What Is The American Dream Real In The Great Gatsby

There is no more American Dream. What is it you may ask? It’s said to be the belief that anyone, regardless of your race, gender, class, or nationality, can become successful in America if they work hard. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby, there are a lot of dreamers that believe in this American Dream. They’re all stuck in this loop of a non-reality and can’t seem to understand that it’s not real. The American Dream is named due to the opportunity, which apparently exists only here in America, for a determined person to be able to be a success through his or her own hard work and determination. Long Island has two eggs that represent the American Dream. In the 1920s, there was the West Egg, and there was the East Egg. Between these two were a lot of comparisons and contrasts.
The West Egg is described by Nick Carraway, a character in the book, as, “…the less fashionable of the two [eggs]” (22). Nick also describes the East Egg as fashionable and “glittered along the water” (22). These parts of Long Island represent a huge part in the “American Dream”. Between the two eggs, there are symbols.
In the West Egg, they are considered the “new money”. It means that they have recently made their money and it’s not inherited from their previous family. This side of the egg represents the still maintaining “American Dream”. They work hard for everything they earn and then still try to make more because they only have such amount. Jay Gatsby is a perfect example of this. He’s worked hard his whole life to get what he wants. He now lives in a big mansion and throws lavish parties for the whole town to join. “But I didn’t call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone--he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (33). This quote is a perfect example of showing how Gatsby has everything he wants, but is still reaching towards something bigger or greater than himself that’s out of reach. In this case is Daisy, and she in this book represents the “American Dream”. It’s out of
reach. In the East Egg, they’re considered the “old money” or the gold of New York. Their money is inherited from their family or gained many years ago and is still earning more. People of the East Egg have become lazy and laid-back after an easy life away from the hard work and prefer having the pleasures of life only. They represent the downfall of the “American Dream”. A resident of the East is a woman named Daisy. She’s an old classmate of Gatsby and now s “neighbor”. She represents Gatsby’s strive for everything. She is the dream, his dream to be exact. Gatsby has worked so hard in life just to live near Daisy and show his enormous wealth just to get this girl. “…sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes, and a bright passionate mouth” (25). This quote describes how Daisy looks and how she is a “white”, not just in race but dressed in, of the East Egg. Through this book, the East Egg is represented as careless aristocrats, like Daisy, who manipulate people to desire themselves. The destruction of the American Dream. The West Egg is the effort, success, and adventure of their fight to gain social class and have their own share in money and fame. The reach for the American Dream. These two parts of Long Island show how Fitzgerald uses contrast between the two, to show how the American Dream is corrupt. Even if you work for it or you grow up in it. Using examples from both parts of the Eggs gives great context and understanding on how society was in the 1920s and how not much has changed today in America. The American Dream is impossible.