Essay Sample on The American Dream in The Great Gatsby and A Framework for Understanding Poverty

The American Dream is perceived differently by people from different backgrounds, but the overall idea is constant. It is the idea that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success in whatever it is that they pursue. This idea, however, is contradicted in the works of F.Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby and Ruby K. Payne in A Framework for Understanding Poverty. From Gatsby’s struggle to find love to those in poverty struggling to fit into society, both authors exemplify the unrealistic optimism there is when it comes to achieving the American Dream. Even though Gatsby climbed the social ladder, the division between race and the contrasting environments of the rich and poor show that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable.

In The Great Gatsby, author F.Scott Fitzgerald makes it clear that the American Dream is not attainable by making a point about how African Americans are still subordinate to whites. Taking place during the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans were met with a lot of black lashes as the white community continued to believe that they were the superior race. This was present in the mind of Tom Buchanan who believed that it was up to the whites, who were “the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control” of society (Fitzgerald 14). Despite the cultural and intellectual revival of African Americans during the 1920s, people like Tom Buchanan who believed that the white race should continue to dominate stopped many African Americans from reaching success. Tom Buchanan represents those who opposed the principles of equality between all races and the growing culture of African Americans added a sense of fear to people like him. In addition to having complete dominance, Tom Buchanan states that the white race “will be utterly submerged” if they do not look out (Fitzgerald 13). In his own words, Tom Buchanan considers the black community to be dangerous to the white community, further showcasing his racist persona. The belittlement of the African American race by characters such as Tom Buchanan goes to show how the American Dream is not attainable, but that is not the only reason. 

Another reason the American Dream is not attainable is that the different environments between social classes show that those who are not born financially stable do not have the same advantages as those who are born into wealth. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald makes it clear that those who are a part of the lower class do not have the same resources that others have to be successful. Right at the beginning of the novel, Nick Carraway is reminded “that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that [Nick]” has had by his father (Fitzgerald 1). In this quote, the differences between the rich and poor classes are explained in terms of opportunity. Those who grow up in poverty do not know about the hidden rules of the wealthy class that is learned “by being in that environment”, making it harder for them to climb the social ladder (Payne 8). Fitzgerald further explores this idea by describing the conditions of the poverty-stricken Valley of Ashes. The home of George and Myrtle Wilson is described as “where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”, but more importantly, where opportunity is met with disappointment (Fitzgerald 19). The Valley itself symbolizes the gap between the rich and the poor and the hopelessness there is for the people who live there. People like George Wilson, who work a countless number of hours to live a better life, can never truly realize their dream due to their limited resources. This further showcases that the American Dream is only a dream and nothing more than that. 

While Gatsby climbs to the top of the social ladder, his materialistic wealth does not help him achieve what he wants in the end. Gatsby’s dream all along was to be able to win Daisy from Tom. He wanted Daisy to tell Tom that she “never loved him” expressing his greed for wanting more (Fitzgerald 132). Despite getting what he wanted for so long, he is still surging for more, symbolizing the failure that comes with trying to pursue the American Dream. He never realizes that his dream was “already behind him…in that vast obscurity beyond the city” with Daisy (Fitzgerald 110). In the words of Ruby Payne in A Framework for Understanding Poverty, “there is not enough time to have both” a relationship and wealth, and Gatsby fails to recognize it (Payne 2). By this, Fitzgerald and Payne demonstrate that there is never an end to pursuing the American Dream, and those who try to achieve it, lead to self-destruction as it did with Gatsby. This further illustrates the idea that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable.  

In conclusion, the American Dream is unattainable due to the division of race and the contrasting environments between the rich and poor classes. From Tom Buchanan making a clear point that the white race is superior to George Wilson never realizing his American Dream, Fitzgerald makes it clear throughout the novel that the American Dream is unattainable. While the roaring twenties were met with economic prosperity in Western society, Fitzgerald demonstrates that continuously reaching for more will lead to destruction, as it did with Gatsby and as it did with society in 1920, concluding that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable.