The Pursuing, The Pursued, The Busy and The Tired:
The Corruption of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

  “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 93) proclaims Nick Carraway about his mysterious neighbour Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. First published in 1926, the masterpiece that is Gatsby continues to enthrall the masses with its portrayal of the glamour and extravagance of the 1920s in America while weaving in an unrivalled tale of love and betrayal that lingers in the hearts of those who read it long after the last page is turned.  An invigorating read that is impossible to set down- you will want to grip the edge of your divan old sport- as this dazzling novel may sweep you off into the sophisticated world of the upper class with something sinister lurking underneath.

Under the watchful, bespectacled gaze of the Dr. T. J. Eckleburg billboard, this Jazz Age classic is delivered through the apparently honest yet increasingly cynical Nick Carraway, a young bond-man who pursues a better future by moving to the “less fashionable” (10) West Egg of New York- right next door to the infamous Jay Gatsby.  A legend that possesses unfathomable wealth, hosts the most extravagant of parties in his glorious mansion and who is subject of wild gossip and rumors galore, Gatsby is the man that everyone has heard of yet no one knows. Behind his understanding smile that conveys “a quality of eternal reassurance” (49) Gatsby harbours a multitude of ominous secrets, one of which is his infatuation with Nick’s “charming” (14) second cousin Daisy who is currently married to Tom Buchanan, the unfaithful chauvinist and former polo player extraordinaire. As Nick becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of elite a magnetic attraction between the star-crossed Daisy and Gatsby develops, he begins to see through the cracks of his new comrade’s lavish lifestyle and wonders “if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him after all” (64). Nick soon grasps that Gatsby, along with many other characters, is struggling in the pursuit of a dream that threatens to destroy him, making the reader question whether or not the American Dream is really attainable amidst such a careless, tainted society.

         The concept of the Dream having been corrupted in such a materialistic society is reinforced by one of the most influential characters in the novel: Daisy. Daisy initially appears to be just that- a beautifully innocent flower however, gradually her childlike disposition and tendency to gravitate towards someone who can “shape” (144) her world and “take care of her” (140) becomes infuriating to behold. The fact that Daisy is too juvenile to be capable of true love for a person rather than love for emotional, financial and societal stability is made clear when she marries Tom because of his considerable wealth. Similarly she begins to develop feelings for the now exceedingly prosperous Gatsby when she learns her husband has “some woman in New York” (20). Fitzgerald mimics how society now places wealth above emotion and transforms Daisy from a character in her own right into yet another possession for men to feud over in their attempts to realize an impossible illusion.

It becomes apparent that Nick Carraway is one of the only characters capable of keeping in touch with reality and it is this factor that results in a most distinct change in his character versus all others. The once naive and optimistic Nick proclaims at the very opening of the novel that “reserving judgement is a matter of infinite hope” (7) however over the course of the book Fitzgerald has him adopt a highly critical attitude towards the other characters, blatantly criticizing their entire strata as being “careless people ... they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made ” (170). That doesn’t sound non-judgemental or hopeful at all now does it? The gradual shift in tone can be interpreted as a result of the emotional turmoil Nick experiences during his time in New York and the reader can expect to emerge from the text every bit as harsh and perceptive as Nick himself but with a profound understanding of human desire and the values of that era.

Passages such as this also reveal Fitzgerald’s tumbling flow and haphazard placement of blunt truths which make up the sincere essence of his writing style and reflects the conflict and confusion occurring within each of his characters. It produced an absorbing read that finishes all too soon. Nick does admit however, that despite his disappointment with the upper class, “Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from [his] reaction” (8) and it can be argued that perhaps Gatsby’s only fault is losing sight of what is real with regards to Daisy’s love rather than a complete disregard for the rest of society.

         It would be unfair to evaluate Gatsby without mentioning one of the briefest moments in the entire book that captures the effect of this society upon the individual and that is the mention of Daisy Buchanan’s daughter Pammy. The only glimpse we are offered of the obviously neglected child is when Daisy wants to “show [her] off” (112) to the guests and when Daisy recounts how when Pammy was born she said “‘I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool’” (22) . In talking about her daughter, Daisy reveals something true about herself and the world in which she lives: Her class considers material things such as a girl’s physical beauty a greater asset than whatever intelligence lies within, while Fitzgerald attempts to focuses on the idea that often what is visible on the surface is not necessarily all there is to a situation.

         I strongly recommend reading Gatsby to anyone looking for a meaningful evocative book. It offers insight into the time and culture of 1920s America, but also into the human heart. Fitzgerald ensnares the reader with the many poignant concepts he proposes about the very nature of human inclinations and vices that though written decades ago, still hold sway in the modern world. For instance when Nick explains how in a world with so much excess “There are only the pursuing, the pursued, the busy and the tired” (77) it is reminiscent of the multitude of characters hopelessly caught up in the chase of an evasive Dream which can be related to the modern day where often many young people exhaust themselves while striving to achieve the non-existent perfections that are portrayed by the media.

While such subtle intricacies of the novel on a whole are to be revered, I also thoroughly enjoy detesting the whimsy, narcissistic character that is Daisy Buchanan. Often one falls in love with characters in literature and this is able to have a profound effect on one’s opinion of the work, yet hate can resonate just as deeply as it takes just as much effort to create a figure capable of generating and withstanding such a vivid emotion. What made Daisy so interesting to observe was how much she is adored by Gatsby, as this allows for her to be seen  in a different light and taken more seriously. For instance Fitzgerald considers that Gatsby still sees Daisy as the sweet girl he once knew and “the colossal vitality of his illusion” (93) makes it impossible for him- and for a moment the reader themselves- to see her faults.   This perspective creates a sense of moral confusion and bitterness towards the end of the novel since however much you want to dislike Daisy, Gatsby- who remains reasonably amiable- loves his projection of her. I appreciate how Fitzgerald compels the reader to carefully consider even the most easily loathsome character for the well-rounded individual he intended her to be, and a book that is able to create such an intense internal debate even after the final chapter closes is surely one worth reading. 

The Great Gatsby depicts with stunning accuracy the corruption of the American Dream in a society where the pursuit of happiness and freedom has become synonymous with the pursuit of wealth and excess by continually focusing upon what each of the individuals does not yet possess even if what they have appears to be more than sufficient to an outsider. Overall, Fitzgerald’s masterpiece has rightfully endured over decades as one of the most notable pieces of literature of our time not only because of what eminent themes it encounters, its unparalleled interpretation of a significant era in human history, and its evocatively poetic language, but because of its capacity to emotionally engage and involve its readers in a dramatic tale that holds its own from start to finish.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Penguin Books, 1950. 172.