The Great Gatsby American Dream Essay Sample

“No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” This is spoken by the narrator of the Great Gatsby Nick Caraway, who is one of the most important characters and people in the Great Gatsby.  He acts as an observer and influences some events throughout the book.  Although his importance can not be understated, the character who the entire book is formed around is Gatsby and his life and choices made during the summer that Nick meets him.  The most interesting example of one of the main takeaways from the book and the two films we watched was the idea of what the American dream is.  This idea of what creates the American dream is not an uncommon idea in American Literature.   To further develop these ideas The Great Gatsby implements modernist themes and techniques to allow for the reader to understand on a greater level the impact the American dream had on the mind of Fitzgerald.  From reading the novel and watching the clips from the two movies the idea of whether or not the American dream is real has a large presence in both the plot and overall character development.  Many characters have opposing wants that are not possible to both occur. Even with these ideas, the American dream is still possible and attainable from what you can both, directly and indirectly, view from the movies and from the novel.

The clearest example of a modernist technique in the story is decadence and decay; it holds a very special role in how the everyday lives of the characters are portrayed.  The power that the idea of decadence and decay holds is because not only does it cover the idea of a social and moral downfall but also the luxury that all the characters live in.  One of the first things we learn about in the book is that Nick's neighbor Gatsby is known for his ability to throw massive parties and with later information that is provided to us we know it is all to get the attention of an ex that Gatsby never got over; that one issue that Gatsby has with how his life is the fact that he has an unrequited love for an ex who is now married and has a new life this both fueled his life and drive but also caused his downfall.  To further show the overabundance that many lived with and felt was a normal aspect of life.  The relations that the characters have with one another further presents the idea of social and moral decay becoming a part of these people's daily lives.  We can see this through characters such as Tom Buchanan who already has a wife that is considered extremely beautiful but he still lusts after other women,  characters that are supposed to be portrayed as more of a moral person. We can observe how Nick Cataway views himself as morally righteous compared to all these other people that he has met, yet at the same time, he is highly hypocritical and is often as prideful as Tom. The largest example of how much of moral decay is seen in the two Buchanans Daisy and Tom.  Daisy because out of her anger towards her husband for his adultery killed Tom's affair by running over Myrtle and letting Gatsby take the blame.  Tom who befriended George just to get Myrtle's his wife, Tom tells George that Gatsby is the one who has been sleeping with his wife, George views this as Tom is a good friend but as the reader, we know that Tom is using Gatsby as a scapegoat for his own actions in sleeping with Goerge’s wife, this leads to Gatsby being shot and dying before George Killing himself; Tom and daisy’s only real concern over the fact that three people have all died because of their actions is that they are a little annoyed because they have to move but besides this, they live life normally, this is the final straw that has Nick become disillusioned with the wealthy and how they act as if all others who were not born among them are simple to be used and later thrown away. 

The second major theme is disillusionment, this is seen primarily through the character of Nick Caraway who often reflects on the events that take place in the novel, this often comes in the form of Nick commenting on the idea how he believes that most of the people in the novel are foolish for their world beliefs because it is clear to Nick that they simply do not have an intellectual outlook on how the world works.  However, at the beginning of the story, Nick’s social group is developed almost fully from the wealthy groups of the Eggs.  We can see this in how Nick himself admits that while he attended Yale he made connections with many people that are a part of the old wealth.  Nick also reflects on how he has the social aspect of being old money but does not have the wealth to boot.  This melds with Nick’s constant idea of him being superior to other individuals in some form at almost times, Nick by the end of the story throws away his American Dream of being wealthy and living in new york for a more simple life back in the midwest this is another example of the American Dream.  Nick not only broke off his relationship with Jordan because of his disillusionment with how the wealthy act and view others as mere tools and disregard how their own lives impact others. Because of this Nick decides to change his goal to live what he sees as a better life than that of simplicity.  This is his American Dream, Gatsbys American Dream was the love of Daisy.