Disillusionment and American Dream in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald s Great Gatsby

Abstract

The ‘American Dream’ and its relationship to American literature has long been a subject of extensive research. This article strives to portray the ‘American Dream’ in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The ‘American Dream’ represents the idea that people can achieve anything if they follow their dreams. Fitzgerald paints a picture of the people of the Jazz Age who are driven by their passion for wealth and possessions. The ideals and hopes behind the ‘American Dream’ are illustrated in the novel through hopelessness, as the characters lose themselves in an illusion when they see it as an ideal. F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the influence of the ‘American Dream’ on his characters in each of his stories. In this vein, the article attempts to show how the ‘American Dream’ is seen in the context of American history and culture. This novel provides an excellent background for later research and a foundation for describing stories that come from Jazz Age culture