Social Mobility In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream was responsible for the mobility within social classes, but the concept of the American Dream died in the 1930s. Social mobility is the main idea that is correlated with the American Dream but even though the dream has slowly evolved, it eventually came to a standstill throughout the 1930s because of the economic changes that have reformed the economy of our nation. The concept of the American Dream was mainstreamed in the 1920s but the dream became harder to grasp afterwards. The dream used to be feasible, but now it is truthfully a dream. The possibility of living the dream and moving between social classes came to a halt after the 1930s. In the time period in which The Great Gatsby took place, Americans still thought that the American Dream was alive. Jay Gatsby, whose name lends itself to the book title, exemplified the pursuit of wealth despite being born into a poor family. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 104). This quote infers that Gatsby was not born into wealth, but he was able to achieve “The American Dream.” However, Gatsby’s idea of “The American Dream” was not solely based upon moving upwards in social class but it was also based upon capturing the love and affection of his former
The concept of the American Dream is shown throughout The Great Gatsby, and it is surely portrayed in Gatsby’s character. The American Dream that was define by moving between social classes soon came to a standstill after the 1920s. The statistics show the unattainability of achieving the American Dream today. While the American Dream used to be promising for Americans in the 1920s, it is evident that in modern times, the possibility of achieving the American Dream is truly a