Gatsby - 1

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby gives insight into America’s societal flaws during the 1920s. Fitzgerald conveys the idea that the American Dream was more about materialism and superficiality than the ability to rise to a higher social class and make something of one’s self through hard work. In the novel, the American Dream seems corrupted by the unprincipled society of the decade, as represented by the novel’s characters. The American Dream ultimately proves to be disappointing and nonexistent in this story.
In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s American Dream becomes tainted by the wealth and luxury that constantly surrounds him. Gatsby is a self-made man who is able to attain a certain amount of wealth, but he is so concerned about his material possessions that he is unable to recognize that money cannot buy him love or happiness. Gatsby purchases expensive things and throws extravagant parties for large groups of extremely wealthy people, yet Gatsby has no real friends. He is unable to fake the social behaviors that come with having “old money.” Despite his extreme wealth, those with “old money” look down upon him because no amount of hard work can change where Gatsby came from.
Gatsby’s inspiration for becoming financially successful came from Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful woman who came from a lot of money. Daisy symbolized wealth and represented everything that Gatsby worked for. Daisy’s voice was described as being “full of money” (Fitzgerald page 127) and Gatsby felt a need to impress her with his wealth in order to win her over. He ends up destroying himself, and realizes that his money cannot buy him love or satisfaction. He is unable to realize that Daisy is self-centered and represents the corruption that wealth can bring. She allows Gatsby to take the blame for her accidently killing Myrtle Wilson, and she leads Gatsby to believe that she loves him, when in reality she just likes the attention. As soon as she finds out about Gatsby’s past, she...