Downfall Of The Great Gatsby

results in his downfall from power and his death. Gatsby had a false sense of belief that he would be able to turn back time and simply restart his life, with Daisy. Gatsby fails to notice the bridge between social classes that is blocking him form Daisy. A factor in the social difference between Gatsby and the Buchanan’s, Gatsby has made his money through illegal means whereas families in East area are heritage rich families. These problems experienced by Jay Gatsby, give insight to advantages and disadvantages of the 1920s. Fitzgerald reveals the fine lines between success, corruption and The American Dream.
Jay Gatsby first meets Daisy as a young officer, he deceives Daisy into thinking that he possesses a reasonable amount of wealth and
Gatsby started as the son of a poor farm boy in the mid-west of America. It was because of his astounding sense of hope that Gatsby was able to acquire his wealth in a small amount of time. “It was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of ivory” (Pg. 11). This quote from narrator Nick Caraway accurately describes just how newly discovered Gatsby’s wealth was. The “thin beard of ivory” (Pg. 11) shows that Gatsby is not nearly established as other families whose ivory is strong and rich with heritage. Nick Caraway likes Gatsby and describes him as “An extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again” (Pg.2). This is a major advantage to Gatsby, his hope, this shows just how important it was to have hope whilst trying to pursue the American Dream. Nick likes this about Gatsby and thinks he is much greater than other members of society at the time. Gatsby was future thinking and did not necessarily ‘live for the moment’ as others did. This is a leading factor in Gatsby’s success, if not for his courage and hope he may never have met Dan Cody and gained an insight into upper class life which aided him on his path to wealth. The American Dream was what
The only thing left between Gatsby reaching his dream was Daisy Buchanan, she was everything that Gatsby desired. He was willing to do anything to win her heart, however Gatsby does not realise that the past cannot be re-lived as Nick Caraway states; “You can’t repeat the past” (Pg. 106). Gatsby denies this by stating; “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can! He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before, he said, nodding determinedly. She’ll see!” (Pg. 106). It is not until Gatsby hears about Daisy’s daughter, Pammy, does he realise that he cannot simply turn back time. Pammy represents the time barrier between Gatsby and Daisy, she is the evidence that Daisy is living her own life. Shortly after meeting Pammy, Nick describes Gatsby’s reaction “Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had believed in its existence before.” (Pg.102). Gatsby was shocked and refuses to accept that Daisy has an established life without him. It is Gatsby’s ‘mad’ obsession with gaining Daisy that ultimately begins his demise from power. This is a key symbol in the American dream, Fitzgerald is showing how at the time America was full of people that were fixed upon the American Dream but were unable to recognise the bigger picture. For Gatsby his astounding love for Daisy