The American Dream in the Great Gatsby free essay sample

They are then led place false hope in destructive factors. It is hard to see that dream does not actually exist, and the truth that it is not real. For that reason individuals pursuing the dream eventually destroy themselves. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the spirited main character, Jay Gatsby is corrupted in his pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. The Great Gatsby is set to illustrate the roaring 20s, a period in which young men and women pursued a freer lifestyle. Fitzgerald attempts to exhibit the crisis that most of these individuals faced: they were chasing the ‘American Dream’. The ‘American Dream’ is a common aspiration shared between many young individuals who pursued a life of self-made wealth and true love. Corruption of the society by destructive factors, such as bootlegging and other felonious acts, resulted in an end to an intoxicating era, and eventually an end to the ‘American Dream’. Being deprived of ‘the good life’, impressionable Jay Gatsby is corrupted by men who persuade him, with their self-made image, to partake in illegal activities. Once a self made man, Gatsby transitions into high-class society, and his idea of respect is lost as he discovers the dark nature of the privileged society. Furthermore, Gatsby’s memories of an old love corrupt his mind when he sees that she embodies the unachievable ‘American Dream’. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby dreams of self-made wealth. As he meets several individuals, they influence him with their image to contribute to their illegal activities. After spending a long summer in his youth with a wealthy girl, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby falls madly in love with her. Before he can act any further, he is contacted to serve in the military. Upon returning home, Jay Gatsby still passionately yearns for Daisy. Being an outsider to her society, Gatsby realizes that he must live up to her standards, and become a self-made man. Walking along the streets of New York City, he meets millionaire Meyer Wolfsheim who â€Å"[raises] him up out of†¦the gutter†¦[and uses] him good† (Fitzgerald 171). Gatsby’s new mentor displays his success through â€Å"[gambling and being] the man who fixed the World’s Series in 1919† (Fitzgerald 73). Mr. Wolfsheim’s compelling persona and exciting background intrigue Gatsby. Despite being a felon, Mr. Wolfsheim walks the streets freely. Mr. Wolfsheim is intelligent and shrewd, he has gotten out of many complicated situations using his knowledge and understanding of the world. Gatsby see’s only the positive side of his persona and is fascinated; he sees a part of his ‘American Dream’ in Mr. Wolfsheim. the devious Mr. Wolfsheim brings Gatsby into an unfamiliar world, introducing him to drug markets and underground bootlegging fields. As he begins to see the opportunities in the illegal markets, he changes into a new man. He loses all hopes of creating an honest living using his â€Å"Oxford [education]† (Fitzgerald 129). Mr. Wolfsheim intrigues Gatsby to â€Å"[buy] up a lot of side-street drug-stores†¦in Chicago and [sell] grain alcohol over the counter† (Fitzgerald 133). Gatsby once was hopeful to acquire his own wealth in a honest manner. It is not until he meets bootlegger and gambler Meyer Wolfsheim that he changes his course. As he is reaching for the ‘American Dream’, â€Å"the wondrous hope which Gatsby [embodies is lost] against the corruptness of [the] bootlegging business† (NFS 79). He notes how simple it was for Mr. Wolfsheim to get all of his money. Gatsby’s vision of being a self-made millionaire comes to life as he mimic’s Mr. Wolfsheim’s actions. After acquiring his enormous wealth through side-street businesses, Jay Gatsby takes a second leap into achieving the ‘American Dream’. As he moves into the high-class society of West-Egg, his idea of respect is lost realizes the dark nature of the high-class society. From when he was a young boy, Gatsby dreamed of living the high life. He saw the way in which the people were treated and he wished that for himself. He creates an image in his mind that if he was too wealthy, he would be given respect by everyone that he meets. In the region of West-Egg, the residence are very wealthy; they afford of the finest luxuries. Dreaming of living there since he was a boy, Gatsby is finally able to relocate after he had acquired all of his new money. Gatsby builds one of the finest and largest mansions overlooking the bay in West-Egg . In order to get acquainted with the people in the town, he decides to throw lavish parties every week that involve â€Å"crops of caterers [to come] down with several hundred feet of canvas and†¦ colored lights†¦[and] buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre†¦[and] a bar stocked with gins and liquors† (Fitzgerald 40). He soon finds that the people in the town are lacking a sense of compassion. His attempt to reach out to the people with his parties but he finds that â€Å"sometimes [people] came and went without having met [him] at all† (Fitzgerald 41) and that â€Å"no one swooned [to his] shoulder† (Fitzgerald 50). He struggles when he â€Å"attempts to attain an ideal of himself [just deconstruct] this ideal to†¦service another ideal† (NFS 77). Gatsby’s dream of becoming a self-made millionaire, is only attainable if he rejects his past and hides it. As he moves into West-Egg, he changes both his name and his history; he creates a story that leads people to believe that he lived his entire life in luxury. The society of West-Egg is tightly wound; many of the individuals know every aspect of the others lives. Once Gatsby begins to fit in, and he makes a few friends, they begin to question the history his money. