American Dream In “The Great Gatsby“

2 Pages 547 Words

Jay Gatsby, the main character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby symbolizes the American dream. In the 1920’s, the American Dream was something that everyone struggled to have. A spouse, children, money, a big house and a car meant that someone had succeeded in life. A very important belief was that money could buy you anything. One look at Gatsby’s past and it could be seen that he was destined to get ahead in life. Gatsby’s determination to gain a large amount of wealth is a huge part of the American dream. He believes that once he achieved his financial goal it would lead to a better life. Jay Gatsby thinks money is the answer to anything he encounters. He has the best of everything. The nicest car, the largest house, and the finest clothes. Jay has everything except what he most desires, Daisy.
Appearance is another important factor in the American dream. In his quest to win Daisy’s heart Gatsby chooses to wear his best outfit. Gatsby is so proud of his clothes that when Daisy visits his mansion, “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel… While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher-shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange, with monograms of indian blue.” Gatsby’s shirts are more then just garments to him. They are some of the many objects he possesses that were created by money. These shirts contribute towards Gatsby’s vision of the American dream, that his money and belongings will create happiness for him.
Another major object of American dream was to own a large house. Gatsby says to Nick and Daisy, “My house looks well, doesn’t it? See how the whole front of it catches the light”. He gave Nick and Daisy the grand tour of his house, showing off all of his “worldly” possessions. Room after room, everything was shown ...