The Theme Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

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The American Dream is a belief that anyone can attain their own version of success. Throughout The Great Gatsby, the American Dream relates to hopes and dreams, America’s obsession with wealth, etc. Fitzgerald uses several forms of literary devices to convey this message to the audience, some of which include metaphors, allusion, paradoxes, etc. On the surface, this is a story about thwarted love between a man and a woman. However, the theme of the American Dream encompasses a much larger idea aside from romance. Jay Gatsby, a young newly, wealthy man, returns with an exuberant amount of money in hopes of reuniting with his true love, Daisy Buchanan. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, trusted friend of Gatsby, we learn the unkindly truth of the American Dream and its deceits. As we begin to …show more content…
These factors contribute to the illusion Fitzgerald has created throughout the novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby describes the American Dream as an unattainable illusion portrayed through various depictions of high society, social immobility and corruption.
To begin, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as a time where society focused on materialistic wealth and social class. Social mobility can be loosely defined as, the movement of individuals, families, households, or other categories of people within or between social classes in a society. However, Gatsby does quite the opposite, portraying a prime example of social immobility. Born into poverty, Gatsby created a name for himself by overcoming various obstacles in his life. Gatsby may have created a name for himself, however, he was never able to reach the same social class as Daisy, given the unspoken controversy between “old money” and “new money.” “Old money” is considered better, and of a higher standard, even if Gatsby tried, he would never
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