An Analysis Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

One can not depend completely on another person to complete the American dream, even if that person happens to be a part of their goal. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby believes that in order to complete his goal of achieving the American Dream, he needs Daisy’s love, making him completely dependent on her. Gatsby's love for Daisy began at a young age. As Jordan recalls from a memory, “The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.” This quotation informs the reader of Daisy and Gatsby’s past relationship. The quote proves to the fact that Gatsby used to love Daisy and it illustrates that despite the fact that Gatsby has an image of an ideal man (having everything he wants), he lacks the one thing that he truly wants: Daisy’s love. His affection for her
was so great that he earned a fortune in order to win her love. He tried desperately to get her attention: buying a house across the bay from her’s, throwing lavish parties hoping she’d show up, and according to Jordan "...he says he's read a Chicago paper for years on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy's name.” Other characters also clearly realizes that Gatsby's passion for Daisy is driven by overwhelming love Nick says "He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths--so he could 'come over' some afternoon to a stranger's garden." Jordan realizes it too "I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night,' went on Jordan." (Fitzgerald 63) Gatsby himself doesn’t seem embarrassed about his obsession as he says to Daisy "'Look at this, Here's a lot of clippings about you.' They stood side by side examining it."(Fitzgerald 74).
All these quotations prove that Daisy is perfection in the eyes of Jay Gatsby. In fact, she can do no wrong in the eyes of Gatsby: her admirer. Gatsby has deceived himself into believing that Daisy is beyond perfect. When she acts against his wishes, he has to convince himself over again that she's flawless and whatever she has done wasn't really her fault. Gatsby can not admit that Daisy has imperfections because that would mean his entire dream is a lie since he relies completely on Daisy to complete his dream. As shown, Gatsby went through a far extent to impress someone he needed to complete his dream. This shows exactly who Gatsby is and highlights his character: he has an impulsive drive, is hyper-ambitious, and demonstrates a lack of self control.
His ambition happens to be the American dream which he is feverishly chasing to complete.