The Great Gatsby
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That is the American Dream. We read about the roaring twenties and the pursuit of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. This book is a great American classic set in the nineteen twenties. A young man named Nick Carraway, who is also Daisy’s cousin, narrates. As we read the novel, we learn about Gatsby and other characters as they try to strive for and pursue the American Dream. In the book, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the American Dream, the lives of the people who follow it, and how the pursuit affects the life of Jay Gatsby and those around him.
- Scott Fitzgerald’s novel illustrates the pursuit of happiness through the many characters as the novel’s narrator, Nick, describe them. “It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room” (144). In this quote, we learn how the husband of Daisy, Tom, is unfaithful in his marriage and yet tries to defend his actions just so that Daisy won’t leave him. Daisy knows she’s being cheated on by her husband, but she continues being with him even if she’s unhappy, and she knows it. Gatsby is also pursuing a dream that never came to fruition, as told in the novel. “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180). His dream is being with Daisy, but it was an impossible one. As Nick put it, Gatsby’s dream seemed so possible and pure for him, for from the perception of others, it is a dream that is way too far for his reach.
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Although all the characters are seeking to pursue the American Dream, not all of them are achieving what they are striving for. Even the characters that already have the life of the American Dream are not happy with it. We read about the life of Tom and his wife Daisy in the novel. “Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven— a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax. His family were enormously wealthy— even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach.” (8) They have everything that they need and want: wealth, riches, fame and everything everyone else wishes for. But they are miserable in their relationship as Daisy loves another man– Gatsby and Tom are always cheating on Daisy with another mistress. Daisy’s dream is not complete with just wealth or fame, but it is also about maintaining a high status. Daisy tries to keep her good reputation by staying with her husband, Tom, despite his infidelity. Although Tom is unfaithful with Daisy, he still loves her and does his best to stay with her. Their pursuit of the American Dream affects Gatsby because he is unable to pursue his dream of being with Daisy.
Another character who also has the American Dream is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is portrayed as this character who is wealthy and very famous. He has a great fortune, yet that is still not enough for him. “His heartbeat fast and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. As his lips touch blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete” (134). Gatsby’s dream is to be with the woman he loves, Daisy ultimately. However, he is unable to pursue this dream because he does not have a respectable position or reputation. When others learn that Gatsby became wealthy through wicked ways, it changes their view of him, and Daisy does not want to ruin her reputation by being with such a flawed man.