What is the American dream? Since 1775, generation of American believed that better life can be achieved through hard work. That is people must prosper through their own diligence, courage, creativity and determination, rather than relying on the assistance on the assistance of specific social classes and others. Now let’s do some character analysis and broader analysis of topics surrounding the American dream in The Great Gatsby .
Jay Gatsby’s dream is to get Daisy to divorce Tom and have her eventually become his wife. Gatsby has been obsessed with the idea. of being with Daisy since he dated her five years ago. “Gatsby’s entire present exisience- the house, the money, the pink suits- is constructed so Daisy will notice him.” So we can see Gatsby make party every saturday night and illegal business all for be with Daisy. But at the end of story, Gatsby did not realize his dream to be with Daisy.
Daisy’s dream is to get a steady and wealthy life, so she marries Tom after Gatsby joined the army. Tom can give Daisy wealth and fame which is what Daisy wants; therefore, even though Daisy has found that Tom has a mistress, she can still ignore the fact. She does not care whether Tom loves her or not, because she does not need love, and that is the reason why she cannot decide to divorce Tom and marries Gatsby. Tom has already gave what she wants but she does not know whether Gatsby can give her the same life. After she knows how Gatsby became wealthy, she knows she cannot marry Gatsby because his wealth is accumulated by the illegal business, which cannot give her a steady and wealthy life. At this point, Daisy has made her decision not to divorce Tom and also not to have any connection with Gatsby, which explains why she does not attend Gatsby’s funeral at the end. She realizes her dream because Tom can always give what she wants.
Tom’s dream is to success. He does love Daisy even though he has a mistress. In his mind, losing Daisy is a failure so he must keep Daisy from leaving him. He uncovers Gatsby’s true identity and makes him rage in front of Daisy. He uses his words to humiliate Gatsby, which works really well. He knows as long as Daisy knows what Gatsby really is, she will no longer have any contact with him. The death of his mistress also gives Tom a golden opportunity. He denies that he has slept with Myrtle and imputes that it is Gatsby that commits all the crimes, which finally causes Myrtle’s husband revenge to Gatsby. He does not lose Daisy so he realizes his dream.
Everyone should have dreams, but dreams should be combined with reality. If your dream is unrealistic, the result will not be good. Just like Gatsby, he did a lot of work for his dream, but he still have a very bad ending. So we must be realistic when we set goals for ourselves. We can’t set goals that can’t be achieved.
