The Great Gatsby and the American Dream. Throughout the novel of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald depicts the character of Gatsby as someone who continuously pursues his American Dream.

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Throughout the novel of “The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald depicts the character of Gatsby as someone who continuously pursues his American Dream. Gatsby’s tenacity to chase after Daisy is a parallel to the newly-arrived Americans chasing after their dream of becoming rich. In Chapter 4, it is shown that Gatsby indeed tries his best to “catch a glimpse of Daisy’s name” by reading “a Chicago paper for years”. This shows that Gatsby is willing to sacrifice his all to get closer to Daisy. He also “waited five years and bought a mansion”. Fitzgerald has intended to portray Gatsby as someone who possesses romanticism, the zeal to chase after one’s dreams, unlike the people of the Old World, a society full of prejudice, people who are not as caring or loyal. Ironically, it can be inferred throughout the play that the people from the Old World are evidently the more successful ones. Perhaps the author is trying to tell the audience that this omnipresent callousness is what was required in order to be successful in the world of the 1920’s.

Fitzgerald’s liberal and often exaggerated loyalty that is present in the character of Gatsby, was initially intended to illustrate Gatsby as someone who does not initially belong in the Old World. Indeed, in Chapter 3, at Gatsby’s party, Nick realizes that Gatsby “had an elegant young rough-neck”. The oxymoron between the words “elegant” and “rough”, could actually be conveying the idea that one will never be able to hide one’s innate nature that belongs to a particular social class. This is evidently shown, when Gatsby does not get involved with activities that deprecate his morals, such as gambling, and when he tells Nick that he “(doesn’t) like to drink”. Fitzgerald, knowing that the people in the superior class indulge themselves into these sort of activities, portrays Gatsby to in the working class, by mentioning things that antagonize from the superior class’ description. At this point, Fitzgerald accentuates the point that one seemingly may have achieved their American Dream, perhaps also by hiding their facades of the working class, but will soon be “borne back ceaselessly into the past”, overwhelmed by the unprecedented luxury and opulence.

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Fitzgerald also suggests that one’s American Dream will be corrupt, after a certain period of time. Gatsby, having been born into a “poor family…unsuccessful farm people”, demonstrates to have the pure American Dream, that the Dutch sailors first had when they set off to America. Gatsby pertains to his single dream of attaining Daisy “for five years”, and does not shift his mind. Furthermore, he even risks his reputation to earn money quickly, by buying “up a lot of side-street drug-stores…he’s a bootlegger”, that makes Daisy be repulsed by him in the end, in Chapter 7. The original American Dream ...

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