Then wear the gold hatbounce for her too, Till she cry Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you(1). This epitaph by Thomas DInvilliers, found at the beginning of The Great Gatsby, depicts the dream that Jay Gatsby tries to make a reality. While it embodies characteristics of the American Dream of rags to riches, it is also a moving dream of love and happiness. While Gatsby was a fraud, his life and death show the greatness of the American Dream, not its bankruptcy. The story unfolds in New York during the early 1920s, a tumultuous time for Americans.

American culture was just beginning to take on its own identity with the popularization of jazz. The 1920s was also a time of social upheaval where opportunity was the name of the game. Prohibition was the law, thus creating opportunities for business-minded individuals, such as Gatsby, to become bootleggers. During these affluent years in American history, there were many parties and affairs with the extravagance and splendor of kings. Rich individuals, like Gatsby, threw huge parties with buffet tablesbars with real brass railsand orchestra[s] (44).

The Roaring Twenties were years where a person who had the dream could flourish. The American Dream, as it arose in the Colonial period, and developed in the nineteenth century, was the belief that a person, no matter their origins, could succeed in life. However, this success depended on a persons own skill and effort. During Gatsbys early working years, he started from the bottom as a clam digger, dreaming the popularized rags to riches dream. His next stop was the yacht of Dan Cody, where he worked and lived for five years as a steward.

Despite the monotony around him, his mind and magination were never at rest. Each night he added to the pattern of his fanciesthe reveries provided an outlet for his imaginationhint of unreality of reality(105). After Cody, we know Gatsby joined the army during World War I. Five years after returning from Europe, Gatsby is this incredibly wealthy man with a gargantuan house where he throws lavish parties. The reader learns that this wealth was accumulated through bootlegging, a highly illegal but lucrative trade during the Prohibition Era.

Thus, Gatsby achieved his rags to riches dream, although his methods were unlawful. What separates Gatsby from the other characters, who are foul dust that floated in the wake of his dreams (6), is that Gatsbys American dream was a means for an end to him. His dream continued past just accumulating wealth and reputation. That was only a phase of his master plan. Gatsbys ultimate goal is happiness, which can only be if Daisy is by his side. He achieved riches and success, but did not become overwhelmed and corrupted by it, although it is relevant to note he used corrupt methods.

His dream is a romantic idealism that life can be remarkable and beautiful. Gatsby is not interested in power for its own sake or in money or prestige, but for its ability to help him achieve his dream. For this, Gatsby is willing to do anything and everything. He uses his wealth as a resource to steal Daisy away from Tom. This also includes lying and creating a false impression of himself to others. He is putting on this front to try to become the man that Daisy desires. His extravagant parties are thrown only in hopes that she will come to one and they can get rekindle their old feelings for each other.

Ultimately, Gatsby wont enjoy his riches until he has Daisy in his arms. Almost everything we believe Gatsby to be is a fraud. Everything we believe gives us a favorable impression of him though. He is a fraud for one and only one reason-to win Daisy back. For starters, his name, Jay Gatsby, is false. It is really James Gatz, but he changed it when he was seventeen to shed his past and start anew. For me, Jay Gatsby also sounds youthful, invigorating, and somewhat aristocratic. James Gatz sounds too formal and harsh, which does not convey a favorable impression of him.

Another key inaccuracy of Gatsby is his educational background, with Gatsby claiming a egree from Oxford. The shocking and somewhat humorous truth is that he went to college for a total of five and a half months. When he was eighteen, he spent two weeks at St. Olaf, a Lutheran college, in Minnesota, leaving because of its ferocious indifference to the drums of his destiny(105). He went to Oxford for five months because it was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers after the Armistice(136). This lie further contributes to our view of Gatsby as the perfect man.

He is wealthy, educated, successful, and has overcome extreme pain and suffering. Gatsby creates all these lies in order to win Daisy back and to try to recreate the love they shared in the past. While Jay Gatsby is indeed a fraud, he is not pathetic at all. Pathetic is defined as causing or evoking pity in Websters College Dictionary. I never felt pity for Gatsby at any point in the book. I actually admired his drive and persistence in reaching his dream. He threw weekly parties where he spent ridiculous amounts of money. He purchased enough food and drink to feed a nation, and his entertainment was top notch.

