Gatsby and the Dream

The Great Gatsby: The Dream

Jay Gatsby, the central character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby symbolizes the American
dream. The American dream offers faith in the possibility of a better life. Its attendant illusion is the
belief that material wealth alone can bring that dream to fruition. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald brings
together both these ideas. Jay Gatsby thinks money is the answer to anything he encounters. He has the
best of everything. The fanciest car, the largest house, and the finest clothes. Jay has everything except
the object he most desires, Daisy. Gatsby believes he can win Daisy over with wealth, that he could
achieve the ideal she stood for through his material possessions.
One look at Gatsby’s past ...