The Illusive Dream Unravelled in F.Scott Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby

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The Illusive Dream Unraveled in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the American dream fails to provide satisfaction and an ‘ ideal life’ for the characters who aspire to attain it. This is well demonstrated through the character of Gatsby in his aspiration for money and his yearning for Daisy. Fitzgerald is able to show the inability to attain the idyllic American dream through Daisy, Tom’s wife and Gatsby’s lost love who turns her back on her true love to satisfy her materialistic desires. Gatsby and Daisy place all of their hopes in the dominant aspects of the American Dream; their failure to achieve their desires reveals the Dream to be elusive and largely unattainable. The idea of the American Dream is established in the United States Declaration of Independence, which states that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" consisting of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” When Gatsby was eight years old he grew up being told that he would live the American Dream. In 1907-1912 he is on a ship with Dan Cody, his mentor, living an accomplished worldly lifestyle. “I remember a portrait of him up in Gatsby’s bedroom, a grey, florid man with a hard, empty face”. (97) Gatsby becomes inspired by Dan Cody to become wealthy and live the American Dream. Before World War I Gatsby met the popular and beautiful young debutante, Daisy Fay. They fell in love but when Gatsby left for the War, Daisy was not able to stay true to Gatsby and she left him to marry Tom Buchanan in 1919. When Gatsby arrived back from the war he was devastated so "Gatsby bought [a] house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." (137-140) With all of Gatsby’s hopes and anticipations, the green light on the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock represents these dreams for

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