The American Dream: Idea vs. Reality (The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Book Analysis)

The American Dream for many is the classic rag to riches story of someone pulling themselves up by their bootstraps into a bed of money. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a clear distinction formed between the two regions of East Egg and West Egg, one of established wealth, and the other of new wealth. Two houses specifically show a close tie, but a world of differences. Gatsby’s mansion and the Buchanans’ mansion show these traits of new and established wealth, but they also show contrasting viewpoints of the American Dream. The different sides of the American Dream, ideal and hollow wealth, are conveyed by Fitzgerald through the contrasting qualities between Gatsby's mansion and the Buchanans' mansion and the relationship that creates. 

The Buchanan manor in The Great Gatsby depicts the ideal form of the American Dream, careless, comfy wealth, while the Gatsby manor reflects the idea of hollow money. The first time the reader is introduced to the Buchanan house, it is described as “a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay”(6). A Georgian Colonial mansion can be described as elaborate and modest. This more simple style is reflective of Mr. Buchanan’s “honest” wealth. Rather than being something exuberant, the Buchanan mansion shows the comfy living and quality of the wealthy class. In contrast, Gatsby’s mansion, like West Egg as a whole, depicts the style of the newly wealthy. After arriving in West Egg, Nick describes the mansion as “a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy”(5). The Hôtel de Ville is a large, seemingly castle-like building in France. Gatsby’s manor being an imitation of this building shows the gaudy and exuberant nature of Gatsby’s wealth. Gatsby is trying to find a place among the wealthy class by being as flashy and over the top as possible. Gatsby’s house, despite being a massive castle, is seemingly empty whenever some party isn’t going on. Nick even notices that Gatsby’s mansion was “still empty when [he] left”(179). Gatsby’s manor holds no substance beyond extravagance and gaudiness. This is reflective of West Egg's wealth, which while it is outwardly appealing, holds no value beneath the surface. The American Dream for those who came from rags to riches often find themselves in a similar position to Gatsby, showing off their new exuberant wealth to find a place in society, while having no fashion or respect from the upper class at all. Gatsby’s manor represents the corrupt reality many people face when gaining drastic wealth, all show, no substance. 

The Buchanan mansion and the Gatsby mansion differ in many ways; however, they are tightly knitted together to convey opposing views of the American Dream. This overall difference is completely due to the relationship between East Egg and West Egg. When Nick first arrives in West Egg, he sees it as “the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them”(5). This quote expresses the idea that the new wealth shown by West Egg is less fashionable. This idea is directly shown in Gatsby’s manor, which is a gaudy, over the top, castle. The trait of lesser fashion for West Egg, and therefore Gatsby, contributes to the sinister contrast described by Nick. The careless, wealthy life of East Egg’s idealized wealth overshadows the newfound money of West Egg. The contrast between the Buchanans’ mansion and Gatsby’s mansion fuels the message Fitzgerald is trying to convey about the American dream. The Buchanan mansion represents the ideal image of the American dream, while Gatsby’s mansion resembles the hollow wealth found in those who achieve the dream. These contrasting images come into conflict when Gatsby shows Daisy his house. Daisy remarks, “I don’t see how you live there all alone,”(90) and Gatsby responds by saying, “I keep it always full of interesting people, night and day”(90). Through this quote, Fitzgerald is making a direct comparison between the homelives of Daisy and Gatsby. Daisy, who lives in the Buchanan mansion, always seems to have company around, such as Jordan Baker. The established wealth of the Buchanan manor automatically attracts people to its halls. On the other hand, Gatsby, wanting to replicate this, troubles himself with filling his house with ‘celebrated people’. The established wealth, even to the newly wealthy, is the ideal image of the American Dream. The new money is only skin deep, regardless of where it came from. 

In summary, Fitzgerald contrasts the Buchanan and Gatsby mansions to create opposing sides of the American Dream. The rags to riches story popularized by people like Carnegie created an ideal in the minds of the public. Through hard work and determination, anyone could earn success and wealth. Even for those who succeeded in making the dream into reality, money can only be so good. The ideal vision of respected wealth will always be unattainable by the American Dream, leaving only hollow wealth the dream to come true. 

Work Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925.