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Fernandez

Isabella Fernandez

English III H Block 4

Mrs. Storer

20 February 2020

The Unattainable Dream

For many, the American Dream is categorized as a stereotypical concept of a land in

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which life is better, people are richer, with opportunity for each according to ability or
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t achievement. It is a dream of social order in which a man or woman can be able to attain the
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t fullest stature of which they are inherently capable, and be recognized by what they are,
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t regardless of their circumstances of birth or position. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott. Fitzgerald
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recognizes this ideal throughout the majority of the book, but it is evident through the main

character, Jay Gatsby as he struggles his whole life, trying to achieve wealth and high social

status. In the book The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the futility of the American Dream t

through the wealth of ‘old money’ society, social class segregation, and how it ultimately proves

to be an unachievable concept.

Most of the characters portrayed throughout the book are members of the ‘ old money’ t t

which encompass the elitism through the strata of the society, examined through the ideal of the
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American Dream. Nick Carraway, a protagonist and the narrator of the book, states in the

introduction, “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've

been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, he told me,

just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

(Fitzgerald 1). In the opening lines, Nick recounts this piece of advice from this father. He
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t presents himself as a character who is simultaneously privileged and empathetic. This statement
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portrays the high socioeconomic status enjoyed by most of the protagonists in the book. Nick’s
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t ties to old money and academic lineage as a Yale graduate bring him in contract with the elite of
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both West and East Egg. This line also creates a level of distance from the high social class,
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Nick is aware of his position and seeks to treat everyone with respect. He thus established
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t himself as not only an accepting character, but also tan impartial narrator. Fitzgerald created a
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t character who is both inside and outside of this privileged social sphere, he can appreciate the
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t culture, while also pointing out the flaws in its decadence. Other characters with similar t t t t t

t “advantages” are much more critical of those who come from different social backgrounds. This
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tt piece of advice from Nick’stfather trepresents his views shaped by his developmental
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t experiences. Nick, as member of the “old money” society, doesn’t announce it like Tom and

Daisy do on multiple occasions. When given insight on Daisy’s daughter, she states, “And I hope

she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

(Fitzgerald 17). Daisy tells the story of her daughter’s birth, in which she explained an unsettling t t t t

t wish for her child. This passage gives insight on Daisy’s relationship with Tom, and her
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t desperation at the moment of her daughter’s birth, which was partly tcaused by this tabsence,
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tcharacterizing Tom with a selfish and neglectful tnature. Daisy’s wishes her daughter to be a
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t “fool” timplying someone who is too naïve or ignorant to perceive what is happening around
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t them. She wishes this in relation to herself, in order to enjoy the luxuries of her life without r t t t t t

being aware of the problems surrounding her, categorized by Tom’s unfaithfulness or the t t t t

t emptiness behind their wealth. Fitzgerald presents Daisy with her conceptions of what it means
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to be a woman and a wife in the 19200s, to which she is a fool herself for not defining a good
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t female identity. This quote also shows how people perceived gender roles in the twenties, who
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t were told to be no tmore than “beautiful fools”. The American Dream based off a man’s
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perspective in the twenties considered themselves as bread-winners expected to be chasing the t t t

t American Dream, while high status women were expected to live luxuriously, and enjoy the life

their husbands provided.

Social class segregation is prominently seen throughout the characters chasing the

American Dream, in relation to those already in the elite strata of society. Gatsby threw t t

extravagant, excessive parties with hundreds of guests, as one of multiple attempts to showcase

his newly acquired wealth to society. Tom, Daisy’s wealthy husband, accompanied her to one of

his parties, out of fear of her going alone. He stated in relation to the guests at the party, “…A lot

of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know.” (Fitzgerald 115). Despite his

efforts, Gatsby is not able to acquire sympathy or support from Tom. He sneers at Gatsby’s
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t achievements and suggests he is a criminal based off his newly acquired riches, using the word
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“bootlegger” to describe him and his guests. Tom’s accusation of Gatsby’s illegal fortune come t tt t t

from the prejudice about people who come from new money and not an old money background,
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like his and Daisy’s family. Tom believes the only way new money people are capable of
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making money is from illegal or immoral activities since they lack the power and prestige of the
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t old money class. Daisy tries to convince Tom on the innocent thought that Gatsby made his
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fortune through a chain of drugstores that he owns, to which Tom does not believe. Tom’s
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t prejudices become only more determined by Daisy’s thoughts, and only accomplish to make him
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discriminate Gatsby even further. Tom constantly compares other social class with money, race,

and ideas. Tom stated, “Civilization’s going to pieces,’ broke out Tom violently. ‘I’ve gotten to

be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read ‘The Rise of the Coloured Empires’ by this

man Goddard?’… Well, it’s a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don’t

look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged…The idea is that we’re Nordics. I
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am, and you are, and we’ve produced all the things that go to make civilization.” (Fitzgerald 16),

“Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they’ll throw

everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (Fitzgerald 138). Tom

compares race with social class and economic factors when expressing his ideas about a racist

book he read and compares it with his life and the “old money” and “no money” people living

amongst them. By giving Tom characteristics that could be described as unsympathetic

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Fitzgerald criticizes the upper class which Tom represents. Although Tom has more money than
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he could ever spend, and despite the fact that he has been in that position his whole life he still
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t has the need to show his wealth and power to those who have less than him. The norms
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regarding the treatment of the different social classes are evident through Tom, who represents

everything wrong with the elitsm of class segregation. When talking about the book he read, he
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compares himself to the “Nordics” who all “produce all things that go to make civilization”, In

other words, he includes himself when talking about how the high-class society makes

civilization work. He even includes the racist comparison of interracial marriage to compare the

association with people from “old money” and “new money” like Daisy and Gatsby. Tom’s

t behavior is, although unsympathetic, never regarded, in the society of the novel, as inappropriate
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for a man of his status, which makes it completely acceptable for him to treat others with a lack
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of respect.
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The American Dream although seemingly attainable, proves to be an ultimately, unachievable

concept seen throughout the struggle of Jay Gatsby in achieving it. When Jay Gatsby took the

blame for Myrtle’s death, he was killed, and everything was pinned on him. At Gatsby’s funeral,

Nick remarked, “The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked

him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came.” (Fitzgerald 186). Only three
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people attended Gatsby’s funeral which provides a drastic contrast to his lavish parties. t t t t t

Gatsby’s funeral symbolizes how he failed to achieve the American Dream. While he earned

much tmoney and was able to attain nimaginable uxury, he emained nrecognized and u l r u

u nappreciated. No one even noticed his absence and only several people expressed their desire to
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t say goodbye to him. Therefore, despite all his attempts, Gatsby failed in achieving the American
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t Dream or becoming equal with the group of people he hoped to belong to. This implies that if a
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t person is not born into wealth from the beginning, they will not be able to climb the ladder of
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t social respect regardless of how hard they try. They will never be free from their past and
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t consequently, they will not find a place in a circle of old money crowd. Thus, on Gatsby’s
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example, it becomes evident that one’s longing to realize American Dream and belong with high
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t society is useless because no matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to break society’s
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t stereotypes. For Gatsby, the American Dream is closely linked to his feelings for Daisy. After t t t t t t

the evening at the town, Daisy drove Gatsby’s car home, where she killed Myrtle in the process.

Gatsby took the blame for it, and Daisy stayed with Tom, renouncing all plans of running away

with Gatsby. Nick stated after the accident, “But he didn’t despise himself and it didn’t turn out

as he had imagined. He had intended, probably, to take what he could and go—but now he found

that he had committed himself to the following of a grail. He knew that Daisy was extraordinary,

but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a ‘nice’ girl could be. She vanished into her rich

house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby—nothing. He felt married to her, that was all.”

(Fitzgerald 159). Despite his immense material wealth, however, Gatsby fails to win Daisy back
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t permanently. They enjoy a brief relationship but Daisy refuses to divorce Tom and, all of a
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sudden, Gatsby's dream is over. His wealth and this success are for nothing and the American
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Dream is portrayed as a failure. Daisy ultimately choses Tom over Gatsby since, despite his
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t violent, cheating, and racist manner, he offers Daisy a long-term sense of security, which Daisy
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t values above everything. He provides her with the social acceptability she craves, which is not
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t something Gatsby can give her. At the end of the day, Gatsby is not the kind of man Daisy
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would ever settle to be with.

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Through the wealth of ‘old money’ society, social class segregation, and the unachievable

ideal, the book The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores the theme of the of the

American Dream. The Great Gatsby is a outstanding novel that acts as a symbolism of how t t t t t

American Dream is an idealized, unachievable concept. Gatsby has overcome numerous

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t hardships when accumulating wealth and entering high society, hoping he would impress and
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t earn love from Daisy. However, in the end, Daisy chose to stay with her husband, who is an old
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t money representative. After Gatsby’s death, only several people visited his funeral. Thus,
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t despite his temporary success, Gatsby failed in accepting and remained the low social class
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member he was born into. Through this, the novel provides American Dream criticisms, also
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concludes that such romanticized notion cannot be fulfilled in a real life.

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Works Cited

 Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Planet E Book. Original, https://www.planetebook.com/free-

ebooks/the-great-gatsby.pdf.

 “LibGuides: The Great Gatsby (1925): Library Resources.” Library Resources - The

Great Gatsby (1925) - LibGuides at Anne Arundel Community College, AACC Library ,
www.libguides.aacc.edu/greatgatsby.

 Gilkison, Taylor. 26 June 2017: PDF. “The Transformation of Gender and Gender Roles
in 1920s America, A Literary Interpretation – Honors College at WKU Thesis Projects,
Top SCHOLAR, www.digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1688&context=stu_hon_theses

 Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Guidelines, 1989.