Jame Gatsby and the American Dream

The Great Gatsby: The American Dream

The American dream is often set with unrealistic expectations. The Great Gatsby’s author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, writes about a time when the American dream corrupts a group of individuals. He gives the reader insight into the destructive world that once thrived in the twenties. Gatsby is the center of that group of individuals grasping the American dream. This is because he becomes a victim by reaching out to someone like Daisy who does not share his principles. His good heart cannot subsist in what some see as the “American dream”.   Gatsby downfall can be thoroughly explained through Albert Schweitzer quotation, “An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. . . The truly wise person is colorblind.” As an optimistic person, Gatsby becomes trapped in the ongoing struggle to capture the American dream.

Gatsby possesses the one quality that can make or break a person: optimistic. Being overly ambitious can be a bad quality because, in Gatsby’s case, he became inseparable from their dreams; disappointment causes him grief if expectations aren’t met. Gatsby’s dreams of obtaining Daisy are unrealistic. Throughout the book, his clothes fade representing emptiness in his dreams. As well, Owl eyes, the man who dwells in Gatsby’s library, predict Gatsby’s downfall through the structure of his mansion: “That if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse” (50) this quotation refers to Gatsby’s structure in life as it begins to deteriorate; when he loses Daisy, friends and eventually his livelihood.

Ever since he was a boy, Gatsby was inseparable from his dreams of becoming more refined as a person. To explain, Gatsby was situated into a poor family; however, he worked his way into the upper class. His overly ambitious side became self-destructive when he attempts to rekindle Daisy’s love for him. Daisy doesn’t care for Gatsby, she only cares about...