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Austin Squire
Mrs. Stanford
AP Language & Composition
7 December 2015
The Presence of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
The American Dream is an abstract idea that allows people to pursue their desires,
wishes, and dreams in America. It is still present today, but not as much as it was in the past.
Even though the American Dream isnt as present as it was in the 20s, it is still present in every
American today. In The Great Gatsby, the presence of the American Dream is everywhere, it is
shown in many of his characters in the novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald expresses his view on the
American Dream to the reader of The Great Gatsby through his characters Jay Gatsby and
George Wilson; because of Jay Gatsbys desires to be with Daisy, being his own self improving
man, striving to come out of poverty, and George Wilson striving to get out of poverty with his
automotive business, and striving to have the life he wants.
Fitzgeralds views on the American Dream is that many people pursue the American
Dream, and expect to have everything under the sun pursuing the American Dream, this is shown
in his character, Jay Gatsby, which ends up not working out for him, because he ends up dead.
Another view of his of the American Dream is many people who pursue the American Dream
arent able to sacrifice what they have, in order to pursue what they want, like Gatsby; in chapter
6 Nick says this, He was a son of Goda phrase which, if it means anything, means just that
and he must be about His Fathers Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty.
So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to
invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end., (Fitzgerald 105) to support that he

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became this wealthy and powerful individual that he wanted to be. He just couldnt sacrifice his
most valuable possession; Daisy, to support this Nick says, He talked about the past and I
gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of him perhaps, that gone into loving
Daisy (Fitzgerald 117). This ambition was what ended up getting Gatsby killed. Also in The
Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream as a form of corruption, there are many
situations in the book that shows corruption going on as other characters are pursuing their
wishes, dreams, and desires; for example, cheating, backstabbing, illegal activity, etc. Gatsby and
Wilson are both characters that portray all those views that Fitzgerald has on the American
Dream.
Ever since Gatsby was young he has always wanted to rise from the poverty he grew up
in, and be wealthy and live the happy life he wanted. Gatsby has been a self-improving man for
the longest time, he even had a list of things he would do daily to improve himself when he was
younger, for example; Rise from bed . 6.00 A.M. Dumbbell exercise and wallscaling 6.15-6.30 A.M. Study electricity, etc 7.15-8.15 A.M. Work
8.30-4.30 P.M. Baseball and sports . 4.30-5.00 P.M.
Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5.00-6.00 P.M. Study needed inventions . .
7.00-9.00 P.M. (Fitzgerald 185). Gatsby got everything he wanted as he got older and out of the
war, he had money, a beautiful house right across the water where Daisy lives. He had
everything, but wasnt willing to make sacrifices to get it, that is why his success was short lived.
He kept wanting to turn back time and be back with Daisy with everything he has now, to
support this Nick says, He talked about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover
something, some idea of him perhaps, that gone into loving Daisy (Fitzgerald 117), but you
cant do that. This shows Fitzgeralds views about the American Dream; that many who pursue

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the American Dream arent willing to sacrifice what they got now to pursue their desires, and
want everything in the world.
Gatsby also rose to wealth through corruption like many people did in his era, they called
people like him New Money, he was a bootlegger, he sold liquor and stocks.The reader learns
of this through an altercation between Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom, when Tom says, I found out
what your drug stores were. He turned to us and spoke rapidly. He and this Wolfshiem bought
up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.
Thats one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasnt
far wrong. (Fitzgerald 143). The readers of The Great Gatsby are led to believe he even had a
role in the Black Sox Scandal because he hung around Meyer Wolfshiem, but it was never
proven, because of what Tom said. Gatsby shows this by going after Daisy knowing that she is
with Tom Buchanan, he even says to Tom rather aggressively when they met at Gatsbys house,
I know your wife (Fitzgerald 109). Not only did he do that but he also was in a scandal with
Daisy, who was married to Tom, and Gatsby knew this. As a matter of fact, he was even
aggressive with Tom, almost to the point that he was rubbing Toms nose in the fact that he was
seeing Daisy, he even says to Tom rather aggressively, when they met at Gatsbys house, I
know your wife (Fitzgerald 109). Which this shows how Fitzgerald saw that many of people in
his time pursued the American Dream through corruption in many ways that didnt just involve
money. Which all this led to him being murdered by another man who was just trying to pursue
his American Dream like Gatsby, but had it taken away, that man is none other than George
Wilson.
George Wilson like Jay Gatsby was trying to rise out of poverty; the story of George
Wilson is a very sad one, who was so far into poverty that he couldnt even afford to buy his

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wedding suit for his wedding.He bought a car dealership, hoping to raise enough money for him
and his wife to move out West, and to be retired and happy, because he said in chapter 7 that,
Ive been here too long. I want to get away. My wife and I want to go west., he later explains
to Tom that his wife has been talking about it for ten years., (Fitzgerald 131) That was his
American Dream, although the dealership didnt bring in the money he was expecting, because
he didnt sell much. His American Dream didnt end up working out for him and like Gatsby,
corruption plagued his American Dream. He never did any corrupt things himself, but his wife
cheated on him, which led her to slip away from him, and die. After her death his American
Dream was no more, it turned him corrupt and belligerent, and he ended up killing somebody
who may not of even killed her or had been her other lover.
Many people believe that Fitzgeralds characters in The Great Gatsby has no correlation to the
American Dream. Many believe that the novel was created just to show the life in the 1920s era,
like excessive partying, bootlegging, Black Sox Scandal, etc. Many believed that the novels
characters were there just to show the 1920s era, which they are right the novel did show the life
of the 1920s. But the American Dream a part of the life of the 1920s; for example during that
time many of people who came from impoverished background became wealthy just by buying
and selling stocks, wouldnt you call that an example of the American Dream? What about the
bootleggers during the 1920s who rose above poverty during the prohibition, wouldnt that be
considered an example of the American Dream? Both ideas are present in the novel, Fitzgerald
intended to do both, because the American Dream was essential in the 1920s, express life in the
1920s and the American Dream.
George Wilson and Jay Gatsby are both key characters that expressed Fitzgeralds ideals
about the American Dream. They both showed how the American Dream was surrounded by

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corruption in the 1920s, and that many people expected too much to come out of the American
Dream, and wasnt willing to sacrifice what they had to pursue it. The American Dream has
changed a lot since the 1920s, its been close to a hundred years since the 1920s, so a lot of
ideals about the American Dream has changed over a hundred years. Many in todays society no
longer believes in the American Dream because of how much debt many Americans are today.
Sure many people may not believe in the American Dream, but it is still present, and will always
be present. The American Dream is present in every new American, the very second that every
baby is born, their American Dream begins that very moment they open their eyes to America.

Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.