Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the the story, is one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly he devotes most of his adult life to recapturing it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Gatsby had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards. Once he acquires this wealth, he moves back to Long Island where Daisy resides – "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay,"(83)– and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance. When this dream is not realized, he as

Jay Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream and his error of thinking that money can buy his happiness (and Daisy) represent the deficiencies present in today’s society that many Americans believe it is material wealth and stature that create their happiness, while not always caring about the less fortunate people around them. Jay Gatsby had everything a wealthy man could afford: a huge mansion, fancy clothes, expensive cars. His lavish parties were designed to impress Daisy. But why did Gatsby feel he needed to show off his material wealth to win Daisy's love? It is believed that people seek material possessions and fulfillment for what they lack in other areas of their lives, like human relationships. Having a lot of material possessions is not what makes human beings happy. The characters of The Great Gatsby, like many in America today, were preoccupied with the pursuit of private wealth. Jay Gatsby flaunted his material possessions in order to impress Daisy, but even though he was incredibly wealthy, he was profoundly unhappy. Even if he had lived and won Daisy back, together they would have only found true fulfillment if they had realized the need to switch from a philosophy of selfishness to a philosophy of caring. No amount of material possessions would have made either of them truly happy. While Jay Gatsby and many Americans believe that material wealth and possessions are the way to buy their happiness, it is our hopes and dreams and having personal goals and standards that give life its purpose and meaning. The corruption of the American Dream by materialism is almost inevitable because reality rarely turns out same as our dreams perceive it to be. The Great Gatsby is a story that captures the glitz and glamour of the 1920’s, but it is also the portrayal of a young man and his disastrous search for happiness through materialism. Gatsby’s dreams of happiness and love are corrupted by the emptiness of a dream based on wea

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