The Pompous Elite

The American Dream

The American Dream is easy to describe, it is, put simply, the ideal that any opportunity is available to any American so long as they work hard. This contrasts with the definition that Fitzgerald uses in The Great Gatsby. In this novel the American Dream is tied closely with a desire for solely monetary wealth and high social standing. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in this story, spends much of his life pursing Fitzgerald's meaning of the American dream. He is focused on money and affluence. In reality, though, the American Dream refers to anything at all, whether is be owning your own restaurant, raising a family of four, or becoming president, the $ behind your dream needn't classify or declassify it as the "traditional" American Dream or not.

I think it is important to note that I defined Fitzgerald's American dream by saying monetary wealth. Wealth, inherently, is everything a person finds valuable. That can be their family, a lot of money, a big house, etc. Under this definition, a person who values their mental health and familial relationships can be wealthy solely by having a healthy mind and a close connection to their spouse. Wealth is subjective and relies heavily on what a person places value in.

As I mentioned earlier, Fitzgerald grows the definition of wealth in The Great Gatsby as being based heavily in an abundance of money. This would mean that both Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are wealthier than any man would ever need to be. Given that these two base wealth on money, there is still room for them to remain unhappy and unfulfilled, which they most certainly are. If I were to evaluate their level of true wealth, though, I would say that they aren't really wealthy in the ways that ultimately matter.

One instance in The Great Gatsby where the wealth versus poverty dichotomy is explored is Gatsby's house versus Nick's house. They are right next to each other so you can see how starkly their size and level of grandeur contrast. Nick's house is small and quaint while Gatsby's is grandiose and luxurious. Despite the obvious difference is the cost between these two properties, we actually see throughout the story that Nick, the one with the smaller house and less monetary wealth, is, overall,  happier. This was done by Fitzgerald to comment on how the accumulation  of money does not necessarily translate to contentedness within one's life. Another instance that poverty and wealth are contrasted is with Myrtle and Tom. Again, their is vast disparity in the cost of the places that they live. Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes, a poor, labor region. Tom lives in East Egg, an area dripping with old American money. Fitzgerald's creation of their affair was to show that deep attraction ignores one's socio-economic class. While Tom may be married to someone else of the elite, and while he may love her to some extent, he finds his true satisfaction through Myrtle.

I believe that Fitzgerald made some very smart arguments in The Great Gatsby. His depictions of true happiness did not parallel the characters too focused  on money and class, which I agreed with. Personally, I think that wealth is important. Both the financial kind and otherwise. One must just remember to keep the right balance in their life. Because if they don't, they may just end up like Gatsby, dead...as a corona victim.