In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the issue of hope to show that centering your life around pursuing just one dream that is impossible and trying to fulfill the American Dream, can lead to ones downfall or even death, which is the tragic that Gatsby experiences. Like Nick, many people move to New York to attempt to fulfill what they believe is their American Dream. Despite the romantic idea that comes with the American Dream, the reality is that most people who move to New York end up working as clerks, living alone and waiting outside of restaurants to eat a dinner by themselves. One night, Nick finds himself going through the same experience as many others, At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others-poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner (Fitzgerald, 57). Like all the clerks who wait outside the restaurants, Nick realizes that he doesn't want to live this lifestyle and that he quickly needs to situate his life so he isnt living the rest of his days in New York as another lonely man who failed to fulfill his American Dream. As days go by, nick almost forgets his thirtieth birthday. He knows that this birthday is important because it signifies a new level of maturity, and that he now really needs to get his life organized if he is really considering living in New York. Nick realizes that he cant keep wasting his life with people like Tom and Daisy, but that he has to choose whether to live in New York, or to go back to Minnesota and run the family business. .
Not only does Fitzgerald show that many peoples hopes of the American Dream are often crushed, but through Gatsby, he shows that if one attempts to base their life around an impossible dream, then that could result in their downfall, or even death. Ever since he returned from the war, Gatsby made it his mission to become rich to impress and regain Daisy's love.
