The Greatest Gatsby

The 1920’s was an era of new trends, new technology, and new money. People were getting rich quick through backdoor deals and the stock market. Being famous, or wealthy symbolized the great American Dream. Prohibition was in “full force” and people were spending their riches on anything to make them happy. It was also a time of great hope, and a false sense of reality. For Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this was very much the case. Once a poor man, he put all of his effort in creating a new identity for himself. Gatsby was the definition of a self-made man. He got his money through illegal dealings with bootlegging. Throughout this time he never forgot his first true love, Daisy. He met her when he was poor, and because she came from a wealthy family, they couldn’t be together. He wrote her letters from war, but eventually she moved on and married Tom Buchanan. Five years later Gatsby moved into a mansion on West Egg directly across from Daisy’s house on East Egg. Day after day, he threw extravagant parties hoping Daisy would attend one. He gazed across the bay and could see a green light at the tip of her dock, reminding him what he wanted to truly fulfill his Dream. Without her he could never truly be happy. Daisy was not happy with Tom because of his infedelity, and she reciprocated the unfaithfulness with Gatsby. Despite this, she would never leave him because of the stability of wealth Tom provided. Jay Gatsby chose to ignore this daunting truth, blinded by his want for romance. Gatsby's life becomes tragic through his false sense of reality. Even though he appears to have anything he ever wanted, without Daisy he has nothing. This will eventually be his demise, resulting in a tragic ending to his tragic life. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby as a representation of the American Dream in its blind hope and optimism for romance, and also in its disregard for reality, thus creating tragedy.

After years apart, Daisy and Gatsby are reunited,...