Examples Of Optimism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald shows many weakening points in the idea of the American Dream using the book The Great Gatsby through the topics of American being a land of bounty and beauty, the belief in progress and optimism, and triumph of an individual. He disproves the idea of America being a beautiful land with unlimited opportunities by showing the reader the hardships of the people living in the Valley of Ashes. Fitzgerald denies the belief of progress and that everything eventually getting better and easier, by showing the separation of the people who are working hard and trying to accomplish the American Dream, compared to the people who have already attained wealth through their family. There is a lot of optimism contained in the concept …show more content…
He believes that since he is rich and him and Daisy had know each other when they were younger and they fell in love that he can win her heart and get her to leave her husband Tom. Gatsby had done everything so that he could get Daisy’s attention. The parties, the mansion, the cars, all of the luxurious things were done for Daisy. His dream was to become wealthy so that he could win her back but wealthy is not the answer to everything. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter” (Fitzgerald 180). Gatsby is one of the best examples of optimism in this novel because he believed that everyday something would get better no matter what had happened and he truly believed that he would win the heart of Daisy …show more content…
Even though his wealth had come through illegal actions he still was technically living the American Dream because he had started from the bottom and worked his way up to the top on his own and he was not wealthy because he was just born into money like many other people in the novel, he had to actually work for it. Was Jay Gatsby really living the American Dream? No, he was not because he was not happy. The only way he was going to fully succeed was if he could win over Daisy. Wealth is not the only thing you need to live the American Dream. He had wealth but he was not happy with his wealth because all that he had done to earn his money was so that he could do things and have expensive possessions so that Daisy would notice him and fall for him again but she never did. The American Dream has three central assumptions to it which is that America is a land of bounty, beauty and unlimited promise, the second is the belief in progress and being optimistic, and lastly the triumph of the individual. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows throughout his novel The Great Gatsby that the American Dream cannot be achieved if you follow these three assumptions. He shows the reader how the American Dream is not promised to anyone who can follow and succeed in these topics, but that many that do accept the challenge of achieving the American