Explain The Failure Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

The American Dream is defined as Life, Liberty, Equality, Hope and the Pursuit of

Happiness. Which also references The Declaration of Independence that mentions ‘’all men are equal.’’ The American Dream was originated when immigrants were looking for jobs in the early time of America. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism and motifs to describe The American Dream back then. Here are some examples of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby: The ‘’green light’’ at the end of Daisy’s dock, The Valley of Ashes and also Fitzgerald is focusing on how people are so acquisitive and doesn’t care about others.Throughout the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols such as Valley of Ashes to represent The American Dream. The Valley of Ashes is ‘’a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who

Throughout the novel, hope is one of the most significant motif. Throughout the novel, hope is one of the most significant symbol used by Fitzgerald. Gatsby is full of hope and his hope is to get his love back, Daisy. The first time the green light is seen in the novel is also the first time Nick sees Gatsby. Fitzgerald writes, “…he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away…” The green light is exemplified as 'minute and far away' which means impossible. This tells us that Gatsby has failed in his Dream of getting Daisy back and the society is also failing in their American Dream. Overall, Gatsby did not achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is defined as the pursuit of happiness and Gatsby did everything he could to achieve it, but