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Lindsey Smith
Aughenbaugh
English 12
5 February 2016
The Unattainable American Dream
The American Dream is a term that is often used but also often misunderstood. It isn't
really about becoming rich or famous. It is about things much simpler and more fundamental
than that, (Marco Rubio). Like Rubio said, the American Dream is misunderstood; most
Americans never attain the real dream because their interpretations of it are wrong. The
American Dream is about moral values, having success by hard work, and achieving happiness.
(Bewley). F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby because of his own idea of the American
Dream. The dream for him is beautiful yet grotesquely flawed and distorted (Bewley). His idea
of the dream was being wealthy, having success, and a high social status. The novel is about the
dream and the heights a person will reach to try to achieve it. The American Dream is
unattainable in The Great Gatsby because the characters interpretations of it are wrong, they
show the corruption of the dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fitzgerald
grew up living in St. Paul, New York, and then, he went to boarding school in New Jersey. He
stayed in New Jersey after he graduated high school and attended Princeton University. He wrote
scripts for musicals and wrote articles for the schools magazines. He started to focus more on his
writing, and less on his studies (Literary Themes for Students). He dropped out of school and
joined the U.S. Army, he served in World War I. Before he went into the Army he wrote his first

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novel, The Romantic Egotist. He attempted to publish the novel, but it was rejected. He fell
madly in love with a girl he met while he was still in the Army, Zelda Sayre. Her family had a lot
of money but Fitzgerald was poor. He then began rewriting his first attempt of a novel, so then he
could convince Zelda to marry him (Biography).
He rewrote the novel and changed the name to This Side of Paradise, it was published in
1920. Zelda finally agreed to marry him and they moved to New York. They had a daughter in
1921, Frances Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald wrote several short stories but he soon became an
alcoholic, and it then affected himself and his career. His second novel The Beautiful and the
Damned was published in 192l. The greatest of all his novels, The Great Gatsby was published in
1925 (Bewley). After it was published, Fitzgerald suffered years of writer's block due to his
depression and alcoholism. Fitzgerald finally published another novel in 1934 called Tender is
the Night. Years later he began to work on his final novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon. Sadly he
only completed over half the manuscript when he died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940
(Biography).
The Great Gatsby was Fitzgerald's finest work; it was the greatest of all his novels. He
wrote The Great Gatsby while he was living in France in the 1920s (Biography). One of the
reasons he was influenced to write the novel was because it was the Jazz Age. He was influenced
to write about the parties and excessive drinking and the things happening in the time period
(Bewley). Fitzgerald also had to work for his success and have money to be able to marry Zelda;
he wrote to capture her hand. He was also influenced by himself, Fitzgerald himself had his own
ideas of The American Dream so, and he put them in the novel (Literary Themes for Students).
The Great Gatsby is about Nick Carraway, who lives in West Egg on Long Island. His
neighbor, the wealthy Jay Gatsby, lives in a mansion next to him. Gatsby throws huge parties

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every weekend, but yet no one really knows much about him. Nicks cousin, Daisy Buchanan,
lives in East Egg and she is married to Tom Buchanan. Nick goes to the Buchanans for dinner
one night and meets Jordan Baker and they begin to have somewhat of a relationship. Nick
learns that Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. He finally gets an invitation to one of
Gatsbys parties, and he manages to find Jordan there. Nick and Jordan finally get to meet the
mysterious Gatsby. Gatsby and Nick become good friends. Nick learns that Gatsby and Daisy
used to be in love, but when he joined the army, Daisy had gotten tired of waiting and married
Tom. Gatsby is still madly in love with her, he has Nick invite Daisy to tea at his house without
Daisy knowing, and they are reunited.
Gatsby and Daisy begin to rekindle their old flame, and Tom becomes suspicious. Nick
and Gatsby both go over to the Buchannans for lunch; Tom realizes that Daisy is having an
affair so they all go to the city. Tom confronts Gatsby about the affair and tells him that he and
Daisy have a lot of history together and that Daisy will never leave him. Tom tells Daisy that
Gatsby is a bootlegger and has earned his success, illegally; Daisy realizes that she does not
really love Gatsby. They all head back to East Egg; and on the way back, Daisy is driving
Gatsbys car and she accidentally hits and kill Myrtle, Toms mistress. Tom tells George, Myrtle's
husband, that it was Gatsby who hit her. George assumes that Gatsby is the guy who Myrtle was
having an affair with. He goes to Gatsbys house and shoots Gatsby while he is in the swimming
pool, and then he shoots himself.
The Jazz Age of the roaring twenties was the start of many new beginnings in America.
Jazz music became very popular, women were being more independent, pop culture was
changing, communication and transportation was becoming greater. However, there were a lot of
things wrong in this time period. Parting became a lifestyle for some people. People, like

