Timeless Themes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is certainly an eye-catching story that we have the privilege to experience through Fitzgerald’s words, but what is he trying to say with the complexity of each character that ultimately leads to what we know as this timeless book?

James Gatz, known as a young man who idealized the American Dream, sadly the American Dream disappointed him, just like it did with many others. Due to the circumstances he entered into this world, his dream’s limited to a less than average household with many bills to pay. However, this happens to be the story about the successful Jay Gatsby “of personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.” (Fitzgerald, 6). He never became a conformist, leading him to be one in a million. He imagined a world beyond what his reality could comprehend, visualized beyond the perception his eyes had of his current circumstances, he created his American Dream. In this particular story, Jay Gatsby’s American Dream had a name and face, known as Daisy Buchanan. The most beautiful woman a man could ever see, the most beautiful voice a man could ever hear “she’s got an indiscreet voice I remarked, it’s full of, I hesitated. It’s full of money he said suddenly. I’d never understood it before. It was full of money. High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl.” (Fitzgerald, 127).  Particularly, the starring of this story named James Gatz five years ago, when he fell in love with the young and beautiful Daisy Buchanan became excited “that many men had already loved daisy – it increased her value in his eyes.” (Fitzgerald, 156). Daisy characterized everything Gatsby every dreamed of: money, status, power, love, and a sense of belonging.  Nevertheless, his American Dream vanished as soon as Daisy chose Tom over him. Leaving Gatsby without the only dream he ever had, money and status.

Daisy in the other hand, was far from being the “beautiful fool” people once associated her to be, she happened to be everything but a fool.  “Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes.” (Fitzgerald, 155). Daisy never engaged on financial struggle, neither did her husband, Tom Buchanan. With money comes power and it guarantees a good social status as well, which results in privilege. Daisy and Tom avoided any legal or social consequences their actions could have provoked, attributable to the carte blanche money provided for them. “they were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald, 187-188). At the end it all comes down to one thing, money. 

Money, the American Dream of Myrtle and George Wilson, especially Myrtle. She had an affair with Tom, exactly for the reasons you’d think, for a better life. She viewed Tom Buchanan as the perfect escape from her reality. Money would give her the power and freedom she always longed for, although it corrupted her principles along the way. Tom would never leave Daisy for his mistress who became his method of entertainment. Daisy did know about the affair since Tom received constant calls from Myrtle. Daisy murdered Myrtle without a drop of regret. “The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long.” (Fitzgerald, 145). Conducting Gatsby to take the blame in name of his dear Daisy, alluding to his American Dream betraying him once again. As brutal as this quote may seem, it’s a raw and honest depiction of how society, in this case Daisy, look down upon the less fortunate who are trying to improve their life conditions nonetheless, they get lost in the process.

Fitzgerald meant to educate people on the harsh society norms that played a tremendous role during the 20’s. The 1920’s were once associated with optimism, freedom, and celebration, which soon ended with the arrival of the 1930’s and the economic crisis known as “The Great Depression”. Fitzgerald used symbolism to embody the real societal problems happening during his existing time. Grievously, the problems he came face to face with, are not far from what happens in our society today.

Society classes prevail as something in particular that will never stop existing, or at least any time soon. Depending on your society class you get certain privileges that others may not be able to afford, creating reckless people like Daisy and Tom that have the biggest positions of power in the system we know as capitalism. Capitalism, which happens to help many people fulfill their American Dream. However, only under the right conditions, it results in being attainable. The possibility of an American Dream materializing depends on two factors: money and advantages others do not own. Corruption is the price to pay to effectuate the American dream, are you willing to pay it?