The Great Gatsby

Gatsby's impossible dream as an analody for the failure of the "American Dream."

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The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, an idealistic and illusionary goal to achieve wealth and status. The ruthless pursuit of wealth leads to the corruption of human nature and moral values. Fitzgerald uses characters in the novel to show the corruptions and the illusionary nature of the American Dream. The superficial achievement of the American Dreams give no fulfillment, no real joy and peace; but instead, creates lots of problems for the characters in the novel. What happens to Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Daisy Buchanan represent the failure of the American Dream. Each character has a different dream. For Jay Gatsby, his dream is to attain happiness, represented by Daisy's love, through materialism and power. For Nick Carraway, his goal is to find someone whose achievement in life could prove that the American Dream is not an illusion. I think in the end, Gatsby proves the American dream to be an illusion. Gatsby is never really accepted into filthy rich society and he can never attain Daisy. The American dream would seem to dictate that money and power assures happiness, or at the very least, gets you what you want. In the end there is nothing to be happy about for any of these characters.

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