Failure of the American Dream - Essay Example

The American Dream infused all of society, for this reason every one of the characters in theses book is in some way an indication of the world and even before them by those first people escaping to a new life in the New World. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby puts forward the failure of the idea of the American Dream most noticeably through the eponymous character of Gatsby. The American Dream is the objective to achieve something in life and experience its magnificence of riches as well as happiness.

The notion was brought up when the original residents of America made a decision to reckon their nation as the free country, where every man was given the opportunity to turn out to be wealthy, provided that he possessed strength of mind to aspire for the American Dream. The riches that the Dream promised became extremely accessible during the 1920's, which were recognized as the "booming 20's" of the American economy. All through this time, American businesses were earning enormous profits, and consequently the American stock market boomed.

This provided Americans great assurance in their country's newfound glory, and heartened American society to aspire for an idealized lifestyle. Though, the truth that Wall Street crashed in 1929, causing the Great Depression to take place, signifies the eventual failure of the American Dream. Consequently, does Fitzgerald point up a similar outcome of the Dream in 'The Great Gatsby', and make use of his novel to put forward that there is a certain predictability of failure connected to this notion (Jennifer L.

Hochschild, 1995)Fitzgerald's presentation of Jay Gatsby is of a man who goes up from rags to riches, because of his strength of mind to attain the American Dream. On the other hand, Fitzgerald permits the reader to understand that Gatsby turns out to be wealthy by being in the drug business, also by connecting himself with a man like Meyer Wolfshiem, who fixed the World Series. Consequently, Gatsby's methods of achieving money were contaminated with corruption, and Fitzgerald makes use of the maxim of cheaters never flourish to put forward that Gatsby's unfair way of life and lack of moral honesty secured the failure of his American Dream.

In actual fact, even after Gatsby becomes rich, Fitzgerald paints a picture of Gatsby's annoyance and discontent with his life, since he does not experience his life with the woman he loves. As the American Dream recognized that money equals ecstasy, the lack of Gatsby's contentment points out that money soon outshines one's quest for ecstasy. For this reason, Fitzgerald proposes that cupidity becomes the central aspect of the American Dream, which changes happiness. While material possessions can act as a basis of happiness, this pleasure is merely short-term, and would obviously be followed by deterioration to feelings of unhappiness.

Consequently Fitzgerald reveals that the addition of wealth in the journey to attain the American Dream guarantees its failure, for the reason that it is an integral requirement that eventually causes misery.Fitzgerald is capable to uphold the theme of the dishonesty of the Dream by making the characters not capable to detect the possible failure in it, and the gloomy eyes of Dr T. J.