The Consequences of Misguided Dreams: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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When people think of their dreams, they often include money, success, and material prosperity. The “Great American Dream” is something that many people are familiar with, but it does not have a clear definition. Everyone has their own definition of a dream. People often include freedom, money, or power in them. Although there may be many different definitions for the “Great American Dream” not all of them are noble, or correct. Misguided dreams lead to pain; in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie characters who follow their misconstrued dreams struggle towards happiness.
Throughout literature, the “Great American Dream” is portrayed as many different things. The reality of it is that the “Great American Dream” should be a person’s ability to follow his/her dreams, no matter what they consist of. While controversial, it only seems fair to let everyone have a shot at whatever it is they want to do. In The Great Gatsby, dreams play a big role in the plot. Gatsby’s dream prevents him from seeing the truth that Daisy is a bad person. This is obvious when Nick tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past,” and Gatsby replies, “Can’t repeat the past? … Why of course you can!” (110). Gatsby is very passionate about his dream. Unfortunately, his dream is completely false. While Gatsby only wants to be with Daisy, he does not realize how utterly mistaken he is. He puts so much devotion into reuniting with Daisy that he becomes oblivious to the fact that Daisy is not who he thinks she is. Gatsby paints an impossible picture of Daisy that she will never be able to live up to. Apart from Gatsby, Amanda, in The Glass Menagerie, also deals with false dreams. Although Amanda’s dream for her children’s h...

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...r lack of a spine leads to her unhappiness.
People who cannot see the difference between a good, noble dream and an immoral dream that leads to nothing worth fighting for are in danger of living sad lives. Likewise, people who fail to strive for anything are in danger of living meaningless lives. Dreams can be both misconstrued and ignored completely. Both actions lead to inevitable misery. When looked at from an unbiased perspective, it seems that there is nearly no chance of winning in the game of life. Even though goals, dreams, and aspirations seem to be important components of success, without the worry of money and power, everything suddenly becomes simple. No one follows false grails and no one falls into misery. In the grand scheme of things, discovering the ultimate root of personal happiness and striving for it immediately solves the complications of life.

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