The American Dream In The Great Gatsby Analysis

The 1920s was a time of economic prosperity, social change, and growth in materialism. Despite the range of changes occurring across the nation, one thing remained constant; the search for the American Dream. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby; an enigmatic man of wealth, grapples with his own pursuit of the American Dream and the lengths at which he must go to in attempt to attain it. Fitzgerald argues that the American Dream is often sought after obsessively through acquiring wealth, and perseverance, despite its unachievable nature.
Gatsby’s accumulation of wealth demonstrates his resolute attempt to reach the American Dream. Firstly, as Gatsby brings Nick and Daisy over to his mansion, in the front yard, Daisy “admired this aspect or that of the feudal silhouette against the sky, admired the gardens, the sparkling odor of jonquils and the frothy odor of hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate” (Fitzgerald 96). Fitzgerald uses a lengthy sentence structure to describe the bountiful amount of adornments around the entrance of Gatsby 's mansion by repeating the conjunction “and”. The sentence itself is not short nor choppy, but instead with its continuous flow, it highlights the abundance of ornaments solely at the gate of his mansion. More importantly, it also emphasizes his obvious wealth, as his impressive purchases overflow out of his mansion and into the property itself. The sheer amount of