Great Gatsby And Illusion Dreams Essay Research

Great Gatsby And Illusion Dreams Essay, Research Paper

The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream,

and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its illusionary goals. The

attempt to capture the American Dream is central to many novels. This dream is

different for different people, but in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is

that through wealth and power, one can acquire happiness. To get this happiness

Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream and in order to do this he

must have wealth and power. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the the story, is

one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly he devotes most of his adult

life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Jay

had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her

because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth

to reach her economic standards. Once he acquires this wealth, he moves near to

Daisy, "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay

(83)," and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up

at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a

distance. When this dream doesn’t happen, he asks around casually if anyone

knows her. Soon he meets Nick Carraway, a cousin of Daisy, who agrees to set up

a meeting, "He wants to know…if you’ll invite Daisy to your house some

afternoon and then let him come over (83)." Gatsby’s personal dream

symbolizes the larger American Dream where all have the opportunity to get what

they want. Later, as we see in the Plaza Hotel, Jay still believes that Daisy

loves him. He is convinced of this as is shown when he takes the blame for

Myrtle’s death. "Was Daisy driving?" "Yes…but of course I’ll

say I was." (151) He also watches and protects Daisy as she returns home.

"How long are you going to wait?" "All night if necessary."

(152) Jay cannot accept that the past is gone and done with. Jay is sure that he

can capture his dream with wealth and influence. He believes that he acted for a

good beyond his personal interest and that should guarantee success. Nick

attempts to show Jay the folly of his dream, but Jay innocently replies to

Nick’s assertion that the past cannot be relived by saying, "Yes you can,

old sport." This shows the confidence that Jay has in fulfilling his

American Dream. For Jay, his American Dream is not material possessions,

although it may seem that way. He only comes into riches so that he can fulfill

his true American Dream, Daisy. Gatsby doesn’t rest until his American Dream is

finally fulfilled. However, it never comes about and he ends up paying the

ultimate price for it. The idea of the American Dream still holds true in

today’s time, be it wealth, love, or fame. But one thing never changes about the

American Dream everyone desires something in life and everyone somehow strives

to get it. Gatsby is a prime example of pursuing the American Dream. 2 The

acquisition of material has often been equated with happiness in this country.

This is true today, and it was true during the 1920’s, the setting of F. Scott

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fiztgerald shows how Jay Gatsby is a man that

believes if he has money, he can attain love and happiness. Jay Gatsby believes

that money can recreate the past, can buy him happiness, and can help him

achieve prestige in the town of East Egg. The belief by the majority of

Americans that wealth and happiness are the same is a result of an economy that

encourages consumption and social conditions that lead us to think that we need

material possessions to be happy. Money can have many effects on people and

society but money cannot buy happiness. The 1920’s were an age of a consumer

boom that was needed to keep up with the new materials and goods that came from

production lines after World War I. The same beliefs and standards still exist

today. Materialistic attitudes are a result of the free-market economy in this

country. Consumers are led to believe they need to have all the things that

businesses are trying to sell and it is this desire for material possessions

that drives our economy. While this type of economy has given us great

opportunities to further our own personal wealth, it has also put many people on

the path to making ours a selfish and unhappy society that is never content with

it already has. The market society of our country feeds on economic growth, but

excess consumption does not really satisfy people in the end. It only leaves you

wanting more and once you are caught up in the obsession of materialism it seems

like you can never have enough. The 1920’s were also an era of blatant

materialism and consumption and the pursuit for private wealth took pri

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