Deconstruction Post Modern Criticism of the Great Gatsby

Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby examines the concept of the American Dream, understood by the protagonist Nick Carraway as the pursuit of success and individuality. The character of Gatsby is the embodiment of the Dream, and his death is symbolic of the death of the dream itself. Gatsby's death arose from his hollow pursuit of Daisy, and Carraway likens this to the death of the American dream as it had been corrupted into the pursuit of wealth for its sake. The conclusion mirrors the views expressed at the outset of the novel about the garishness of the newly-rich in West Egg.

The Great Gatsby reflects a view of the American Dream as told through the white male experience of the day. This framing allows Fitzgerald to focus on the finer details of wealth and success. From the outset of the story, Nick Carraway expresses scorn for the manner in which the residents of West Egg display their wealth and imagines himself superior, thereby expressing the privilege enjoyed by white males -- they not only can achieve wealth but are obligated to act in a certain way in order to avoid the scorn of others. Fitzgerald's efforts to highlight some of the more repugnant elements of this privilege, such as Tom's affection for the book The Rise of the Colored Empires, are to an extent undermined by the fact that he is writing from the same position of privilege from which Carraway views the world. The judgment that money should be earned and consumed in a decent manner is one that can only be made by a white male of privileged background.

For others, both in the story and in America, the judgment on the American Dream that Fitzgerald passes rings hollow. It is easy for one in a position of privilege to suggest that the pursuit of the American Dream has become hollow. This critique carried a strong appeal, in particular as the 1920s were an era of significant wealth expansion, and Fitzgerald argues that at some point the pursuit of this success had lost its meaning and purpose. For those without access to society, however, such critique holds less validity. While females in the story are mainly from the privileged class, Myrtle is not, and her fate highlights the absurdity of people in a position of privilege leveling a critique on the pursuit of wealth. Myrtle's fate as a poor woman is not equivalent to that of the other character's -- she dies, and her husband as well. They suffer from her desire to pursue elements of the dream. For Gatsby, critiquing the pursuit of the American Dream is easy because he has largely attained it. For those like Myrtle, it seems disingenuous to critique their desire to gain a measure of wealth and power in their lives. In the 1920s, people like Myrtle and her husband would have had no financial security of any type -- they pursued the American Dream not to be garish in their displays but simply as a measure of building a better life. The inclusion of these characters seems intended to show that Myrtle's pursuit of a better life is fatally flawed. However, someone in a position of privilege like Fitzgerald was in no position to pass judgment on the poor and underprivileged classes. The pursuit of the American Dream may have had adverse consequences for some, but was still vital for millions of Americans of the day.