Embodiment Of The American Dream

In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald uses the main characters’ lives to show the emptiness of the American Dream. As can be seen through most of history, chasing wealth seems to be an activity enjoyed by most but perfected by few. While Gatsby is giving Daisy a tour of his house Nick says “Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way… Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs”(Fitzgerald 112). I believe that Jay Gatsby gazing at his possessions in a ‘dazed’ way shows that he realizes deep down that these possessions are not enough to keep him satisfied. Furthermore, use of the word ‘dazed’ also gives a sense that bfenvironment around him is dream-like as Gatsby is being fully engulfed in the American Dream.
Daisy’s reference to this shows that to the average onlooker Jay Gatsby is the embodiment of the American Dream. I believe this reference is used to solidify the idea that while his life may look good from an outside perspective, the reality is that of a lonely man who uses his money to fill a void in his heart. The reality that someone as successful as Gatsby may never reach the level of happiness that the average person can so easily grasp. Finally, while Nick is participating in a conversation with Tom and Daisy, he narrates how “They were careless people… they smashed things and creatures and then retreated back into their money”(Fitzgerald 187). I take this statement to be a reference to the you-can-fix-anything-with-money mindset of the American Dream. This mindset is one which leads those with money to become dissatisfied with their life when everyday struggles are no longer an issue to be dealt with. In this quote the creatures that are referred to are most likely the people that Tom and Daisy had to push down in order to make it to their high-level place in society. Moreover the reference to creature shows how Tom and Daisy have become disassociated with people, in a sense viewing them as animals and not