John Mitchell

Parayno
P3
2015/03/28
The American dream described in the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald is surreal,
ambiguous, and encompasses the hopes and dreams of each character. However
the American dream is flawed in its ideals. The elusive nature of the dream has
caused not only Gatsby but others to step into darkness in pursuit of this ideal
world. Blindly chasing the dream has led to the corruption of the conscience and
decay of morality seen in the roaring 20s. Fitzgerald conveys this using Daisy to
represent the American dream and Gatsbys pursuit of Daisy and his tragic downfall.
The American dream is the culmination of the American experience and the
ideals of American society. It represents the dreams of equality, fairness, unity, and
ultimately, financial, and material success (Hearne). But these dreams are
inherently flawed because of the corrupted conscience of society during that time.
We dream of equality but we are divided by wealth, class, race, and gender. The
society during Gatsbys time was oppressing people of different skin color due to
the belief in racial superiority. Our belief of equality and fairness is disrupted by
our ambitions and are willing to oppress others to achieve our individual goals
(Hearne). We see this with Toms manipulation of Wilson to keep Daisy forever out
Gatsbys grasp. The pursuit of wealth and materialism in order to win Daisys heart
has led Gatsby to use illicit means. Gatsbys work as a bootlegger has tainted his
pure dreams of winning Daisy.
Daisy represents the lure and seductive qualities of the American dream.
Daisy is described as
gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor

(Fitzgerald 157). She is everything that Gatsby desires and places all his happiness
in getting her. She is considered the grail that Gatsby desires but she is not perfect
by any means and is the primary cause of Gatsbys corruption and eventual death.
Like the American dream many men want to have her. Tom was able to win her
hand in marriage but wanted more. He wanted to keep his relationship with Daisy
but at the same time maintaining relations with other women like Myrtle. Tom has
no problem with cheating on Myrtle but has a problem with Gatsby trying to take
Daisy away from him.
Gatsby is symbolized as the pursuit of the American dream. Gatsbys dream
is presented as a romantic baptism of desire for a reality that stubbornly remains
out of his sight (Bewley). We see his obsession in obtaining Daisy and his
willingness to achieve his goal despite damaging his moral integrity and tainting his
dream in doing so. Gatsby has this image of a platonic conception of himself. He
was a son of God (104). He wanted to escape the poor lifestyle of his parents and
live this grandeur, wealthy lifestyle, and be well renowned. He later adds Daisy as
the center piece of his dreams. To obtain Daisy he falsified his past and claimed he
was from an aristocratic family and that he would be able to take care of Daisys
materialistic desires. The reality is, he is a nobody from the Midwest, penniless, and
is liable to be sent off to some other part of the world to serve his country. To
support the reality that he fabricated he indulges in bootlegging to acquire a vast
amount of wealth. He builds a mansion and has a decorous pattern of speech
(Bewley). His pattern of speech is sort of an attempted imitation of the wealthy.
Gatsby wears a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie (89). These
colors represent purity, wealth, and prestige. But when Daisy discovers this fact
she started doubting Gatsbys ability to make her happy and chooses Tom in the

end. His continued pursuit despite having knowledge that she is married to Tom led
to his death. Tom arranged for Gatsbys death by misinforming Wilson about the
circumstances of Myrtles death.
The distorted fantasy that he tried to live blinded him from the reality of the
situation. This fantasy eventually collapsed on him because the Daisy that he
dreamed of was never within his reach. The foundations he built his wealth was
something that could be so easily toppled. His fulfillment of the American dream to
win Daisy has corrupted and left him with nothing. The corruption by the American
dream was similar to Gatsbys and was a common occurrence throughout the
1920s. Many in pursuit of materialistic wealth found themselves borrowing loans,
engaging in illegal activities, and marrying for money. This corruption came in to full
view with the coming of the Great Depression. The Great Depression showed that all
the wealth was artificial and those who pursued it left empty handed.

Works Cited
Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzegerald's Criticism of America." N.p., 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 23 Mar.
2015.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996.
Print.
Hearne, Kimberly. "Fitzgerald's Rendering of a Dream." Sks.sirs.com. Explicator, July-Sept.
2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.