The Effects of a Dream in the Great Gatsby
The Effects of a Dream in The Great Gatsby The American 1920s was an epoch marked by declining moral standards and extravagantly pretentious shows of wealth. The luxurious parties, artificial palaces, and irresponsible alcohol consumption of the ‘20s were all visible in the changing concept of the American Dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s symbolic novel, The Great Gatsby, James Gatz is consumed by his desire to obtain this materialistic American Dream. Gatz, the ambitious son of shiftless farm people, escapes his disappointing life by conceiving his own reality in which he is the opulent and popular Jay Gatsby. Along the path to attaining his goals, Gatsby falls for Daisy, a physical manifestation of his aspirations, and lets her represent all that he yearns for. In his plot to regain Daisy, Gatsby commits innumerable vices, loses his true self, and embeds in Daisy more value than she can ever sustain. Despite surface similarities between Gatsby and other morally sordid east-eggers, the narrator, Nick, is correct when he proclaims that Gatsby was all right in the end; Gatsby’s sins were a result of his materialistic 1920s American dream, and not his moral character, which remains intact throughout the novel. Furthermore, Fitzgerald conveys Gatsby’s purity through contrast with other characters and through the voice of a trustable narrator.
Gatsby’s unwavering dedication to a decaying American dream is what captures Nick’s “unaffected scorn” (2), forces Gatsby to partake in sin, and disguises his real values. Gatz humbly grew up on a small farm in North Dakota, a state in the Midwest dictated by more traditional views of the American dream founded on family. For Gatz, the failure of his parents serves as a reason to leave this conservative dream behind, and adopt the popular, rising dream of success. In the 1920s, the American dream was disgustingly corrupted by notions of opulent, careless, big-city folk, and Gatsby becomes a victim of this idea. When Gatsby goes
Gatsby’s unwavering dedication to a decaying American dream is what captures Nick’s “unaffected scorn” (2), forces Gatsby to partake in sin, and disguises his real values. Gatz humbly grew up on a small farm in North Dakota, a state in the Midwest dictated by more traditional views of the American dream founded on family. For Gatz, the failure of his parents serves as a reason to leave this conservative dream behind, and adopt the popular, rising dream of success. In the 1920s, the American dream was disgustingly corrupted by notions of opulent, careless, big-city folk, and Gatsby becomes a victim of this idea. When Gatsby goes
Cited: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004