The American Dream is a Lie (The Great Gatsby Analysis)

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the author uses his novel to claim and show how the American Dream, in reality, is a lie. The Great Gatsby takes place during the summer of 1922, and everyone thought that this dream was feasible to achieve. It was thought that anyone could achieve any goals that they set for themselves by moving to America. But Fitzgerald used his novel to prove this idea wrong. F. Scott Fitzgerald supports their claim by symbolism, characterization, and word choice to demonstrate that the American Dream is truly a lie.

In Fitzgerald’s novel, color symbolism is heavily used throughout the novel and by doing this, the author expresses and emphasizes the important objects and characters in the story. One of the main colors used to strengthen the meaning of objects and people is green. Green is primarily shown to the readers of the novel through Daisy’s dock light, and the scenes with this specific dock light are only when Gatsby is seen reaching out towards it. For example, towards the ending of the first chapter at night, Nick Carraway, the narrator, saw Mr. Gatsby outside all alone staring at the dark water and almost went to talk to him but stopped. Gatsby then “gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,” then Nick glanced seaward, “and distinguished nothing except a single green light,” (20-21). During this part of the novel, it is shown that Gatsby is reaching towards something in the distance. Nick observed that he was looking towards the green dock light, which belongs to Daisy. Theoretically, this means that Gatsby is reaching out to her. He is trying to reach his prosperity and dreams which in the end is Daisy. But throughout the storyline of the novel, he never gets his dream in the long run. At the first moment Gatsby laid eyes on Daisy, his dream has been to be and live with her. They have loved each other, but could never get married since Daisy’s family disapproved of Gatsby being poor. Now that he has made money, he is trying to get back together with Daisy. This shows how the American dream is a lie because Daisy herself is a lie. When Gatsby and Daisy thought they had reached their dream, it had been five years since the last time they met. In those five years, Daisy had met Tom and couldn’t decide who she wanted to be with. This shows a lie because after all of Gatsby’s hard work to get his money to get his dream of Daisy, he still never got her. He never got her real love, which was his one dream and goal in life. Therefore, the American Dream is portrayed as a lie in this novel because after working to the top to reach a dream, Gatsby never achieved his own.

Moreover, in the novel, Fitzgerald uses characterization specifically well with Myrtle Wilson to demonstrate this lie by showing a perspective of the extremes the working class goes through to feel rich. To start with, Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes with George Wilson (her husband). She expected to have a better life with George and hoped to be more prosperous, but George had disappointed her. She then turned to Tom Buchanan behind George’s back and started sleeping and hanging out with him to feel richer. For example, when everyone went to Manhattan for the day, Myrtle Wilson was invited by Tom to come, and at the hotel, she “changed her costume sometime before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress...With the influence of the dress, her personality had changed. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur,” (30). Fitzgerald characterized Myrtle as a cocky, superficial character that puts on airs. As shown in the quote, when Myrtle goes to hang out with the rich people, from East and West Egg, she completely changes herself. She changes how she looks and acts when interacting with them. Relating this to the American Dream, it is shown that Myrtle has to fake it to make it. Myrtle might have considered that she has achieved the American Dream with Tom, but in reality, similar to Gatsby, she has faked her way to it. She has reached prosperity, but with consequences like going behind her husband’s back and sleeping with Tom. Thus, Myrtle has to pretend that she’s living the life when she’s not. Therefore, Fitzgerald has proven once again that the American Dream is a lie by showing through characterization that some people, like Myrtle Wilson, have to pretend and fake their way to prosperity.

Lastly, Fitzgerald uses word choice to demonstrate the lies of the American Dream by specifically showing two ways a city is shown to people. In the novel, Manhattan “is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world,” and then, “A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds, and by more cheerful carriages for friends,” (68). As seen in this quote, Manhattan is a place where people think the best could happen, where in reality the worst happens in this city. At first, a pretty optimistic version of reality is put forth. The image that anything is possible and anyone can do anything in the city of Manhattan is inscribed into everyone’s heads. Then shortly after, a hearse passes them and quickly diminishes this idea from Nick’s head. The American Dream is shown as a lie in this novel because it’s shown as an idealistic idea that isn’t reality. This quote highlights what people expect Manhattan to be versus what happens when they get there. Furthermore, this idea foreshadows what happens later in the novel. Myrtle comes to New York full of big hopes and dreams to be with Tom Buchanan, but later dies trying to chase this dream, her own American Dream. As shown in the novel now more than once, the American Dream puts forth this idea that anything can happen and attracts people to come achieve anything they want, but these people that take the bait then face reality’s true horrors. This dream is proven as a lie. Thus, Fitzgerald uses word choice as a strategic move in his novel to show the American Dream is a lie by showing how people view the dream and the consequences of trying to achieve it.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his novel to express many different ways to show that the American Dream is a lie. By using the color green as symbolism, he proves the dream is a lie since Gatsby had to go through illegal means to get to the top to get Daisy. By using Myrtle Wilson, the author proves once again the dream is a lie since Myrtle achieved her dream but had to fake herself to get there. And lastly, by using word choice, the writer proved once for all that the dream is a lie by describing the different effects it has on people. Therefore, Fitzgerald supports his claim by using symbolism, characterization, and word choice to demonstrate that the American Dream is a lie.