This alternative title suggests that The Great Gatsby is (although not an obvious) distopian novel, which discusses the problems of the 1920s, the problems of American Dream and all that can be associated with it. I will also examine the obstacles of greed, and immorality, and that of longing for an unachievable goal. In this essay, I will scrutinise the themes of the Great Gatsby and their essential part in the plot, to create the stimulating and provocative comment on society in 1920s America.

Within this novel, there are many multiple themes, but the predominate one focuses on the death of the American Dream that had become the main aim for Americans in the 1920s.

The basis of this dream is that through your own decency and hard work, you can become rich and live a comfortable life. From the beginning of this novel, however, we see the contradiction of this dream, with Nick moving from West to East. Most people at this time moved in the opposite direction, hoping to find new fertile lands for them to lay their seed of ambition and watch it grow into ripe

What Gatsby wants to do is go back to the past, but with the money he currently posses, he says himself:

What the author of novelguide is saying, is that you must achieve the aims of the American Dream, at all costs, and because Gatsby has done this, he has become a finished product of the American dream. I believe however, that although Gatsby has succeeded both societally and financially, he has not achieved happiness, which is what we see him craving throughout the novel.

In this essay I have discussed and analysed the themes that make up the intricate web of this novel, which transports the readers feelings and emotions, and amalgamate and re-separate them, so they are unrecognisable from those at the beginning of the novel. I have discussed the relevance of these themes, and how the removal of any one, would cause the ultimate destruction of the plot and the novel as a whole.

The idea of the immorality and the self-centred nature of the characters are also key themes to the novel. We see Fitzgerald making a statement about the problems of immorality and personal gain that besieged 1920s America.

Some topics in this essay:
American Dream, Myrtle Daisy, Scott Fitzgerald, Valley Ashes, Professor Dumbledore, Greek Philosopher, Jay Gatsby, Gatsby God, Daisy Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, american dream, faint doubt, novel gatsby, beginning novel, jay gatsby, doubt occurred quality, 1920s america, themes novel, myrtle daisy, believe fitzgerald, society 1920s, god looking valley, faint doubt occurred, looking valley ashes,