Jay Gatsby: Achiever of the American Dream, or Fool?.
The American Dream, which is to achieve financial success in the business world and the highest social status in the personal atmosphere, is portrayed adequately in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It is a prime source of understanding how one cannot establish the difference between a dream of something one wishes to attain, and the actual reality of that person and the thing they want most. The use of the American Dream in this novel is not a very promising and hopeful source, however. It is full of corruption and how the American Dream can ruin a person mentally, physically, and emotionally. Although Gatsby grew up as the son of unsuccessful farmers, nevertheless, he went on to attain monetary commodities and items only the financially successful could achieve because his love for Daisy became the prime source for his devotion and motivation in becoming the perfect man for Daisy to love.
Also, the highest point in society that a person can achieve is that of the American Dream. If a man has nothing to his name, has the motivation to become somebody that is somewhat significant in the world, and achieves that goal, then he has achieved the American Dream: to be all he can be. Many people in the era of The Great Gatsby (circa 1920's; also known as the Jazz Age) thought the American Dream was easily accessible and did not notice the hardships in which one might have endured to get to place in their life in which they reside. Another problem in this time period was the volume of corruption that took place. Unless you were raised correctly and/or into money, you were looked down upon by upper class society. If you had just earned your money yourself, even if you had worked hard for it, it did not seem to matter. People automatically assumed that this "Nouveau Riche" were just a group of hooligans whom did not know how to conduct themselves properly in public.