The American Dream In 'The Great Gatsby'

The American Dream is the idea that anyone who comes to America can achieve wealth through hard work. In the Epic of America, Adams stated that the American Dream is a social order where every man and woman would be able to progress without the chains of their past interfering. The Great Gatsby is a negative review of the American Dream. It shows that anyone can make money, but not everyone will find happiness through wealth. The Great Gatsby took place during a very rough time in American history. Immigration increased which led to xenophobia and racism, women’s roles were changing which led to misogyny, and income inequality ran rampant. The economy was booming which fueled the idea that anyone could become rich. Fitzgerald saw that the
He was not judgmental, had strong morals, and was tolerant, which allowed him to be the man everyone confided in. In his reflection in chapter nine, Nick states, “That’s my Middle West . . . the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark. I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.”. He believes that Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, Jordan, and he were not morally corrupt enough to prosper happily in the East, even though they did commit adultery, cheat, lie, and commit
It seems to say that people should not wish for more than what they were given, or everything will be stripped from them. This story embodies the immoral acts that many people commit to increase their social status: adultery, lying, cheating, and committing illegal acts. Fitzgerald highlights the systematic racism and sexism throughout this book which seems to ironically state, “The American Dream is accomplishable by all, except foreigners, poor people, women, and everyone else that isn't already respected.”. He details the American Dream as what it truly was,