It is obvious in the book that there are references to the American dream, such as the copy of Hopalong Cassidy where Gatsby has written his schedule to improve himself. With this though, it seems that Fitzgerald says that the American dream is a false hope as Gatsby fails in the end. Am I on the right path?
I don't believe that Fitzgerald is negating the American dream as impossible. His depiction in the novel illustrates the 1920's, its lose morals, decadence, and materialistic values, and I think that he is alluding to the impossibility of what the dream became, rather than the dream it once was. In a world of those with and those without, the American dream seems impossible. Everyone has opportunities, although the wealthy have more than others, but this impossibility is based upon wealth, not happiness. What Fitzgerald has shown us isn't unfeasible..... he shows us that the real dream isn't riches...... that even the wealthy can't achieve happiness on the basis of their wealth. My opinion is that Fitzgerald was redrawing the lines....... he believed in the possibility of the dream, but he also believed that people had lost sight of what it was.
The Great Gatsby
