The Great Gatsby Loss of the American Dream
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Dream Chasers
"The deepest American dream is not the hunger for money or fame; it is the dream of settling down, in peace and freedom and cooperation, in the promised land." If only this quote by Scott Russell Sanders was true. However were it true and astute, we would be deprived of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. Throughout Gatsby, Fitzgerald provides a clear-cut message and theme, which the story revolves around. His claim is that the American dream is indeed corrupted and irretrievably lost, that no man can any longer take hope and find solace in that dream. In the roaring 20's, the new American dream is deemed lost and adrift. The dream has lost all positive connotation and value, and is no longer a dream of the moral citizen but of the corrupt. Nick encounters this supposed reality when he moves east after having grown in the mid-west. The theme manifests itself in several instances, varying in cause and circumstance.
A large part of Fitzgerald's observation he communicates in his use of the class corruption. Highlighted in the novel are two distinct classes - the rich and the newly rich. To represent the rich, Fitzgerald includes in the story one Tom Buchanan. The rich in America are the ones who really run the country, who aren't seen in the spotlight. Tom was born into this class of people. "His family were enormously wealthy...now he'd left Chicago and come east in a fashion that rather took you breath away: for instance, he'd brought down a string of polo ponies form Lake Forest." (p. 10) Daisy married into this class when she and Tom were wed. All throughout the novel, constant reminders are shown of their lack of spirit or care, and blatant disregard for other individuals. After Gatsby absorbs the blame for Myrtle's death, Tom and Daisy do not thank him. Or even acknowledge him. They do not attend pay respects at his funeral, but instead retreat to Europe. Gatsby and the guests at his lavish parties are the example of the newly rich. All those people who attended Gatsby's lavish summer gatherings had no regard for the man, but instead used him and his residence as means to attempt to show off their grandiose wealth and new found pomposity. Again, none of his many guests show up at his funeral, or extend a hand of thanks. Both...