My Essay

Pantelis Geralis

Gatsby’s Dream

America was a nation of great ambition, desolation and disappointment during the 1920's. The narrative The Great Gatsby is a manifestation of the 20s as it illustrates the mania infatuation of one man’s journey for his "American Dream" and the different facet of the dream. Fitzgerald's work is parallel to America during his generation. The Great Gatsby shows the aspiration of one man's struggle for his "American Dream," the displeasure of not achieving this dream and the misery of his loss.

As a child, Gatsby had a strict schedule that he postdated. He knew that nothing that was worth it came easily so he worked very hard for his fame. "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something" (182). Gatsby's dream not only laid in his future, but as he matured it would be apparent in his love for Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby had an obsession with Daisy and tried everything in his power to reconstruct the past so that their relation would resemble the relationship that they once had. Gatsby did the most he could to be around Daisy. “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (83) He thought he could revive their history so he threw elegant parties to get her consideration. Gatsby was living his “American Dream” for Daisy as he earned his wealth so for the purpose of being with her.

The spirit and dream of Americans skyrocketed in the 1920's. Distinct from their European cousins who were attentive in the social class to which they were inborn, the American society knew that if they worked diligently then they could ascend to a higher social class. Americans expressed their newly discovered social freedom though such social groups as the flappers and the women's liberation movement. It was perceived that nothing was out of reach. The spirit and ambition of James Gatz is analogous to that of the American people as they both fought to earn their respected place in society. He had dreamed of altering himself from the meager, youthful man that he had once been into the affluent celebrity that he had transformed into.

The American citizens during the 1920's also relied on their hearts, and their ambition to guide them like Gatsby did with Daisy. Men struggled to fight to defend their country they loved throughout World War One as woman worked for their right to vote. Even when the US government established the 18th Amendment, the American people fought for their ambition to end prohibition. The ambition held in the US during the 20s was the building block for the society, much like Gatsby's ambition structured his future with Daisy. Along with the ambition of a country and a man, there were also setbacks. As the stock market was seen as a get rich scheme, most Americans invested in the stock market. When the market crashed it’s devastated the American nations and left many Americans impoverished. This is paralleled by through Gatsby's great loss. Gatsby lived his life for Daisy as he did everything and anything for her love, and later on Daisy would return that love. Before Gatsby’s love is returned, he will have to go though a time of loneliness. When Daisy informed Gatsby that she did love Tom once, he was distraught. He could not comprehend of how one person could feel love for two individuals at one time. As Daisy went on a weekend getaway with Tom, it left Gatsby brokenhearted, and unaccompanied. Gatsby knew he lost Daisy when "she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light." (154) At that moment, his disappointment set in. The misery he was soon to meet was setting in, just as America's did after the stock market crashed.

Gatsby had only one goal, winning the love of Daisy which in turn led to his death. Gatsby was blamed for Myrtle’s death which turned out to be Daisy’s fault. In an effort to protect Daisy, Gatsby took the culpability and was murdered for it. As Gatsby took the blame, George Wilson, overwhelmed by his wife’s unexpected death kills Gatsby as an act of revenge. Gatsby's death was a deplorable one, with only Nick, the narrator and close fiend, and a few family members there. Daisy, the woman Gatsby sacrificed so much for, did not even attend or sent a gift to the funeral. As Nick reminisces of the funeral he remembers this: I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away, and then I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn't sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur ‘Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on,' and then the owl-eyed man said ‘Amen to that,' in a brave voice." (183) This episode was an anecdote of America's demise. After the crash of the stock market, America's economy hit a low point. As Americans invested so much into the stock market, the crashed left the country with nothing which this lead to the Great Depression. The Great Depression was such a great catastrophe that there was no aid from any other country. Gatsby's death was much an analogy to the Great Depression as great man fell, so did a great nation.

The novel The Great Gatsby is a small incident expressing what was happening in the decade of the 1920's. The actions that destroyed America were analogous to the events in Gatsby's life. Gatsby was a man with man high and low points but in the end he “crashed” just as the stock market did. As he chased his American Dream, Gatsby was murdered for his “dream”.