This essay examines F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby as both a celebration and critique of the American Dream. Through close analysis of Jay Gatsby's characterization, the paper argues that Gatsby achieves the material markers of success only to have his dream undermined by an obsessive infatuation with Daisy Buchanan. Drawing on scholarly perspectives from Harold Bloom, Thomas Inge, Scott Donaldson, and others, the essay traces how Gatsby's lavish lifestyle, romantic idealism, and refusal to accept reality transform the promise of the self-made man into a cautionary tale about the dangers of desire, materialism, and misplaced ambition.
The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of primary and secondary sources. Rather than simply summarizing critics, the writer uses each scholarly quotation to advance a specific point in the argument — for example, using Bloom to establish Gatsby's "permanent innocence" and Fraser to explain why readers sympathize with him despite his flaws. This technique shows how secondary sources can function as evidence rather than mere background.
The essay opens with a thesis connecting characterization to the decline of the American Dream, then moves through a logical sequence: Gatsby's achievement of the Dream, the material excesses that signal its corruption, the obsession with Daisy that dooms him, and a defense of Gatsby's sympathetic qualities. The conclusion synthesizes these threads into a broader cautionary lesson about ambition pursued for the wrong reasons.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby captures a slice of American life that reveals the dangers of excess. While the novel covers the hope and expanse of the American Dream, many would also agree that it is equally a story about the Dream's decline. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of the self-made man, but he allows his dream to become clouded by a growing sense of desire that is far beyond his reach. Through characterization, Fitzgerald demonstrates how destructive materialism, excess, and desire can not only ruin the American Dream but a man's life.
The tragedy of The Great Gatsby is that Gatsby actually does achieve his dream, but it slips away from him when he allows himself to be sidetracked by his infatuation with Daisy. Thomas Inge maintains that the novel "deals symbolically with the failure of the American dream of success" (Inge) by concentrating on possibilities arising from "rags to riches through industry, ambition, self-reliance, honesty, and temperance" (Inge). There is nothing wrong with wanting the best and working hard for it, but Gatsby allows his dream to become entwined with the myth of obtaining Daisy's love. Inge believes that the myth of Daisy's love "lies the genesis of what impels Gatsby" (Inge). It is a passion strong enough to compel him to achieve great things, but ultimately not what he truly wants.
The American Dream is achieved, and this is what makes us admire Gatsby. He is a self-made man who can say that he alone earned everything he has. His wealth did not come from inheritance, as the Buchanans' did. While it is pleasant to enjoy wealth, the spoils of it can become ugly and addictive, and it is this excess that begins to ruin Gatsby.
His lavishness reveals the corrupted heart of the American Dream, and it begins with the home. Gatsby's house is gorgeous and elaborate, with its "Marie Antoinette bedrooms and Restoration salons" (Fitzgerald 93) and its "Merton College Library" (93). His bathroom is decorated with a "toilet seat of pure dull gold" (94), and his suits are crafted by a "man in England . . . who sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall" (94). All of this is wonderful and extravagant — and all of it is meant to impress Daisy. As scholars have long noted, the novel uses Gatsby's possessions as a measure of his aspirations and their ultimate futility.
The dangers of dreams become an important topic in The Great Gatsby as we see what can happen when we become too invested in achieving a goal for all the wrong reasons. Gatsby is admirable in that he creates a comfortable life for himself and manages to do so on his own terms. He has, for all intents and purposes, achieved the American Dream. Yet his mistake lies in the reasons why he pursues that dream, and those reasons are exactly what lead to its decline.
Gatsby lives excessively to impress Daisy, and his gain quickly becomes his loss when it becomes evident that he will never have the one thing he actually wanted. He had the right intentions in wanting a better life, but he was misguided by his belief that Daisy would leave Tom to be with him. In this sense, Gatsby becomes a perfect example of complex characterization: we can relate to him, to his dream, and to his loss. Fitzgerald's novel endures as a meditation on ambition, longing, and the costs of pursuing an ideal that was never truly attainable.
Bloom, Harold, ed. "Bloom on The Great Gatsby." The Great Gatsby, Bloom's Guides. 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
Donaldson, Scott. "Possessions in The Great Gatsby." Southern Review. 2001. EBSCO Resource Database.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Bantam Books. New York. 1974.
Fraser, John. "Dust and Dreams in The Great Gatsby." ELH. 1965. JSTOR Resource Database.
Hermanson, Casie. "An Overview of The Great Gatsby." Exploring Novels. 1998. GALE Resource Database.
Inge, Thomas. "F. Scott Fitzgerald: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature. 1994. GALE Resource Database.
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