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Alex Davis
Ms. McLean
English 11: Period 1
11 April 2014
Fitzgeralds The Great Nick
I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsbys wonder when he
first picked out the green light at the end of Daisys dock. His dream must have seemed so close
that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him (Fitzgerald
180). This passage stated by Nick in Fitzgeralds novel, perfectly captures the theme of the
American Dream in the 1990s. In Fitzgeralds novel, Nick moves to a new land of possibilities
but instead sees the cruelty and corruption that ends up showing what the American Dream truly
is. The way Nick views the different American Dream in societies, the flaws in Gatsbys
American dream and even his own American dream all show how his understanding of the
American Dream is forever changed with the final thought that the American Dream is
unattainable.
First, the way Nick views the different American Dream in societies help show Nick the
meaning of the American Dream. One example was when Nick was observing Myrtles life in
the Valley of Ashes and her struggle in reaching her own American Dream. When Nick first
meets her, she speaks about the disgust behind the Valley of Ashes and wants to escape the
poverty and party out in New York with Tom. In the party, Nick describes Myrtle with, Her
laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment, and as
she expanded the room grew smaller around her, until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy,
creaking pivot through the smoky air (Fitzgerald 30-31) . This quote explains how Nick sees
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Myrtle is an obnoxious woman who feels she is the center of attention. This quote helps show the
pursuit in wanting to be a part of West Egg with her obnoxious and vainglorious behavior and
also wanting to be a part of the East Egg by trying to obtain reputation and fame. This shows
how this woman from the Valley of Ashes is trying to follow her American dream to ignore her
horrible life in the Valley of Ashes and rather party and gain fame with wealthy people. However,
Nick soon realizes that her Dream will never be obtainable as her desires lead to her death and
she will forever lose her grasp on the American Dream of escaping the Valley of Ashes. This is
important because Nick sees how Myrtle from Valley of Ashes tries to obtain traits from both
East and West Egg but ultimately ends up dying from trying to capture her dream. Nick
describes how these certain people from different towns all have different pursuits they want to
carry.
Second, the flaws in Gatsbys American Dream help show Nick the meaning of the
American Dream. When Nick starts to understand Gatsby more throughout the novel, it hurts
Nick when he sees how Gatsby would never be able to capture his American Dream of marrying
Daisy. Nick starts seeing the truth behind the American Dream only when Gatsby dies. He
changes his view on the American Dream when he states: Gatsby believed in the green light,
the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but thats no matter- to-
morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther And one fine morning- So we beat on,
boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past (Fitzgerald 180). This quote is
trying to say that Nick already knows Gatsbys green light had already passed him and Nick soon
realizes that everyone has a certain green light themselves. Nick feels that no matter how far the
person stretches out for that Green light, it will always be farther than the person expects. This is
important because Nicks understanding of the American Dream expands. Nick feels that the
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American dream is something the person can never capture. Nick states that this green light is an
American Dream that will always leave the pursuer wanting more of it. For example, if the man
pursues his American dream of becoming wealthy, he will gain money but he will never know
when enough is enough and he will constantly want more money. Nick understands that Gatsby
would never obtain Daisy no matter how much money he makes. Even though he had her in her
grasp, she escapes because Gatsby never met her standards in reputation.
Third, When Nicks own American Dream changes when he experiences corruption in
the involvement of Tom and Daisy of East Egg. In the beginning, when Nick intervenes in the
Old Money lifestyle, he encounters the harshness Daisy and Tom of Old Money did to people
such as Wilson and Gatsby. Nick soon sees the reality of Tom and Daisy. Nicks curiosity ends
up ultimately killing the American Dream he had wanted. In the beginning, Nick wanted to
pursue his dream of going to the East Egg to learn about bonds and become a very wealthy and
successful Wall Street businessman. Nick even adored the class and beauty of East Eggers such
as Daisy. However, as Nick progresses throughout the story, he witnesses the corruption behind
the Old Money. One example of corruption is the affair between Tom and Myrtle leading to
Wilsons suicide. Another example was when Daisys Old Money attitude ends up killing Gatsby
because she does not want to lose her reputation. In the end, Nick has experience of the events
and Nick states that Daisy and Tom of the Old Money are carless people, Tom and Daisy- they
smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast
carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess
they had made (Fitzgerald 179.) This quote means that Daisy and Tom are these people who
feel that they are able to get away with anything once they borrow back into their money. They
feel that whatever they break ends up into someone elses hands and that they are too classy to
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even deal with anything. This is important because it shows how Nicks own dream of becoming
an East Egger perishes, because he does not want to take part in anything they do. Nicks dream
changes because of experiencing the life style of the East Egg and how his view changes from
wanting fame and reputation to wanting to stay isolated from these crude, high-class people.
In Conclusion, Fitzgeralds novel has a stronger theme because of how he was able to
portray Nick as an innocent bystander who witnesses each persons lifestyle and their pursuit for
their own American Dream become extinct or unreachable. Nick sees these people unable to
obtain their dreams and realizes that the American Dream in general is unreachable no matter
how far the person stretches. Nick sees the devastation behind people such as Myrtle, Gatsby,
and even himself. He sees how their dreams will be killed, ruined, or never reached. Nick feels
that the dreams will never become a reality no matter how hard they work. This is important
because with Fitzgeralds strong characterization we see how Nick learns a valuable lesson on
the understanding of the American Dream.

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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996.
Print.