All of that just for the special oman in his heart. Especially noteworthy is when he stood outside Daisys house until four in the morning, just because she wanted him to in case Tom got violent. This shows is unflinching dedication, abundant love, and steadfast dedication to her. He is a wonderful example of an individual who has lived the American Dream, which includes wealth, but is ultimately about happiness. He went from being a broke, independent seventeen year old, to a rich and successful adult. Jay Gatsby may not be the perfect example of a person who lived the American Dream.

However, neither does he show the bankruptcy of the Dream. Rather, he is one of the many tragedies of the Dream. He was an ambitious man who was driven to achieve success, no matter what he had to do. It was his drive that shows that the American Dream was alive and well. He refused to become an arrogant and selfish person, as many people did when they reached the level of success that Gatsby achieved. He pursued Daisy, who to him represented happiness, and died trying. In dying though, Gatsby inspires readers of the book to dream always and to dream big.

Picture this, a person graduates from high school with honors, goes to college and graduates at the top of his/her class. After college, he/she is offered a job in the field he/she wants with an annual salary of about $400,000 a year. He/she marries the person of his/her dreams, has two children and moves into a large, elegant house. Forty years later that person retires with a pension and lives the rest of his/her life in luxury. This is the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald had this dream and worked his entire life to fulfill it, with no avail.

Fitzgerald was a sensitive young man who idolized wealth and luxury. He ell in love with a beautiful young woman named Zelda while stationed at a military camp in the South. Several years after meeting Zelda, he reached a high enough social standard that she agreed to marry him. Shortly after the wedding, Fitzgerald published his first big novel. He became a celebrity and fell into a wild, reckless lifestyle of parties and decadence. Fitzgerald thought he had achieved his dream. Unfortunately, his beautiful wife was the first part of his dream to crumble.

In 1930, Zelda had her first of many mental breakdowns. Soon after Zeldas breakdowns began, Fitzgerald published his novel Tender is the Night. When this novel was not a success Fitzgerald also started to have mental problems. When his novels started failing, he retreated to Hollywood where he began writing screenplays. On December 21, 1940, Fitzgerald died as a drunk in his lovers Hollywood apartment. Throughout his career, Fitzgerald published many books, but The Great Gatsby is the one that became a classic.

The fourth paragraph from Encartas Encyclopedia on F. Scott Fitzgerald best summarizes his novel: Written in crisp, concise prose and told by Nick Carraway, it is the story of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby becomes a bootlegger in order to attain the wealth nd lavish way of life he feels are necessary to win the love of Daisy Buchanan, a married, upper-class woman who had once rejected him. The story ends tragically with Gatsbys destruction. Although the narrator ultimately denounces Daisy and others who confuse the American dream with the pursuit of wealth and power, he sympathizes with those like Gatsby who pursue the dream for a redeeming end such as love.

In F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, the upper classs carelessness with their money, the myth that hard work always equals success, and the lack of true love in marriage all show a istortion of the American Dream. One would think that people with money should know how to use it properly. Unfortunately this is not so of the upper class characters in The Great Gatsby. The following paragraph from the novel is an excellent example of how Gatsby wasted money on his upper class friends. There was music from my neighbors house through the summer nights.

In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. On Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, epairing the ravages of the night before. (Fitzgerald 89) The previous quote shows how Gatsby went through much turmoil just to make it seem as though he had enough money to do as he wished. In the upper class, one person would try to outdo another by buying gifts that are more lavish and by throwing parties that are more extravagant than their friends last one.

Robert Douglass wrote an article in 1938 about society at that time. In it, he described how people took so much for granted. The following is an excerpt from his article: The people living in the little town have a richer life than their parents did. They can reach a motion-picture theater by a twenty-minute drive, they have radios, and they think nothing of jaunts to Atlantic City, Boston or Canada that many of the old residents never made in an entire lifetime. (19) As one can see, people throughout the Twentieth Century have thought nothing of the modern day conveniences they now have.

The same is still true in todays society, but people seem to be more aware of luxuries than people of the 20s. One of the largest and most talked about parts of the American Dream, is that when one enters the real world he/she will enter the workforce as an employee in his/her esired career. In this career, he/she believes that if he/she works hard, he/she will earn great success. Sadly, in the novel The Great Gatsby and in the 1920s this is, and was almost a myth. George Wilson is a mechanic, and in the novel it is unclear if that is what he always wanted to be.

For the sake of this paper, one can assume that being a mechanic is his dream job. Unfortunately, George Wilsons business seems to be on the brink of bankruptcy. One can also assume that his business has been like this for a long time and that he and his wife Myrtle have been saving every cent they earned just to get by. The ollowing quote is from The Great Gatsby and it gives Nick Caraways view of George Wilsons business: The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford, which crouched, in a dim corner.

