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Saint Leo University

Shattered Illusions: The Great Gatsby and the

Death of the American Dream

Brenna Schauer

ENG-320: American Literature I

Professor Pushkin

28 April 2024
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Despite the vast expanse of American Literature, very few works stand out as

prominently as that of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s novel, originally

released in 1925, masterfully captures the spirit of the era in which it was written and

wholly embodies the Jazz Age itself. Amidst the glitz and the glamour of the Roaring

Twenties, The Great Gatsby depicts the lavish excesses and moral decay that plagued the

upper echelons of society, as well as the relentless pursuit for an idealized vision of success

that dominated the less fortunate and successful alike. This ideal, which many have come to

know as the American Dream, is a central theme in Fitzgerald’s narrative, exercised

through characters such as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Daisy Buchanan. Through the

experiences of each character, the author is able to expose the hollowness associated with

the American Dream, as well as the disillusionment that accompanies the relentless pursuit

of wealth.

Though the idea of the American Dream is one that can be traced back to the

establishment of the thirteen colonies, the term “American Dream” was coined in James

Truslow Adams’ The Epic of America, published in 1931. The phrase “provides a shorthand

for aspirations that include the desire for social mobility, the ideals of freedom, and a

nonhierarchical, or less hierarchically rigid, society” (Goldblatt 107). And while the 1925

novel preceded the conception of the idea, Fitzgerald’s portrayal of characters and their

attitudes, as well as the settings within the work, offer a nuanced exploration of the

principles in which the phrase embodies. As Bewley (1954) explains:

Essentially, this phrase represents the romantic enlargement of the possibilities of

life on a life on a level at which the material and the spiritual have become

inextricably confused. As such, it led inevitably toward the problem that has always
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confronted American artists dealing with American experience – the problem of

determining the hidden boundary in the American vision of life at which the reality

ends and the illusion begins. (224)

Amidst these considerations, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a rumored Marxist – the ideology,

born of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, focused on the class struggles between the

proletariat (the working class) and the bourgeoisie (the upper class) – and while the novel

is supposedly fiction, its contents can serve as a critique of capitalism, depicting the

materialistic attitudes and moral decay that can arise within a capitalist system. As further

exemplified throughout the novel’s narrative, “Fitzgerald’s demoralizing depiction of high

society, as well as its dwindling to materialism, is a kind of mockery of American

utopianism, otherwise known as the American dream” (Abu-Snoubar, et al. 190).

The Great Gatsby is told through the perspective of Nick Carraway, a young

Midwesterner who moves to New York City in order to pursue a career within the bond

business; luckily, he is able to rent a modest house in West Egg, just across the bay from

his distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her wealthy husband, Tom, who reside in East Egg.

Nestled next door in a grand mansion, Jay Gatsby throws illustrious parties, though no one

seems to know the actual host himself – many partygoers remark that he’s a cousin of

Kaiser Wilhelm (Fitzgerald 32), was a German spy in the war (Fitzgerald 44), had killed a

man, and is the second cousin to the Devil (Fitzgerald 61). Despite his anonymity,

socialites and guests alike revel in his wealth, drawn in by Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle

and the escape that the celebration offers from everyday life– such an escape “imposes a

rhythm on his [Gatsby’s] guests which they accept in terms of their own tawdry illusions,
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having no conception of the compulsion that drives him to offer them the hospitality of his

fabulous wealth” (Bewley 229-30).

Amidst the backdrop of Gatsby’s parties, the geographical division between that of

East Egg and West Egg serves as a representation of the social divide present during the

Roaring Twenties. Situated in Long Island, East Egg represents old money; Nick goes on to

describe its inhabitants as those who have attended Yale, become doctors, or simply people

with “flipped up” noses (Fitzgerald 61). Right across the bay, West Egg represents new

money, obtained through “determination and either hard work or trickery, fraud or

illegal/semi-legal dealings” (Abu-Snoubar, et al. 192). And, as Abu-Snoubar, et al. notes:

“While there is a distinction between old money and new money predicated upon

new being the acquisition of money through one’s own means, rather than through

natural inheritance and birth-right, Fitzgerald also ultimately fuses the two, in some

ways leaving them indistinguishable” (192).

