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Damian Murray
Robert Sprague
English 101
June 1, 2020
The Unattainable Dream
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is about how Jay Gatsby’s while he is alive, had
everything that can be a source of envy for people. His material possessions are colossal.
To understand how the American dream is corrupted in The Great Gatsby, it is important
to first understand what the dream entails.
First, The American dream details the key elements of what American citizens view as
the key values in life. The major aspects are wealth and life with value. Ideally, the dream is all
about what many, if not all Americans desire to achieve throughout their lives. James Truslow
Adams described the American dream as the dream of a land in which life is better, richer, and
fuller of everyone. It is associated with a life with opportunities present for each according to
ability or achievement. The dream makes the path accessible for everyone to achieve economic
prosperity. With the American dream, people’s destinies are not predetermined. They are
encouraged to pursue happiness. Everyone has access to the same opportunities. A person is free
to choose the path to go for without conditions. Since happiness has a different meaning for each
person, the American dream does not limit people to one type of happiness. However, since
happiness is associated with richness, it is expected that people would go for a better life. The
American dream for each person would be achieved when people are happy. For everyone, the
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dream will be about quality and value. It is not pursued to entertain others but oneself. Before it
was corrupted, the dream was to lead to a happier society. It involves a set of ideas that
emphasize freedom. It is based on the belief that hard work pays. People are expected to
concentrate on what they do to succeed. It helps in achieving an individual’s success based on
different definitions of success.
Even though Truslow described a set of achievable values and desires which constitute
the American dream, the Great Gatsby presents contrary practicability of Truslow’s American
dream. In the novel, the dream is more linked to material possessions. It also involves the
achievement of personal desires. The novel shows how the characters take a short cut to achieve
the American dream. Instead of working hard, they think of faster ways of helping them climb
the ladder. While Gatsby engages in illegal businesses, Daisy marries Tom for money. Similarly,
Myrtle cheats on her husband for money. In each case, they are after material wealth. However,
they do not follow the right path. As a result, they corrupt it with materialism and corruption that
prevail over real love, hard work, and integrity. The dream has turned the characters into empty
vessels since they are nothing beyond the lust for money. The dream is portrayed as something
that cannot be achieved. This is the reason none of the characters is happy. If they had achieved
the dream, they would be living a happy life to prove it. Even though the characters and
especially Gatsby work hard to achieve the dream, they are unable to. This is because the dream
is not defined in understandable terms. In short, everyone is working for something unattainable.
Notably, the ones who have achieved material wealth are still not happy. They are still searching
for more. With a corrupted dream, they cannot even enjoy their current achievements.
Jay Gatsby illustrates that the American dream is more about acquiring assets in terms of
material wealth. Gatsby believes that he would achieve the dream when he proves himself to the
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world and wins the love of Daisy. He hopes that as he organizes the expensive parties, he would
eventually win the love of his life. He expects to have her attend one of the parties. He has
personified the dream to be his vessel to achieve everything he desires. For Gatsby, if Daisy sees
what he has achieved in life, he would fall for him. Gatsby would achieve the dream because
once he has materials possessions and satisfies personal desires. He would have enough material
wealth if he manages to attract Daisy using it. It is therefore arguable that Frank Fitzgerald
presents a lead character whose American dream is a belief to fulfill his desires (Xiao 65).
Gatsby’s unfulfilled dream depicts how it is impossible to achieve the American dream. This
means that the American dream entails not only material fulfillment but also personal desires and
wishes. According to Nick, “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious
way……. I could have sworn he was trembling. …….and distinguished nothing except a single
green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (39). From this, it is
arguable that as a result of pursuing an impossible dream, Gatsby has been turned into an empty
vessel. He does not get hold of anything after stretching his arm. He has nothing to enjoy
because his dream is corrupted. As he stretches his arm, he is trembling because he is tired. He
has not achieved what he desires despite having tried and still trying. The fact that Gatsby does
not have close friends makes his life even gloomier. He throws parties but has none to enjoy
them with. He watches people drink and eat what he has ordered but cannot enjoy the same. This
is because, for him, he should use his wealth to achieve his heart desires, which he fails terribly.
In summary, Gatsby has corrupted the American dream and thus is unable to achieve it.
He is only portrayed as an empty vessel. Even the love he claims he has for Daisy has been
corrupted with riches. He thinks that the best way to win her is by making money.
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As a result of the corrupted and unachievable dream, Gatsby is obsessed with making a
great fortune to win Daisy’s love.
Second, it is as a result of the dream that Gatsby’s mind is corrupted. He does not value
relationships. It is because he does not care about the people who are near him that he does not
join them when he invites them for a party. In the initial stages of the film, viewers think that
Gatsby does not speak. He is presented as a host of the extravagant movies he throws every
weekend. With a corrupted mind, he does not host parties to entertain himself. He considers the
American dream as one in which a person should show off to the public. He thinks that by
hosting expensive parties, he would win Daisy. Since his life has been corrupted by the dream,
he is easily crushed. He is not happy because even with the wealth he has accumulated, he has
not got the love he desires. His corrupted mind cannot think of a better way of winning Daisy.
