The American Dream In The great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface, but it's most commonly understood as a pessimistic critique of the American Dream. In the film, based on the famous novel, Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and social recognition in 1920's NYC.

Through Gatsby's life, the author critiques the idea of America being this "magical place" where anyone can rise to the top with enough hard work. 

Jay Gatsby is born into a low-income family. Still, later on, he dedicates his life to becoming wealthy with hopes of going up the social ladder. He is passionate about Daisy Buchanan, who comes from a rich family, and she is another motivation for Jay to become successful. The American dream is portrayed through Gatsby and his mad pursuit of wealth. 

The life of Gatsby perfectly describes what the effects of the American dream can be. In his hope to rise from his poor societal status, Gatsby takes up many illegal activities, opens up a drug store, and lies about it to Daisy. His entire motivation behind the success was wrong, as he only wanted to steal Daisy away from Tom, her husband. Gatsby became more self-absorbed as the story progressed, and his entire life was full of misery. Although he succeeded in securing enormous amounts of wealth, his life was full of discontentment. 

The theme of the American dream is also depicted in the life of Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle, Tom's mistress, did whatever she could to achieve her American dream, that is, to be a respectable member of the upper-class society. Myrtle’s desire to be a member of the upper-class society is so engulfing that she is willing to sacrifice anything she has and go to any lengths. She betrays her husband and starts cheating on him with Tom, a wealthy man who provides her with a luxurious lifestyle. And, although Myrtle does live a luxurious life after becoming Tom’s mistress, her life is empty of worldly pleasures. And eventually, she ends up dead as Daisy accidentally hits her with Gatsby’s car.