Tom and Daisy Buchanan, residents of the proverbial East Egg, and Jay Gatsby, an

inhabitant of the West Egg, are each symbols of wealth, despite the means by which they

respectively gained affluence. Contrastingly, George and Myrtle Wilson reside in the Valley

of Ashes, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque

gardens; where ashes take the forms of house and chimneys and rising smoke” (Fitzgerald

24). Despite the juxtaposition of each of the locations within the novel -the East Egg, the

West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes- these three physical spaces are utilized “to illustrate the

lives and consumption patterns of different classes in America” (Wu and Shen 2500).
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Though Gatsby’s mysterious nature is ultimately what draws in Nick Carraway, the

neighboring observer slowly learns of the ambitions that fuel the “self-made” man – and

his love of his distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby, previously James Gatz, was born to

poor farmers in North Dakota; despite his beginnings, Gatsby had an innate sense of

ambition and determination, even prior to succumbing to “the promise and pitfalls of

consumerism” (Pumphrey 118). While his intentions are never announced, he later joins the

military and eventually gets stationed at Camp Taylor, near Daisy’s home. In her analysis

of the 1925 novel, Kimberly Pumphrey discusses Gatsby’s infatuation with Daisy, noting:

He was also fascinated by her way of life from early on in the way that her house

“amazed him- he had never been in such a beautiful house before. But what gave it

an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there - it was as casual a thing to

her as his tent out at camp was to him” (Fitzgerald 148). From that very moment,

Daisy’s lifestyle distorted his once genuine quest for the American dream into one

for a “grail” as Fitzgerald calls it (149) (Pumphrey 117).

Enamored by her way of life, Gatsby’s ambitions shift to reflect the man he wishes to be –

one in which he can financially and socially support Daisy. Despite their attraction to one

another, Daisy chooses to marry Tom Buchanan, an “enormously wealthy” man with a high

social status (Fitzgerald 8). In the wake of her marriage, the “sweet, melancholy memories

between him and Daisy allowed Gatsby to mystify and idealize it [a wealthy lifestyle],

merging it with his ambitious ideals as a concreate goal to strive for. From then on,

therefore, Gatsby makes the acquisition of Daisy the goal of his struggle” (Wu and Shen

2503). This merging of ambitions brings Gatsby to begin his journey in the pursuit of

wealth, be it by any means necessary – or, in his case, through bootlegging. In his quest for
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affluence, Gatsby becomes consumed by his ultimate desire to win Daisy back; he even

goes as far as residing across the bay from her very own home, with the green light on her

dock serving as a mere beacon of hope for the once-poor son of farmers. When Nick

engages in conversation with Gatsby, the latter offers an insight into Daisy’s allure,

capturing her essence and embodiment of wealth in a single observation, remarking:

“She’s got an indiscreet voice,” I remarked. “It’s full of…” I hesitated.

“Her voice is full of money,” he said suddenly.

That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money – that was the

inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…

High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl… (Fitzgerald 119).

With this declaration, Gatsby is able to reveal the inseparable link between both wealth and

allure present in society during the Jazz Age, and more specifically, the link in relation to

his overall worldview. And, as Bewley (1954) points out, “For Gatsby, Daisy does not exist

in herself. She is the green light that signals him into the heart of his ultimate vision”

(235).

However, despite the efforts of Gatsby, Fitzgerald effectively conveys the social

dynamics of the time period, demonstrating the judgements associated with each location;

consequently, this scrutiny extends to the individuals residing within these distinct areas

throughout the novel. Tom Buchanan, known for his frequent judgement of others,

famously looks down upon those who do not meet his standards or belong within his social

class; he is critical of West Egg, Gatsby, and both George and Myrtle, who reside in the

Valley of Ashes. When Nick first visits his cousin, Daisy, he exchanges pleasantries with
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both her husband, Tom, and Jordan Baker, a friend of Daisy’s and a professional golfer.

When Nick mentions his career in bonds to Tom, he advises him to “stay in the east,” Tom

boldly responds, asserting that one would be a “Goddamned fool to live anywhere else”

(Fitzgerald 12). Tom’s overt display of judgement and privilege sets the tone for his

interactions throughout the novel, demonstrating his adamant belief of his own superiority;

this is only further reflected through his relationships with both Myrtle and George Wilson,

as well as his contempt for Gatsby.

In spite of his newfound wealth, Gatsby, in both Tom and Daisy’s eyes, will never

be of “pure” lineage. According to all the old-moneyed elite, “Gatsby, [George] Wilson,

and Myrtle come from the bottom of the social ladder;” however, “they attempt to climb

the class ladder through various means while ignoring the cruel reality of class oppression

and exploitation under the order of the representations of space” (Wu and Shen 2502-03).

