Jay Gatsby’s Dream

James Truslow Adams was the first to popularize the idea of the American Dream, in his book The Epic of America. In The Epic of America, Adams describes the American dream as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement,” This description of the American Dream speaks directly about how the United States is that land in which you can gain everything you’ve desired through your ability to work hard. The American Dream is an idolized phrase and serves as hope for many people who don’t grow up wealthy.  Many low-class or middle-class people believe heavily in this American Dream and become dedicated to the idea of having everything they desire if they just work hard. When most people think about the American Dream, two words come to their mind: hard work and dedication. The American Dream is all about building oneself up from nothing in terms of money. The United States has a capitalist economy, less tied to aristocracy and class than other continents ;therefore, the American Dream can be accomplished by the gain of wealth through determination. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character, Jay Gatsby, is a driven young man from a low-class family who accomplishes the American Dream. Even though Jay Gatsby was a criminal, he is a perfect example of the American Dream because he still built himself up to achieve financial success.

Before Jay Gatsby was Jay Gatsby, he was James Gatz; a boy born into a poor farm family in North Dakota. James Gatz was a deeply ambitious and determined person who wanted to become successful. Gatz’ parents, “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” were prime examples of what he did not want to become, so Gatz worked as a janitor to be able to pay and attend college (Fitzgerald 104). He thought that this would be a right step in the direction of his future glory, but after two weeks, Gatz leaves college because he is unwilling to sit around and let other people dictate his future of success. After Gatz leaves college, it is clear that he breaks away from his younger self “James Gatz”, a person who wants to be successful but is unsure how to dictate his own future. Dan Cody, a self-made millionaire is the reason Gatz turned into Gatsby. After Cody turned up in Little Girl Bay in his yacht, Gatz’s visions of successfulness were defined by wealthiness: “the yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world” (Fitzgerald 106). Gatz comprehension of how success was based on wealth, created Gatsby. Gatsby was a lot like Gatz but “sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” this formation into his ideal person was because he finally knew what he wanted out of being successful, which was money ( Fitzgerald 104).

After Gatsby’s name change and his defined goal that he wanted to be rich, he still did not know how to build himself up to be a self-made millionaire. Luckly, Dan Cody employed Gatsby as his apprentice and showed him the lavish lifestyle while also sophisticating and polishing his character. When Dan Cody passed away, he left 25,000 dollars to Gatsby but Cody’s second wife acquired this money instead of Gatsby by dubious legal means. Gatsby was then left penniless but with the knowledge of how the wealthy worked.  Many years after Cody’s death, Gatsby meet the love of his life, Daisy Fay before he headed off to Europe to fight in WWI in 1917. Daisy and Gatsby’s love was strong. The couple sent letters to each other over the course of the war, and as the war ended, Gatsby was able to attend Oxford University a very prestigious school for five months. However, Gatsby left Oxford University after receiving news Daisy would be marrying Tom Buchanan, a man of old money and high class. Gatsby then felt that he needed to be wealthy fast to compete with Tom and earn Daisy’s love back. Gatsby then set on the track of earning his money illegally.

When Gatsby returned to the United States in 1919, he made “gonnegtions” with businessmen like Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfshiem gave Gatsby a job and with the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment occuring in 1920, the two of them became part of the underground organized crime of bootlegging. Through bootlegging and other illegal businesses, Gatsby made his fortune, and he made it fast: “It took me just three years to earn the money that bought it” (Fitzgerald 95). Gatsby’s ability to have bought his multi-millionaire dollar house in just three years from starting at nothing speaks to how Gatsby saw an opportunity to become rich and he took it. Though many will protest that Gatsby did not accomplish the American Dream because he earned his money illegally, there claim is false. Jay Gatsby is the living representation of the American Dream in Fitzgerald’s novel, because he was able to transform himself  by working harder and smarter. Gatsby was able to obtain milliones and never got caught while doing it because he was able to outsmart the police and government and to outwork these two takes a lot of effort and intelligence which Jay Gatsby had. Whether readers agree with his methods, Jay Gatsby still succeeded.

Although Gatsby accomplished the American Dream, he lost sight of his true self in a rush to get back to Daisy. Gatsby left a highly prestigious school which would have given him many legal opportunities to earn money; instead, he chose to go back to The United States in hopes of wooing Daisy away from her husband Tom. Gatsby then accumulated all his money illegally in urgency to show Daisy that he could give her everything she could ever want. Throughout the novel, Gatsby’s defined goal of becoming rich was his version of success. Gatsby felt that if he had the yacht like Cody and was able to live lavishly he would be happy, but after meeting Daisy, Gatsby’s whole perspective about success shifted. After finding out Daisy was marrying Tom Buchanan a man of high class, and old money, his goal shifted on gaining wealth to earn Daisy. Gatsby no longer cared about his own success like he once had and: “he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 96). Gatsby possessions held no real relevance to him, and they were revalued to how Daisy saw them. The parties that were also held to marvel and impress Daisy were no longer hosted by Gatsby because Gatsby realized that theses immaculate parties were not her thing and that she did not understand them or the people.

Jay Gatsby worked himself up from being a poor farm boy with nothing. He polished his person, and took the opportunity to go The University of Oxford to continue improving himself by develop his education and earning a degree. This degree would allow him to earn lots of money that his parents never had, which was his success. However, Gatsby gave it up all so he could gain quick, illegal cash to show Daisy he could give her everything she could ever want and more. Gatsby’s goal was once the American Dream, and how being wealthy would make him happy, but after meeting Daisy, his success was focused on her. Gatsby earned all his wealth to impress her.  and still accomplished the American Dream because he worked hard to earn his money and built himself up. Even though he was not happy.

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152 Responses to Jay Gatsby’s Dream

  1. 20mccarthye says:

    This essay was my favorite paper to write in Mrs. Waterman’s class this year. I loved the topic I picked and how to describe the American Dream and provide evidence on how Jay Gatsby did accomplish the American Dream even though he no longer cared about it and was only focused on how Daisy viewed him. I also liked the way I incorporated the idea that Gatsby lost himself and his goals when he lost Daisy and was trying to earn her love back. I feel that me adding this idea into my essay well supported my thesis of how Jay Gatsby accomplished the American Dream but lost sight of it.

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