The rise and fall of Jay Gatsby parallels the rise and fall of the American Dream. The rise of Jay Gatsby, born James Gatz, is shown through his past when he was a personal assistant for a yacht owner named Dan Cody whom introduced young James to power and wealth and his inheritance as the reason for his current success. However, there is speculation on how he gains the money he has now for example it is thought that he has turn

The deceitful, materialistic, and immoral natures of the characters epitomize the failure of the American Dream. “Each character is a “liar” in some fundamental sense” (McAdams 112). One such example is when Gatsby says he will take full blame for Myrtle’s death just so that Daisy will be ok. Also Tom lied to George in that he told him that Gatsby killed Myrtle, which therefore led to George murdering Gatsby. In that case it was Tom who indirectly killed Gatsby. The whole mess of affairs was a jumble of immoral lies that were told to one another. They have “cavalier attitudes towards the truth” (McAdams 112). As Polonius once advised his son, Laertes: “to thine own self be true” (Hamlet Act I, Scene 3). One example that exemplifies the decade of the 20’s is the outrageous and ostentatious parties thrown by Gatsby where everyone would get drunk, get wild, and in a sense are above the rest of the world.

interests, no real concern for people” (Auchincloss 84). His tragic fault is that he was very “vapid, vain, heartless, self-absorbed…superficial, selfish, and gutless” (Auchincloss 84). It would seem that Gatsby lives in a world where nobody understands him. Due to these faults and his obsession with Daisy, Gatsby begins his downfall as if he were a plane whose engines suddenly ceased to function. The whole time, Gatsby’s dream was to not only have power and wealth but to also have Daisy. While he also had strong feelings of love for Daisy he also was attracted to her wealth because she was “the embodiment of wealth” (Bewley 100). His dream is reduced to a desire for material gain bec

Some topics in this essay:
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