Old Money In The Great Gatsby Essay Example

The American Dream is something that we often see questioned in literature, whether it’s about what it truly means, why people consider it important, etcetera.  In Francis Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he brings up another point of view often portrayed through Gatsby.  Jay Gatsby seems to have an obsession with the past and old money, but with this came a lack of character development and even his death.  Throughout the novel, Gatsby’s obsession with nostalgia and old money contributes to Fitzgerald’s comment on the futility of pursuing the American Dream.

When thinking back on Gatsby’s actions, it becomes apparent that his dream was a major facet of what he did.  His delusions of the past seemed to affect his everyday life, especially when it came to his ex-lover, Daisy.  In chapter 4, we begin to see this side of him other than his usual mysterious self when he asks Nick of the favor to have tea at his home with Daisy, “The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths so that he could ‘come over’ some afternoon to a stranger's garden” (Fitzgerald).  Though very subtle, it seemed as though he was more than just in love with Daisy.  He was consumed by her being, causing him to show vampiric qualities that were mentioned in Foster’s book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor.  His “American Dream” was so deeply rooted that he began to use people and unorthodox methods to achieve his goal.  This came not only with using others, but himself when it came to saving Daisy’s reputation, as she was what he dreamed of being, old money and in love.  Closer to the end of the book, when Mr. Wilson finds out about Myrtle’s death and how it was Gatsby’s car, he blamed Gatsby instead of Daisy even going as far as killing him, “It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald).  Expanding more on how futile it is to chase after such unattainable dreams, Gatsby legitimately died because of his.  By keeping the fact Daisy was the true reason Myrtle was dead a secret in order to keep the image he wanted of her, Gatsby made himself the only viable suspect.  He not only was a vampire to other people, but himself.  

Of course, it wasn’t just his past with Daisy he was obsessed with.  There was also the fact he was fixated on the idea of old money, which he very clearly tried to replicate with new money.  In chapter 6, it explains how he began his journey to become so wealthy, and how he practically created a persona while leaving his family past behind him, which is quite ironic “...his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald).  In his mind, nothing was impossible with enough money (this is brought up by Nick), and he believed this so much he was ashamed of his past and his parents who didn’t have money, leaving them to attain his goal.  (working on other half)

Gatsby truly had a grand goal, which is probably what Nick Caraway’s title the “Great Gatsby'' sprang from, but having such a grandiose dream was impossible to achieve.  Francis Fitzgerald’s commentary about the American Dream shows through Gatsby’s development, even though it’s not a very positive outlook.  The idea of the American Dream was prominent in the 1920s, and as stated earlier, was often discussed in American literature.  While the American Dream is often portrayed in literature, such as in Of Mice and Men, where anyone can achieve their dreams, Fitzgerald flips that on its head and provides commentary about how pointless the idea of the American Dream really is.  So, with such opposing outlooks in mind, what does the American Dream truly mean to whom?  I guess that’s for us to interpret.