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Fitzgerald, would party and drink for days straight. This style of living was ruing families and
relationships. Prohibition started in 1920 because of all the excessive drinking. This then was the
start of bootleggers; people sold and made alcohol illegally (The Jazz Age). The Great Gatsby
was based on this time period, it impacted the interruptions of the characters American Dream.
George Wilsons dream was the only one that was realistic, yet unattainable for him. His
dream was to make enough money to move away with his wife and start over. He did not want
wealth and success, he just wanted enough money to live off of and be happy with his wife. He
cannot achieve his dream with Tom being in the picture. Myrtle would never leave New York
because of Tom (The American Dream). Sadly, Wilsons dream dies when Myrtle had gotten hit
and killed. His once realistic dream is over, and then so is his life.
Myrtle Wilsons death is an example of the dark side of being obsessed with achieving
the American Dream. Her idea of the American Dream was being able to exchange her pasts for
the good life, she has dreams of being rich, social and sophisticated. However, being married to
George does not give her that. Myrtle loves being Toms mistress because she believes that
money and a high social status will bring her happiness. She thinks her life with Wilson is too
boring. She likes traveling from Georges rags, to Toms riches on the afternoon train (Literary
Themes for Students).
When Myrtle is in the city with Tom and her friends she changes, her physical
appearance and her social aspirations change. Nick says, Mrs. Wilson was now attired in an
elaborated afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she
swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a
change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into

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impressive hauteur, (Fitzgerald 30). Being with Tom, gives her a new identity and a new social
status (Literary Themes for Students).
Fitzgerald shows that to be able to reach the American Dream by reaching social and
financial success, one might have to lie to achieve it. Myrtles dream is an example of living a lie
in an attempt to find happiness. Her affair is a secret because the truth would keep her from one
of her goals; living the life in the city as a wealthy man's mistress (Literary Themes for
Students).
Myrtle soon discovers that lying and dreaming of wealth and social status leads to no
good. When Wilson discovers that she is having an affair and he tries to lock her in their house,
she realizes what lying has done to her (Literary Themes for Students). She escapes and got hit
and killed instantly. Myrtles dream is unattainable from the start because her interruptions of the
dream are wrong. She is a prime example of the corruption of the dream, she never ended up
happy.
Tom and Daisy represent the decline of the dream, they were both born into the American
Dream. However, their interpretations of the dream were also wrong; they thought they would
achieve happiness through wealth and a high social status. They are both born into a well-off
family and have always been wealthy by inheritance; they never had to work a day in their life.
However, they are not happy, Tom hits Daisy and she puts up with it because he is wealthy and
she is comfortable with him and how they live (The American Dream). Daisy does not
understand love because Tom does not really show he loves her. Thats why Daisy could not love
Gatsby; she could not understand his love for her, because she has never seen it before. Tom also
cheats on Daisy, he likes having mistresses in the city and then coming home to Daisy (Literary
Themes for Students). He does not like changes, and when Gatsby comes into the picture he gets

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extremely upset. He considers Daisy as one of his possessions and he cannot lose her, it would
change his life. Tom looks down on Gatsby because he earned his wealth and success, unlike
Tom. He was threatened by Gatsby, so he told Daisy he was a bootlegger so, she would no longer
want to be with him (The American Dream).
They both represent the decline of the American Dream because they could have had the
real idea of the dream because they were already born successful. However, they did not achieve
the dream because neither of them ends up happy. They are already wealthy but, they could have
earned more success by hard work. They do not have moral values either; neither of them
respects their marriage. Tom and Daisy was the perfect example of the decline of the American
Dream, they show the corruption of it and what it can do to people who could have had the
dream.
Nicks was the purest of all the characters; he focused on the American dream, but did no
base his whole live on it. He could have achieved the dream, but like everyone else, his
interpretations were wrong. His idea of it was a little different than the other characters; it was
not all just about success and wealth. He just wants to be himself, he sees himself as tolerant,
objective, and reliable. His dream also is about living honestly: I am one of the few honest
people I have ever known. Nick admires and somewhat wishes to be wealthy like Gatsby and
the Buchannans. He also wishes to have a better higher social status, he likes being with Jordan
because she is a famous golfer and most people know who she was (The American Dream). He
does achieve some of the real dream: he has moral values, he was the only one who stuck around
and helped with the funeral after Gatsbys death. . Even though he did wish to be like his friends
sometimes, he was very judgmental of their lifestyle and morals. Nick is also the corruption of
the dream, he did not end up happy.

