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Annika Park

Mr.Smith

Junior English (A)

January 9, 2023

The American Dream in the Great Gatsby

While the American Dream may seem simple to achieve, it is ultimately unrealistic. The

Great Gatsby shows the American Dream to be centered around wealth and success. During the

1920s, the social classes were divided between the super-wealthy and the poor. If you did not

meet the requirements of wealth, family, and happiness you were not living the American

Dream. In the novel, Scott F. Fitzgerald presents a pessimistic view of the 1920s American

Dream due to the idea that you can achieve anything is contradicted by Gatsby and other

characters’ lack of achievement of that dream.

Fitzgerald presents Gatbsy’s American Dream as unachievable, due to Gatsby’s inability

to achieve his goal of marriage with Daisy. Inge, in his critical essay, Gatsby's true dream is

explained as, “He returns five years later to fulfill his "incorruptible dream" by attempting to

repeat the one golden moment of his life when he possessed that "elusive rhythm," that

"fragment of lost words'' which we all seek to recall in this mundane existence from a former

life, time or world” (Inge Solomon 7). During the 1920s, the American Dream for most citizens

was being wealthy and having a perfect family life. Gatsby’s American Dream contradicts these

stereotypical ideas as his one true dream of rekindling his love with Daisy is ultimately

unachievable. Gatsby revolved his life around rebuilding his relationship with Daisy. He bought

an extravagant house, threw lavish parties, and developed a name for himself all for her. He only

knew it as being an “incorruptible dream” due to what he endeavored to be with her. In reality, he
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wasn't really dreaming of Daisy, he only wanted the fulfillment of marriage and “owning a wife”.

He thought achieving this was undoubtedly possible because of how much he worked toward

rekindling his relationship with Daisy, but this was later shown as not possible. At Gatsby's

funeral, Nick explains, “But all this part of it seemed remote and unessential. I found myself on

Gatsby’s side, and alone . . . as he lay in his house and didn’t move or breathe or speak, hour

upon hour…. no one else was interested—interested, I mean, with that intense personal interest

to which everyone has some vague right at the end” (Fitzgerald 125). Gatsby’s death conveys

Fitzgerald's pessimistic view of the unattainable American Dream, as he never got to rekindle his

relationship with Daisy. Furthermore, Daisy does not attend his funeral revealing that Gatsby

was never Daisy's choice. Even though he had already achieved the part of the American Dream

that entailed him being wealthy, he sought a family with Daisy. His death prevented him from

gaining this and showed that he truly had no one. When comparing Inge and Fitzgerald's texts,

Fitzgerald’s idea of the unattainability of the American Dream is enhanced by Inge’s view that it

is “incorruptible” but it is still a failure. Ultimately Gatsby’s death conveys the idea that despite

all of the work he put into rekindling his relationship with Daisy and building a life together, his

dream was unachievable and therefore represents a pessimistic view.

Fitzgerald presents a contradictory view of the American Dream, as the ultimate goal for

most is wealth, but he used George Wilson to show that this was not achievable for all. The

Roaring 20s represents a big change in ideas of the American Dream, Gale Database states,

“Growth and excess marked the decade known as the Roaring Twenties (1920–1929), a time

when people chased after the American Dream and society embraced bold and new ideas”

(“1920s”). The 1920s brought an uprising of wealth and success, as many chased after the idea

that the American Dream was only achievable with wealth, “The nation's total wealth more than
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doubled between 1920 and 1929” (A&E). The rise in wealth gave the impression that no matter

where you came from you could achieve this goal. As the American Dream was centered solely

around wealth for many at this time, Fitzgerald uses George Wilson to contradict these ideas.

When Nick first sees George’s auto shop he describes, “The interior was unprosperous and bare;

the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner…

when the proprietor himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of

waste” (Fitzgerald 29). The Valley of Ashes is described as dark and gloomy, relating directly to

it being a moral wasteland. Due to this, it’s understood that George is poor because he lives in

this moral wasteland. Despite society's increased wealth at this time, George Wilson is unable to

achieve what is perceived as the American Dream. He has no wealth, his family life is rocky, his

wife, Myrtle, is having an affair, and he is perceived as unhappy. George's character is used to

represent a pessimistic view of what is attainable as he lived in poverty. In the text “1920s”, the

author's ideas enhanced Fitzgerald's pessimistic view of the American Dream by showing the

perception anyone in the time period could get wealthy. During the 1920s, the American Dream

was focused on wealth, this was known to be achievable for all. Although in the novel, the author

has a pessimistic view showing that this was not true.

In the novel, Fitzgerald describes the lives of the characters during the 1920s,

demonstrating a pessimistic view of the American Dream as not everyone was able to obtain it.

The American dream today is the idea that life is better, more prosperous, happier, simpler, and

full of opportunities for all. It is an idea that defines a person's success and happiness in

American Society and is fantasized about by many around the world. Since the 1920s it has

changed drastically but still incorporates ideas from history.

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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Wordsworth Editions, 2019.

History.com Editors. “The Roaring Twenties.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Apr.

2010, https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history.

Inge, M. Thomas, and Eric Solomon. "F. Scott Fitzgerald: Overview." Reference Guide to

American Literature, edited by Jim Kamp, 3rd ed., St. James Press, 1994. Gale Literature

Resource Center,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420002835/LitRC?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-LitRC

&xid=c4a9956d. Accessed 20 Dec. 2022.

"1920s (1920–1929)." Gale U.S. History Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: U.S.

History,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/BQXWOW672623596/UHIC?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmar

k-UHIC&xid=3ecb9041. Accessed 9 Jan. 2023.

Skill Not Foundational Proficient Advanced

Yet
Identifies a topic Appears in first Thesis establishes a
paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a
topic and a claim
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Comments:
Thesis

Includes two or Includes evidence Includes specific,

fewer sources from scholarly and meaningful, and
informational well-chosen
Some evidence sources that connect evidence that relates
relates to the thesis to the novel and to the thesis
support the thesis

Evidence

Comments:

Summarizes sources Explains how Explains

evidence supports well-selected points
topic sentence of of comparison
individual among sources and
paragraphs evidence and their
connection to the
Analysis Explains how details thesis
in the novel are
significant in
regards to context,
character, plot, or
theme

Comments:

Little connection Explains how the Clearly explains

between texts; texts/sources are relationships among
difficult for the related, though texts (how they
reader to see how points could be confirm or challenge
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the texts are related more selective or each other, build on

better developed each other, provide
differing
Synthesis
Includes multiple perspectives, etc.)
sources in each body
paragraph

Comments:

Some elements Heading is correctly No errors in MLA

missing or some formatted format
errors in MLA format
Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted

Works Cited format:

hanging indent,
MLA Format double-spaced,
alphabetized, starts
on a new page

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format
Comments:

Shows evidence of Most quotes are All quotes are

basic proofreading correctly integrated correctly integrated

Follows essay Shows evidence of

Conventions organization careful proofreading

Shows evidence of
proofreading

Comments:
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Annika,
Overall I think you had a good flow in this essay, and you really did well with refining your ideas,
and defending your overall thesis. My encouragement for future writing is to continue
improving your analysis and evidence. I have already seen improvements, but I want to see you
continue to get better in this regard.

Grade: A-