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The Great American Dream.

The Great Gatsby tells the tale of Gatsby’s wife and a zealous snuffer. On the other hand, the novel’s core theme is much broader and less romantic. The Great Gatsby was a symbolic representation of the whole of America during the 1920s, held for a brief time in the summer of 1922 in a small geographical area near Long Island (New York) and focussed on the breakup of American Dreams into an age of unequal prosperity and material richness. According to Fitzgerald, in the 1920s social and moral standards deteriorated, as evidenced by cynisticism and covetousness.

Because of the war’s heinous cruelty, America’s Victorian social moral at the turn of the twentieth century seemed stupid and phony. At the end of 1918, the generation of young Americans who took part in it was deeply disappointed. Following the battle, the stock market crashed, resulting in a significant and irreversible rise in national wealth and modern materiality, as people continued to spend and consume in previously unimaginable quantities. People from all walks of life have the potential to become extremely rich (Pidgeon). Despite this, the American elite ignored the newly wealthy industrialists and speculators, most of whom came from old money families. Furthermore, the repeal of the 18th amendment in 1919, which made the sale of alcoholic beverages illegal, resulted in a thriving underworld that catered to both rich and poor people’s overwhelming demand for alcohol. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts social phenomena.

There are many social escalators and wealthy speculators at Gatsby parties, indicating that money is being ruthlessly pursued. The novel’s symbolic geography depicts a rivalry between “old fortunes” and “new capitals,” with East Egg representing the current elite and West Egg representing the self-made fortune. Meyer Wolfshiem’s and Jay Gatsby’s fortunes are symbolic of the growth and proliferation of organized crime. According to Fitzgerald, the American dream starts with exploration, individuality, and the pursuit of happiness (as stated by Nick in chapter 9). (As Nick describes in Chapter 9.) On the other hand, the book portrays an American dream of easy money and high social aspirations in the 1920s, especially on the east coast.

The Great Gatsby is only enjoyable when the characters put it into it, as Dr. T. J. Eckleburg sees it. According to Nick, the desire to construct concrete symbols is part of the American dream, as Americans once imitated their new country’s ideals and beliefs. Nick compares Daisy’s green light with America’s green bulk at the end of her sea jetty. Daisy possesses an idealized beauty that she does not deserve, just as Americans have given their lives meaning based on their personal life visions. Gatsby’s ineptitude is shattered by his object’s inadequacy, just as his object’s inadequacy in wealth and pleasure ruined American dream humiliation in 1920 (Roberts). This transformation is described as a metaphor for the greed of the American dream in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby represents both warped and original dreams; it is no longer a living world gateway. He sees money as the answer to his problems, pursues it in the dark, and reinvents himself until he’s hollow and detached from his past.

On the other hand, Gatsby is inspired by Daisy’s unending affection, which pushes him to make his disappointing dream come true. Gatsby’s failure represents not the folly of the American Dream but the folly of short-circuiting it by allowing covetousness and materialism to triumph over hard work, patriotism, and true love. In addition to his desire for wealth, Gatsby’s desire for love appears to condemn almost every other person as hollow.

Work cited

Roberts, Marilyn. “Scarface, the great Gatsby, and the American dream.” Literature/Film Quarterly 34.1 (2006): 71.

Pidgeon, John A. “The Great Gatsby.” Modern Age 49.2 (2007): 178.