Gatsby American Dream Failure

At the Associated Press Annual Luncheon in April of 2008, when talking about the American people, soon-to-be President Barack Obama said, “We may come from different places and have different stories, but we share common hopes and one very American dream.” From this, stems the debate of “what is this american dream?” To, like Jay Gatsby, go from rags to riches? Or to live simply with no responsibilities, like Chris McCandless. Though neither character was able to successfully live out the American dream, Gatsby came the closest to living it because he was able to work his way up from nothing in order to become successful, live the life he always wanted, and almost getting the girl of his dreams. In The Great Gatsby, we follow the character Nick Carraway, as he narrates the life of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a millionaire whose dream is to impress Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin. He tries to win her over with

But then the ambition for something has thrown Gatsby over the edge. His love and chase for Daisy has taken over his whole life. He feels that he has to live up to the American dream to accomplish what he truly dreams for, which is Daisy. In the book, Nick spots Gatsby reaching for the green light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock. Nick says in the book when he witnessed Gatsby doing this “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” (Fitzgerald 20). The green light represents Gatsby’s dreams, hopes, and desires to reunite with Daisy, which he didn’t achieve at the