The Unattainable American Dream

876 Words4 Pages
What is the American Dream? America has evolved from a British colony to become a world power through its extraordinary economic growth. Driven by the tenets of independence, self reliance, and freedom, Americans have had the opportunity to pursue economic success. To many, this is the American Dream; to have freedom and the opportunity to pursue financial freedom. To others, such as Gatsby, the main character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American dream is happiness. Driven by his dreams, Gatsby seeks happiness through love, yet the mere fact that his dream is unattainable makes him flawed. Without dreams, Gatsby loses his sense of purpose in life. Thus the pursuit of the American dream is a paradox. Achieving it is impossible, but without it, life will lose its purpose. The birth of the American Dream in a person’s mind leads to the rising importance of material wealth in his or her mind. According to author Laura Vanderkam, “If money can’t buy happiness, perhaps we aren’t spending it right”(Vanderkam 1). Rather than money being “evil or soulless” or a point of comparison, she suggests we see it as a tool for bringing people joy. The emergence of the desire for the happiness and love of the Gatsby’s American Dream occurs when he meets Dan Cody, an enormously wealthy old man. After his disgust with college, Gatsby looks for a new life. He finds his fortune in Dan Cody's yacht, “To young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represents all the beauty and glamour in the world” (106). As soon as he borrows the row boat that transports him to the yacht, Gatsby is no longer James Gatz, he has became Gatsby. With the row boat symbolizing his decision and the name change symbolizing the change of identity that Gatsby seeks, the American Dream is born within him. On Cody’s yacht with his new identity, “Gatsby is employed
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