The Great Dream

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Hope, a concept that must be prevalent in order to attain any dream, was something Jay Gatsby did not lack. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the motif of the American Dream arose with his turbulent love for Daisy. A love that ultimately made Gatsby pay the highest price: death. His dream, similar to most people, seemed largely impossible. Yet due to his hopeful nature, Jay Gatsby never surrendered his love for Daisy. Often times the search for one's American Dream, leads to a life of corruption, lies and immoral decisions. Fitzgerald demonstrates the unattainable nature of the American Dream with suave symbolism and detailed figurative language.
Fitzgerald uses symbolism to further his claim that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable. Fitzgerald chooses to make Gatsby a symbol of hope: "if personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life"(2). Jay Gatsby is compared to being an "unbroken series of successful gestures" to show his hopeful nature; no matter what occurs in his life, he remains unbroken, successful. In addition, hope is a very pure emotion; one humans rely on in moments of need, thus a gorgeous emotion. Gatsby contains the same gorgeous feel. By Fitzgerald comparing Gatsby to hope, he is ultimately showing hope's flaws because in the end, hope does not matter when one's whole life is wasted in the search for something impossible to achieve. Similar to Gatsby, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock also symbolizes hope because "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us"(189). The light was something just out of reach, yet year after year,...

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...ose he met. Both must revert to their previous lives due to a dream that had overwhelmed them both. This shows when investing oneself too feverishly in a dream, they eventually have to go back to the start, never attaining what they set out for. Through figurative language such as oxymoron, similes and metaphors, Fitzgerald shows the impossible nature of the American Dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, conveyed his claim that the American Dream is unattainable through uses of sophisticated symbolism and comprehensive figurative language. Fitzgerald wrote this novel as a message to his generation and it turned to a timeless classic. His message was generally effective due to his elaborate plot line and thorough details. Fitzgerald calls the people to own a realistic lifestyle, a message all should follow. All should strive for what is attainable.

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