The failure of the American dream in the Great Gatsby.

Abstract

This paper deals with the American Dream, which is essential for a full understanding ofAmerican culture and literature. It refers to the ideals of a nation such as democracy, equality,freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Throughout history, The American Dream has known many changes and has beenunderstood by people in various ways. The dream was once an ideal for the pioneers whoescaped from the persecutions prevailing in Europe; then, it took the form of a search forwealth and a material life. The Revolutionary War, The Anti-slavery Movement, The CivilWar, The Westward Expansion and The Gold Rush in California, were all movements thatattempted to realize the Dream. With an extraordinary optimism and unchanging belief in theunlimited happiness, the Americans have devoted themselves to the fulfilment of this dream.Throughout these periods, generations of Americans have contributed to the establishment ofa new culture and a new society.In The Great Gatsby, the hero is a self-made man who started his life with no money, butwith only a plan for achieving his dream. He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that hedoes not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dreamcan be corrupted by one’s obsession with getting wealth, power, and expensive things. The Great Gatsby is a novel that demonstrates the failure of the American Dream in Post-war America because of people’s misunderstanding of it and their materialism view ofmodern life.