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Gatsby is the corruption of the American Dream because like the other characters, his
interpretations of it were wrong. He thought that having success, wealth, and Daisy was the
dream. He did everything to get Daisy back; he throws fabulous parties every weekend so, he can
try to fit in with the socialites, like Daisy. He tries to buy his way into a society that will never
accept him because he has earned his wealth. All the socialites are wealthy by inheritance and his
wealth is self-made by illegal doings (Literary Themes for Students). He tries to keep his life a
mystery so that no one would know how he got so wealthy and then he desires to fit in and win
Daisys affection (UXL Encyclopedia).
Daisy is the one who influenced him to become successful. She was wealthy while he
was just a poor soldier at the time when they first met. He knew he had to be a wealthy and
successful man to have Daisy. Dan Cody was his ideal person of one who had achieved the
American Dream. Cody had influenced Gatsby to become self-made man. He followed Codys
footsteps and earned his money and success by illegal dealing (Novels for Students). He also
created a mystery about himself so no one would really know how he earned his success. Gatsby
went from rags to riches, as some say. However he does not understand how money actually
works (American Literature). He believes that money and a high social status will achieve
happiness. He assumes that since has money and a mysterious persona, Daisy will be his again
(Literary Themes for Students).
When Gatsby finally reunited with Daisy and they began an affair, they think they are
happy. However, Daisy is married to Tom and they have a child together. All Gatsby wants is to
forget that Tom and Daisy have ever happened. He wants them to divorce, but the child would
always be there reminding him of Tom. The child stands in the way of part of Gatsbys dream
(Literary Themes for Students). He wants Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him. Daisy does

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tell Tom, but it is not true; Gatsby cannot get past this. He cannot believe that Daisy loves Tom;
he just believes that Daisy still loves him after all these years.
They are both blind to the reality: both Gatsby and Daisy are incapable of seeing the
whole reality, as he is a romantic and she, a cynic (American Literature). Gatsby would do
anything for Daisy; he bases his whole life and dreams on her. And Daisy, being a cynic, could
not understand that everything he has done was for her. Daisy is amazed by and loves Gatsbys
house, his money, and all his things. She confuses the love with Gatsbys wealth and things, for
love of him (Bloom). She does not realize that she only loves Gatsbys things, not him. Gatsby
did not realize that by earning his money and success by illegal doings, is not what Daisy wanted
(Literary Themes for Students). Daisy wants a guy who has money through inheritance. She then
realizes she does not love Gatsby at all.
Gatsby knows how fast dreams and success can fail, and his dream was failing fast
(Bewley). When Daisy hits Myrtle on the way back from the city, Gatsby decides he would take
the blame. Gatsby is so obsessed with Daisy that he would do absolutely anything for her, even
though she did not love him. He would not believe the reality that she did not love him. He is
blinded by his own thoughts that she would leave Tom and they can be together. He has based his
whole life around Daisy and is willing to throw it away for her, someone who did not love him.
Gatsbys dream comes to an end when Daisy decides to stay in her comfortable life. His death is
not the end of his dream, Gatsbys dream was happiness. However, he believed that money and
love would bring it to him. When that did not happen, his dream died. (Literary Themes for
Students).
All the characters had their interpretations of the American Dream, but they were wrong
so, the dream was unattainable for them. Just like the dream was unattainable for Fitzgerald, they

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all had wrong interpretations of it. Fitzgerald thought that having money, success, and love was
the dream. However, happiness is the real American Dream; people in the Jazz Age did not
understand that. The dream was unattainable for all the characters because they based it on
money and social success, not moral values and happiness. No one in novel realized that they did
not need money to be happy and that is why the dream was unattainable for them. No one in The
Great Gatsby ended up happy so, the American Dream was unattainable for them, they are the
corruption of the dream.

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Works Cited
Bewley, Marius. Scott Fitzgeralds Criticism of America. Modern Critical Interpretation. Ed.
Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 11-27. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom.
Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 1-4. Print.
F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography. Biography. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 21 Dec.
2105.
F. Scott Fitzgerald. American Literature. Ed. Steven Kellman. Vol. 2. Hackensack: Salem
Press, 2007. 777-788. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.
Marco Rubio. BrainyQuote. Xplore Inc, 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.
The American Dream. The American Dream. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.
The Great Gatsby. Literary Themes for Students: The American Dream. Ed. Anne Marie
Hacht. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 264-276. Literary Themes for Students. Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Web. 3 Dec 2015.
The Great Gatsby. Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. New York: Gale, 1997.
The Great Gatsby. UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Eds. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen,
Jr., and Rebecca Valentine Vol. 3. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 66-658. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Web. 3 Dec 2015.
The Jazz Age. Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.