Disillusionment In The Great Gatsby

Since its discovery, the West has provided opportunities for people with little or no hope. For some, it is the land of rags to riches, while for others, it traps them into a similar cycle of poverty. Over time, many people become disillusioned by the prosperity and security that the West promises. In The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the disillusionment of the Western dream through Jay Gatsby’s loss of identity, the lifestyle, and his legacy.
Since he was young, Gatsby changes his identity in order to mold himself into the epitome of Western culture. In many instances, Gatsby attempts to conceal his initial poverty, such as when he claims, “[his] family all died and [he] came into a good deal of money” (65), while in
Gatsby changes his personal background to give off a sense of prestige and honor. He is ashamed of his past and wants to mold a new version of his life, even if that is through means of lying and deception. Nick also reveals to us that Jay Gatsby is actually James Gatz, and “[changes] [his name]” (98) once he lays his eyes upon Dan Cody’s magnificent yacht. Gatsby’s change in lifestyle is evident of his disillusionment with his identity because he wants to reinvent himself and become someone he is not. He sheds his name, a sign of his heritage and background, so that he blends in with Western culture. After meeting and falling in love with Daisy “[Gatsby] deliberately [gives] Daisy a sense of security; he [lets] her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as
Upon receiving news of his murder, Nick attempts to call Daisy to talk to her but “she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them” (164). In the end, the one person who has Gatsby’s love is not even one of the few people to show up at his funeral. Fitzgerald shows how Western success does not always equate to a happy ending. Nick then tries to persuade Meyer Wolfsheim to attend the funeral, but he refuses, saying, “When a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it anyway. I keep out” (171). Meyer Wolfsheim continues to make up excuses as to why he is not able to attend, despite supposedly being business partners and friends with Gatsby, because he does not care. Meyer Wolfsheim worries too much personal image and interests to give alms to his deceased friend. At the funeral, there is only a small congregation of servants: Nick, Mr. Gatz, and Owl-eyes, who mentions how “they used to go [to Mr. Gatsby’s house] by the hundreds!” (175). Despite throwing lavish parties and being a popular public figure, no one attends Mr. Gatsby’s funeral because he does not have any real friends. Mr. Gatsby’s parties provide only temporary interest and fascination for those who attend them, and even his riches can not provide companions. Fitzgerald makes it apparent that the wealth so often attributed to Western success blinds