The Great Gatsby!

5. Evaluate “The Great Gatsby” as a criticism of the corruption of the American Dream.

 

In the book, The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, every character has its own views of the American Dream. Each character interprets the dream differently to benefit them. The American Dream was founded on the phrase from the Declaration of Independence "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The phrase itself has already been corrupted, but in the book, it takes a different meaning. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates characters and scenes, to explain the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the book, came from a poor family. He never did accept the fact he was born poor he actually invented another life for himself, were he could have wealth, which he believed was happiness. This, to him was the American dream.

Jay Gatsby idolized Daisy for her social status. She was wealthy, powerful and popular in society; she had all the characteristics that he wanted. He consciously became the man he had always dreamt of becoming. A rich, intelligent gentleman that was sure of himself and the people around him.  

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—… So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” That is how James Gatz, the young farm boy, created Jay Gastby. He corrupted the American dream by becoming rich unlawfully; something he believed was the easy way into popularity. Fitzgerald creates this character to emphasize that the American Dream, in some terms, refers to the social climbing happening around that time, with illicit forms such as bootlegging.

Those who inherited their wealth like Tom and Daisy Buchanan who live a life of pleasure and luxury. Also corrupt the American Dream because they haven’t worked for their money. They waste and spend the money they didn’t work for, on materialistic objects. Throughout the novel Tom criticizes Gatsby for obtaining his money in an unlawful way. But at least Gatsby worked in order to get his money, as he is following his dream.

Tom also despises Gatsby for being a “newly rich” person. It is Tom’s selfishness and egocentric characteristics that corrupt the American dream, by not letting others pursuit their beliefs of happiness.

“I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all-Tom and Gatsby, Daisy, and Jordan and I were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.” Almost every character was provoked by the majestic lifestyle the East brought them. The lived a life of parties and no moral values. Jay Gatsby was devoted himself in trying to achieve happiness by living this way. He’s dream also included the socially acceptable Daisy, the love of his life. After all, Gatsby’s American dream was focused on wealth and power; he was reaching this by illicit ways. Ironically, Gatsby dies while trying to achieve his corrupted American dream. It was the pursuit of wealth that brought Jay Gatsby to his end.