Abraham 1

Adit Abraham
Ms. Doane Gale
Honors English 10
August 26 2014

The True Reality of the American Dream

The American Dream, a popular expression that has been used
throughout American history, is defined as being, a life of personal
happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the
U.S. (Websters). Coined in 1931, the phrase has been an expression of hope
and optimism ever since. An expression that says regardless of what status a
man is born in, with hard work and dedication, they can obtain prosperity
and happiness. Through the decay of Jay Gatsbys character, The Great
Gatsby depicts the American Dream as a fictitious fallacy that is actually
impossible to achieve.
America began with the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
Within its preamble, the Declaration states that every man is entitled to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (US 1776). It is from this promise that
the American Dream began. The American Dream is a sort of testament; a
belief that every American citizen has an equal opportunity to achieve their
goals and dreams. Throughout history, a countless number of men have
climbed social ranks and amassed fortune completely independent from their
heritage. These men are said to have started from nothing, and finished with
a nearly perfect life. A life filled with happiness, success, and prosperity.
Although Gatsby procures a massive amount of wealth, he never truly fulfills
what we call the American Dream. Marilyn Roberts captivates this in
saying, The Great Gatsby [...] offers a powerful critique of the pursuit of
material success and physical beauty.
James Gatz comes from a poor family in North Dakota. Regardless of
the different stories he makes about his past, he is in fact from a poor family.

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James life changes when he meets Dan Cody. This is the point in his life
where he changes his name to Jay Gatsby and completely changes his
course from a life of poverty to one of prosperity. Not much later, during
World War I, Gatsby meets Daisy and the two fall in love. When Gatsby went
to fight for the war, Daisy moves on and marries Tom Buchanan while Gatsby
continues to love Daisy. Gatsbys goal is never simply to become a rich and
wealthy man, rather, he wants to be the kind of man that could win Daisy
over.
He starts throwing parties in his mansion in an effort to reunite with
Daisy. Unfortunately, even though Gatsby does manage to have an affair
with her, he never truly gets what he wanted. Daisy is quick to move on from
Gatsby when she hears about his shady past. Still struck by love, Gatsby
willingly takes the blame when Daisy kills Myrtle. Unfazed by morality, Daisy
complies. Their love is, however, one-sided. After Myrtles death, Daisy
leaves Gatsby without a second thought. When it comes down to Gatsbys
funeral, only three people come. Nearly none of the people that had willingly
accepted Gatsbys generosity cared enough to see him buried. Used by
everyone as if he were nothing more than a host of grand parties, Gatsby
never truly achieves happiness (Fitzgerald 175). As Lewis says, Jay Gatsby
represents the corruption of the American dream.(Lewis, Abroad at Home;
The Great Gatsby).
His somber life is not due to a flaw in American opportunity, but rather,
to a flaw in mankind itself. Gatsby had the money and means to live a happy
life, but something held him back. A hint of happiness in his past captivated
him and held him from experiencing more in the future. Gatsby believed in
the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It
eluded us then, but thats no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch
out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning so we beat on, boats
against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.(Fitzgerald 180).
The green light from Daisys dock represents both Gatsbys past, and his

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goals for the future. Transfixed by what had happened, determined to make
it once again a reality, Gatsby wasted his life. Working towards an impossible
goal until death took its part and left Gatsby with nothing. This is the truth of
the American Dream. Stuck with a goal influenced by their past, optimistic all
along that with a little more effort they will reach these goals, followers of
the American Dream dissipate their lives chasing a dream that never will be.