By establishing these stark divisions between geographical locations, those who obtain

their wealth from anything but inheritance are deemed outsiders, forever condemned to the

margins of society. Refusing to accept his eternal position at the bottom of this hierarchy,

Gatsby utilizes material possessions to “give off the impression of his affluence”

(Pumphrey 118) – beyond the luxurious parties he hosts every weekend, he curates a

collection of cars and shirts, each meticulously chosen to portray himself as an image of

both wealth and power, alongside being tools to win Daisy’s affection and acceptance into

the upper echelons of elite society. In his pursuit, Gatsby becomes consumed by the illusion

of the American Dream, convinced that material success can earn him his place amongst

the wealthy elite; however, his demise merely serves as a rebuttal to the notion that wealth

alone can secure one happiness and acceptance. Led down a path of tragedy and
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disillusionment, Gatsby’s obsession with both social status and material possessions serves

as a cautionary tale about the promise and pitfalls of the American Dream.

Perhaps, with these considerations, the American Dream can be viewed as nothing

but a mirage – a mere image of hope for those who lack a certain birthright or the means by

which to achieve greatness through hard work alone. Gatsby’s downfall is the culmination

of his bad luck in life and his relentless pursuit of an illusion that never came to fruition;

“the promises made to these characters, chiefly through their own devices and subjective

narratives about the importance of capital and wealth, fell via the reality that there is more

to life than such wealth” (Abu-Snoubar, et al. 198). Nick Carraway, the novel’s narrator, is

left to ponder the very remnants of his friend’s unchecked consumerism; his mansion, once

vibrant with life and bursting out the seams with visitors, now stands vacant and desolate -

a haunting reminder of the dangers associated with the pursuit of wealth. Goldblatt (2015)

further illuminates this, suggesting that “Nick’s revelation suggests first that the American

Dream itself proves fatal, not because it corrupts people or destroys them, but because

implicit in it is a kind of failure that is specified precisely by the terms of its hopefulness”

(120). Gatsby’s tragedy lies not in his failure to pursue the American Dream, but rather in

his refusal to acknowledge and accept the constraints that prevented him from obtaining

such a goal. Despite his material successes, Gatsby will forever remain an outsider, marked

by his humble origins as a son to farmers from North Dakota – as Bewley (1954) points

out, “A great part of Fitzgerald’s achievement is that he suggests effectively that these

terrifying deficiencies are not so much the private deficiencies of Gatsby, but are

deficiencies inherent in contemporary manifestations of the American vision itself” (245-

46).
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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby serves as a bitter cautionary tale, offering a

stark warning of the consequences entwined with the relentless pursuit of the American

Dream and the subsequent disillusionment that ensues. In Fitzgerald’s poignant portrayal of

Jay Gatsby’s downfall, he is able to depict the seductive power of both social status and

wealth; however, amidst these temptations, a hollowness corrodes, and the spirit is

irreversibly eroded, leaving behind only a vague shadow of their former self. Gatsby’s

death transcends beyond the mere physical realm; his demise not only is symbolic of the

death of both his spirit and ideals, but of the death of the American Dream itself.
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Works Cited

Abu-Snoubar, Tamador, et al. “Capitalism and the Fall of the American Dream: A Marxist

Reading of Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams.” IUP Journal of

English Studies, vol. 17, no. 1, Mar. 2022, pp. 189–200.

Bewley, Marius. “Scott Fitzgerald’s Criticism of America.” The Sewanee Review, vol. 62,

no. 2, 1954, pp. 223–246.

F Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. 1925. Richmond, Surrey, Alma Classics, 2017.

Goldblatt, Laura. ““Can’t Repeat the Past?” Gatsby and the American Dream at Mid-

Century.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, 18 May 2015, pp. 105–124.

James Truslow Adams. The Epic of America. Blue Ribbon Books, 1931.

Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. J E Burghard, 21 Feb. 1848.

Pumphrey, Kimberly. “God Bless America, Land of the Consumer: Fitzgerald’s Critique of

the American Dream.” The Undergraduate Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 2011, pp. 115–120.

Robin Dissin Aufses, et al. Conversations in American Literature: Language, Rhetoric,

Culture. Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s ; New York, 2015.

Wu, Yue, and Jinsong Shen. “Place, Class, and the Destruction of the American Dream in

the Great Gatsby from the Perspective of Space.” Theory & Practice in Language

Studies (TPLS), vol. 13, no. 10, Oct. 2023, pp. 2500–2505.