The Great Gatsby - American Dream
Uploaded by Sk8erD00d on Jun 19, 2005
Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, “American Dream” during the early infancy of our country, proposing this dream as, “That pursuit of a better existence … [and] a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion.” While this may be what many of the characters in The Great Gatsby believe (Jay Gatsby in particular), one critical ideal is discarded in Fitzgerald’s twisted refinement of Franklin’s definition: morality. It is apparent that Jay Gatsby achieves his wealth and social status through illegal and immoral means, such as bootlegging alcohol. The irony becomes remarkably stunning when one realizes that the section of Franklin’s autobiography, which outlines his method for achieving this dream, is entitled “Moral Perfection”. Fitzgerald presents a dark satire by portraying the immoral Jay Gatsby as an icon for the decay of the dream Franklin proposed and promoted so avidly. Fitzgerald masterfully allows the reader watch the evolution of Franklin’s American dream from its fertilization in the ambition of James Gatz to its dominance over Gatz’s life, eventually spawning Jay Gatsby (Gatz-bye) a self-destructive man holding on to a dream that can never become a reality. In addition to Gatsby’s delusional pursuit of happiness, Nick Carraway, our narrator, suffers from the same addiction to a dream, which, if made true, will never live up to its expectations. It is obvious that Nick envies Gatsby, hence the title of the novel. Nick is in awe of Gatsby’s wealth, social power and moreover, and most of all, the carefree lifestyle it allows. Nick, at the same time he is completely unaware of the illicit means by which Gatsby has gained his wealth. Following Gatsby’s death at the end of the novel, Fitzgerald shows Nick’s awakening from his dream to persuade the reader to walk away from his novel understanding the lesson that Nick learns from Gatsby’s folly. Fitzgerald strives to expose a striking realization that the American dream that Franklin proposed will never be able to deliver its promise of “a better existence” in a society where morality is tossed aside so casually. Fitzgerald litters the novel with a cast of characters who are struggling to chase either emotionless dreams or impossible ones. All of these other characters suffer from this plague of disillusionment that has come to be known as a staple in modernist writing.
Morality seems critical, by Franklin’s standards, to the success of his American Dream, but when...