moral values begins with deceiving her husband for a better life. She doesn't understand that she doesn't mean anything for Tom, she is Tom's toy.


-Nick's dream is to find someone who is an honorable and principled person and who can understand the idealistic American Dream. It is Jay Gatsby. He is fascinated by Gatsby's determination and hope. He describes everyone except Gatsby as a group of heartless, useless people. Gatsby's death means that Nick's dream is a failure. In the end, he turns back to Minnesota, where American values are still alive.

In short, every person must have a dream and a purpose for life. Without our dreams, there is no sense in our life. But for these dreams, one should not forget the human values. For example, Gatsby and Myrtle abandon their traditional social values for money and social status. The biggest symbol of the greed of characters is the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg. It gives a clue about the huge capitalist influence in characters' life. It watches every moral failure and Wilson likens it to God.
And in this story, social status is over love. Daisy married Tom who represents money and social status instead of Gatsby who represents true love. I think Gatsby actually loves Daisy's money and social status. She is the first girl who is a ''nice girl'' for him.
Gatsby and Myrtle come from lower-class, they cannot be like Tom, Daisy and Jordan Baker. They cannot have the same taste. They are lacking in social graces. They have to work.

SO EVERYTHING THAT THE AMERICAN DREAM PROMISES IS A HUGE LIE.