The Great Gatsby American Dream Analysis

A False Dream
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is rife with controversial characters and ideas, but none more so than that of the flawed “American Dream.” Americans have always felt they can cling to the idea of the American dream, exploiting even the most infinitesimal sliver of hope in search of a life of fulfillment and contentedness. The poor look to the rich and powerful as symbols of the American dream coming to fruition; proof that baseless clay can be molded into something of worth. Millions of people can imagine having this “perfect” life, but inevitably, for every one person that fulfills this dream, millions of others fall short. The American dream is an illusion that gives the poor hope of rising out of the ashes
to make a name for themselves, then inevitably strips it all away.
Halfway between West Egg and East Egg, Fitzgerald exposes the grotesque dumping grounds of the rich – a wasteland of ashes, dust and broken dreams.
This dumping ground is home to countless people who, unbeknownst to them, have not and will not see their dreams realized: “This is the valley of ashes - a fantastic farm… of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (27). Fitzgerald strategically places the valley of ashes in close proximity with both West and East Egg to clearly juxtapose the American dream fulfilled with the American dream unfulfilled. The valley of ashes is so close to the Eggs that the residents of the wasteland are constantly reminded of what their life could be like should they become wealthy and what society deems successful. The rich embody this last bit of hope for those who still believe in the façade that is the American dream. These people just have yet to realize that this hope is a false illusion, for no life can sprout from the ashes in this “solemn dumping ground” (28). All life here has been condemned by the very thing they believe can set them free: the American dream. The valley of ashes not only plays host to those who are hopeless, but actually accentuates this hopelessness. George Wilson is an average, honest man stuck in the valley of ashes with no foreseeable way out. If Wilson looks outside, he sees “grey land” and “spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it” (27), but if he looks down in his own home
there is nothing to see but the “unprosperous and bare… interior;” the “shadow of a garage” (29). No matter which way he looks, the valley of ashes serves as a constant reminder of the bleak, hopelessness of his life. To have and experience very little wealth and success is cause enough to make anyone sad and depressed, but to be constantly reminded of one’s failure can only compound the issue. There is both an air of disgust and pity associated with the valley of ashes and those it harbors: “The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and when the drawbridge is up to let the barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (28). This “dumping ground” (28) is so utterly disgusting that passersby are so horrified by the sight, they become entranced. The valley of ashes outwardly displays the hopelessness and despair within the “men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (27); men who saw the dreams of an extremely select few realized, and their own dreams die along the way.
Without hope and purpose, people can feel lost; but the hope of the poor to fulfill the illusion of the American dream is misplaced and can only lead to their eventual downfall. The poor in The Great Gatsby are comprised of two kinds of people: those who have been broken and crushed by failure to fulfill their dreams or those who still cling to hope, unwittingly awaiting their inevitable demise. George Wilson is a “blonde, spiritless man” who embodies this second type of person. Upon seeing Tom Buchanan, his hope is temporarily reignited: “When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes” (29). For just a fraction of a second Wilson actually believes he has a real chance at becoming something. This moment of joy and hope is a moment that can brighten even the darkest hour of the darkest day; In this moment, Wilson feels like anything is possible; In this moment, he is infinite; he is invincible; he has hope. The sad truth of this pure, perfect moment is that it is temporary; fleeting – as soon as it comes, it goes, leaving nothing but harsh reality to return to. Much like the American dream, the false hope cannot last; reality always, inevitably comes, and with it the sad truth that the American dream is not a reality, but just what it says it is: a dream. Any onlooker can see that Wilson is a man who’s vitality has been sucked out of him along with any real chance to ascend the social ladder: “She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom…‘[Wilson’s] so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive’” (30). Wilson is hanging by a thread to any bit of vitality he may have once held, but the furies draw closer by the day to cut his string. The brief glimmer of hope in his eyes is enough to keep him going, but should his ignorance end and he become exposed to his wife’s infidelity or the truth that there is no hope for him become apparent, Wilson will be crushed and broken. In the end, no amount of false hope can sustain someone forever. Tom Buchanan is labeled as this successful man Wilson desires to become, whose immediately recognizable wealth and status, represented by his “freedom with money” being “a matter for reproach,” (9) is contrasted with the immediately recognizable despair associated with George Wilson’s “spiritless… anemic” (29) appearance. While outward appearances are not always a window into a man’s heart, Wilson’s despondent look accurately reflects what he knows or will inevitably know deep down inside to be true: his fantasy of becoming someone wealthy and respectable is just that – a fantasy; not a reality.
Societal cruelty to those who are deemed unworthy and unsuccessful can be traced back to the beginning of human life and human societies and eventually these “untouchables” either learn to cope with this injustice or they become withered down and broken.
As if George Wilson wasn’t already in a bad enough place (mentally and physically), he has just learned of his wife’s infidelity in the same day that he learns of her murder: “George Wilson rocked himself back and forth on the couch inside… The effort of answering broke the rhythm of his rocking – for a moment he was silent” (164-165). What can a man who believes he has nothing do when his wife – his source of vitality – his lifeline is murdered and exposed as unfaithful all in the same day? – For a while, all he can do is grieve and rock back and forth. His judgment is upon him as he makes the transition from the kind of man who still clings to hope to the kind of man who is broken and crushed. Wilson’s compromised world is void of all that he once cared for and his ignorance fades as he begins to put two and two together: “’I’m one of these trusting fellas and I don’t think any harm to nobody, but when I get to know a thing I know it… I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God’… Wilson stood there a long time, his face close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight” (166-168). In the same breath that the cruel world takes all Wilson once loved, it gives him a new purpose. He has transformed into a
dangerous man; a man who will die to obtain the justice he feels is owed. Wilson’s whole world is left behind as he commits himself to his new goal and Fitzgerald capitalizes on the fact that Wilson’s illusion of the American dream has come unraveled as it was always destined to do: “A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about… like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward [Gatsby] through the amorphous trees” (169). The injustice of the earth and the lie of the American dream have tainted Wilson’s existence since the moment he came screaming into this world. Only when he loses absolutely everything does he seize control of whatever miserable scraps remain of his life. Rising an innocent child and falling a broken martyr, Wilson ends his life in pursuit of misplaced anger and justice: “A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb… the thin red circle in the water… It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete” (169-170). Wilson’s hope of rising out of the ashes has finally been exposed as the foolish hope of a man yearning for a life beyond his station. The world has won; has gotten the better of an honest man taken in by a lie – a fantasy – an illusion.
The fantasy of achieving the perceived American dream becomes more important to the poor than actual reality. Their idea of obtaining success, wealth and power gives the poor something to hope for – something to live for. Ironically, as Fitzgerald shows through the American dream, the one thing that gives the poor life and vitality is the very thing that inevitably strips it all away. In this way, the hope of those who are poor and the impending doom that awaits their dreams walk hand in hand, leaving a valley of ashes in their wake. The poor are left with a simple choice really: do they cling to false hope and the illusion of becoming someone successful or do they accept their fate and make the best of what they are given. In the end, one cannot control where he comes from or change the past, but he must take comfort in the knowledge that he can control where he goes from there.