Great Gatsby

The Truth Behind American Dream Since the birth of the nation, America has been placed on a pedestal for others in foreign land to admire, yearn, desire, and crave. This land has been viewed as the place where milk and honey flow, a land of plenty and where dreams can become reality. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the concept of the American dream during the 1920’s to modern times. By focusing on the “dreams” of the characters and the actions that they take to try to fulfil those dreams, Fitzgerald is able to reveal the truth about the American dream. Fitzgerald’s revelation shows how it has morphed during the Roaring 20’s and how it relates to modern day interpretation. Fitzgerald uses the characters of Daisy and Tom Buchanan to help define the true meaning of the American dream. The author introduces the Buchanans as this picture perfect family. Tom and Daisy are supposed to be the representation of the “American dream” which is wealth, a lavish life, and happiness, which is what people were seeking back in the 1920’s, which is wealth and happiness. Yes Tom and Daisy have the wealth and the “golden” house, but the one thing they do not have is happiness. This happiness is a key element to the significance of the American dream, is the pursuit of happiness. Daisy is unfulfilled in her marriage due to the fact that “Tom’s got some woman in New York”.(15) Daisy is tired of having to conform to society’s norms and being “sophisticated”. Daisy will never be truly happy because money cannot buy happiness, nor can it provide what she needs from Tom. This is one of the flaws embedded in the American dream that Fitzgerald is trying to show us, that wanting to obtain grand amounts of wealth and high social stature is purely naive of the person because it will never truly bring to us what we want and need; happiness.
The main character in the novel, Jay Gatsby, a self-made man, allows Fitzgerald to reveal his the truth on the