The proprietor himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes. (Fitzgerald 25) From the above quote, one should notice the bareness of the garage, and how eager George is, as he sees potential customers approaching. Although George does not receive much business from Tom Buchanan, he is very ourteous to him. He believes Tom might send his rich friends to become clients of his. Stanley Lebergott of Wesleyan University explains in the book, Americans: An Economic Record, the distribution of wealth in the 1920s.

Those in the upper 5 percent of the income distribution increased their share of the national income. Labors share of the national income did not rise at all, and workers suffered from unemployment. By implication, then, the decade differed little from earlier ones (431). This shows why George Wilson and others like him remain in a slump and do not prosper in business, whereas people like Tom Buchanan, have an increase in their yearly earnings. It almost seems that the statement; hard work does not always equal success was a false statement in the 20s. If a person only looks at the top five percent of the income bracket, they may be right.

However, if a person were to look at the other ninety-five percent, this person would see that the statement is true. The only way anyone made money in the 20s was by participating in speakeasies or by bootlegging and both were illegal. Another distortion of the American Dream in the novel is through marriage. Generally, when people get married it is ecause they love one another, but in The Great Gatsby, the upper classs weddings are mainly for social purposes. In the upper class, weddings are similar to how high school seniors pair up for prom, they make sure the Prom King and Prom Queen attend the Prom as a couple.

Seen as the perfect couple, these two people compliment each other in every way. In the novel, when Nick Caraway is visiting his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan, it is obvious that they are not truly in love but they are married because their social standings make them perfect for one another. While Nick is visiting, Daisy and Tom invite him to stay for dinner. While dinner is going on, Tom receives a telephone call. Daisy knowing who it is becomes very upset and leaves the table. It is then that Jordan Baker, another guest, informs Nick about Toms affair.

She tells Nick that, Toms got some woman in New York (Fitzgerald 15). Tom having a mistress in New York shows how unfaithful he is in marriage. Adversely having an affair was not uncommon in the 20s, knowing this one can tell that the morals of the time were not very strong. Shown in the movie Night after Night, are the loose morals of the 20s. The once-rich ociety flapper, with whom Raft falls in love, is roughed up by him and told that she is just another dame with a skirt on. The only difference between her and a cheap girl is how she manicures her nails. Allen 87)

Throughout the 20s, men used and disrespected many women because they felt they women were inferior. Women have long since risen above this and can be very demanding of the respect that they deserve. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald is trying to convey that there is more to life than one could possibly understand. He shows that not everyone can be successful, have a happy marriage or even have enough oney to survive in life. He is showing that the American Dream is not attainable when one sets it as a dream, but if one sets it as the American Reality, it is possible.

One should set realistic goals for life, not ones that are nearly unattainable. Instead of wishing, to be like Bill Gates when one graduates college, one should set his/her goals to becoming an above average worker. One should also never give up his/her goals once they are set. An example of never giving up on your dreams/goals stated in the novel is: Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year ecedes before us. It eluded us then, but that is no matter tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms fatherAnd one fine morning—– (Fitzgerald 182).

Americans today still believe in the Dream to some extent. They believe that if they work hard and apply all of their effort, they can become a great success in life. However, today there is still a distortion of the American Dream. Everyday there is thousands of marriages. These marriages are to symbolize the true love that two people show for each other. In marriage, one promises to stay faithful and to remain with their partner through all xperiences. Nevertheless, to counter the bonds of marriage, there are hundreds of divorces each day.

According to the Stepfamily Foundation, one out of two marriages ends in divorce. Another distortion of the Dream is peace. The following quote comes from a trivia box in Russell Ashs book The Top 10 of Everything 1997. There are countries with worse murder rates than the United States, but nowhere in the world has as many murders each year (68). In 1997 there were approximately 24,000 murders, giving the United States a murder rate of nine murders per 100,000 people. Still today, many people are under the mpression that the American Dream is unattainable.

These people are correct. The American Dream has always been unattainable, thus the word dream. If people would create an American Reality rather than an American Dream many of their goals could and would be achievable. Americans need to understand that not everyone can become a multi-millionaire overnight or even in their entire life. They need to think realistically and set their mind on practical goals. Hopefully, one day, people will understand that impossible goals are impossible to reach and that is why those goals are called the American Dream.