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband takes it so far that he â€Å"[makes] a small investigation of [him]† in hopes to expose the fact that Gatsby is ‘new money’(Fitzgerald 122). When Gatsby first moved to West-Egg, he kept to himself. As the nosey neighbors begin to grow weary of his mystery, they began to develop different flaws. Moreover, Tom tries to pick him apart on several occasions and expose his past. He wanted to destroy what Gatsby had worked so hard to make. Gatsby discovers that â€Å"[the rich people] smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness† (Fitzgerald 179). They create ideals that become the standards for the society. When an individual does not comply, then they are out casted by the community. Gatsby’s desire to live the ‘good life’ makes him â€Å"[conform] to an ideal of himself that transforms reality into possibility† (NFS 78). He tries to spend time with only genuine individuals, but he is continuously confronted by jealous suitors (such as Tom). They pick him apart and result in his corrupted mind frame. In the end he realises that there is no ‘respect’ for individuals who are achieving the ‘American Dream†. Jay Gatsby’s entire ‘American Dream’ revolves around his memories of an old love; he is infatuated with his memories her. They corrupt his mind when he realises that she is the perfect example of the unattainable ‘American Dream’. Initially, when Gatsby first met Daisy Fay, he noticed that she was unlike another girl; she was incredibly wealthy, she lived in â€Å"the largest of the [houses] and [had] the largest of the lawns†¦She dressed in white, and had a little white roadster† (Fitzgerald 74). When they talked Gatsby felt the very essence of his ‘American Dream’ oozing from her lips, â€Å"her voice [often sounded like it was] full of money† (Fitzgerald 120). Although her voice is influenced by her society, Gatsby adores this about her and he feels inspired; he often dreamed of himself as a man with so much money. Once he became more acquainted with her, he noticed that â€Å"all day long the telephone rang [and] excited young officers†¦demanded the privilege of monopolizing her that night† (Fitzgerald 74). Daisy was a desired woman, every man in the town wanted to be with her. Gatsby noticed that she embodied the ‘American Dream’ perfectly; she was rich and loved by many. At first, â€Å"he had intended†¦to take what he could and go†, but after seeing another world, her world, â€Å"[he felt] married to her† (Fitzgerald 149). Being with Daisy changed Gatsby’s life; he was given a new found hope of what he could do, and who he could be. It was her â€Å"vast†¦and meretricious beauty to which Gatsby aspired† (NFS 83). Moreover, â€Å"[he loved] her and that [was] the beginning and end of everything (F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes (Author of The Great Gatsby). He created his own ‘American Dream’, one that which her love drove him. She was the essence for everything he ever did; going to Oxford, getting rich and moving to West-Egg. As he planned, he meets her again with the help of his friend Nick. Nick Carraway is a young and prominent individual who is new to the West-Egg society. He is related to Daisy, and he is the one who initiates the reconciliation between her and Gatsby. Daisy and Gatsby quickly rekindle their love affair, but it seems only to last for a minute before â€Å"she [vanishes] into her rich house, into her rich, full life† (Fitzgerald 149). She seemed different to Gatsby now, â€Å"she [didn’t] understand†¦[like] she used to be able to understand† (Fitzgerald 109). Gatsby finds it hard to grasp the fact that his ‘true love’ is not what his memories illustrated her to be. She lose her feeling of wonder as she becomes â€Å"as shallow as the other hollow people who inhabited [West Egg]† (NFS 83). Daisy had changed, and Gatsby could not understand this. He fought to recreate the past, but â€Å"she could never become a legitimate actualization of Gatsby’s illegitimate dream† (NFS 83). By entrancing him with her world, Daisy created an unrealistic conception in Gatsby’s mind. Daisy led Gatsby to believe that he could potentially be part of her life if he were to change into a different person. Consequently, she destroys the ‘American Dream’ when she corrupts him into conforming. Jay Gatsby is just another individual who is lost in the pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby â€Å"ends by uniting Gatsby’s dream born from his past with the American dream from another past, a dream that is as incorruptible and unreal, indicating the way in which the future of this story may be found in the past: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past† (NFS 79). Living in poverty for a majority of his life, Gatsby dreams of life as a millionaire. When he meets self-made Meyer Wolfsheim, he is quickly corrupted by his image, and he assists him in felonious acts. After receiving all of the benefits of the illegal markets, Gatsby is able to have become the man that he aspired to be. He continues to achieve his goal as he moves into high-class society. Gatsby soon finds that the society possess’ a careless nature and he loses all hope for being respected. Consequently, Jay Gatsby created his ‘American Dream’ to reconnect with his old love. His vision is blurred by the fact that his memories of an old love corrupt his mind when he sees that she embodies the ‘American Dream’. Throughout his pursuit to achieve the ‘American Dream’, Gatsby is corrupted by men and women with a stronger sense of themselves. It is Gatsby’s weakness for the young and beautiful Daisy that result in his periodical downfall. Bibliography American Dream quotes amp; quotations. Find the famous quotes you need, ThinkExist. com Quotations. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6  May  2013. Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,  2004. Print. â€Å"The Great Gatsby. † Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997: 74-85 F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes (Author of The Great Gatsby). Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. N. p. , n. d. Web. 9  May  2013.