American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay

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The American Dream changed drastically during the early 20th century. Americans’ attitude about the American Dream changed because of the events that happened during the first half of the 20th century. The Great Depression affected a majority of Americans during the 1930s. This caused many people to work hard and help themselves recover. By the 1940s, because of World War II, women started to work in order to support the economy (Desmond). After World War II, the most basic values of the American Dream were defined as having a nice home, family, and car. Most of the characters in The Great Gatsby want the American Dream except Nick Carraway.The American Dream is defined as having a steady job and a good house and family. In The Great Gatsby, …show more content…

Gatsby became successful by being hardworking but, he was not moral. He came from a poor childhood ,but he turned his life around and became a successful man because of his illegal bootlegging business.Bootlegging was how many people became rich during this time period. Because of the Prohibition Act, selling and transporting alcohol was illegal ("The Demise of the 1920s American Dream in The Great Gatsby"). He worked hard so that he can have a fancy car,house, and parties.Gatsby needs constant reassurance from his acquaintances that his belongings are impressive. While talking to Nick, Gatsby states “My house looks well doesn’t it? See how the whole front of it catches the light.”(Fitzgerald 90). Jay Gatsby desires the values of the American Dream because he believes it will impress Daisy and make her fall in love with him. But, his dream eventually fails because he has unrealistic expectations for …show more content…

But, like Gatsby, they both were unhappy in life. They were unable to have the American Dream because one of the aspects of the American Dream is having a successful marriage. Tom had an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Daisy was in love with Gatsby. Daisy refused to leave Tom although she knew about his mistresses and she was treated poorly in the marriage. “The fact that Tom had a mistress was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew” (Fitzgerald 31). Tom bragged about how he had mistresses and showed no respect towards Daisy. It seemed like Tom and Daisy had the American Dream, but their personal lives were a mess. The common theme of the failed American Dream could be the reason why some characters did not believe in

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