Degradation of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby by...

The Jazz age was a convivial time known for innovation, creativity, and women pushing the limits of their new found freedom, but it was also a time of mourning and loss after the end of World War I. The combination of these emotions is what made the roaring twenties so unique, yet unstable. Before the twenties, the American dream had been to earn a stable income and raise a family in the great country that is America, but during the twenties the American dream became much more diminished as people worked for riches and luxuries that only a few could afford. In The Great Gatsby the main characters are striving for this dream of riches in a turbulent setting, but ironically are blinded by the distractions of the Jazz age and they do not†¦show more content†¦As Daisys character develops she realizes that her idyllic life was just an illusion and underneath the parties, romances and wealth she was left with nothing. The proof comes in how she treats her child as it is not even hers because she does not fit into Daisys skewed idea of the American dream. George Wilson is a hardworking man who has the added encumbrance of being in a lower social class. Georges life was miserable at best, he lived in the middle of a waste land between the rich neighborhoods and the city. The foil between him and Gatsby shows how their situations similar despite working for their dreams differently. Both men are connected with women who are in love with Tom, but after he discovers that his wife has been having and affair he reproaches himself and their situation. Myrtle had been striving for the American dream herself through Tom, who provided her a sense of wealth, money and pleasure, but it ultimately resulted in her death. â€Å"Instant wealth has not always been a major component of the [American] Dream...traditionally Americans have centered their efforts of thrift and hard work† (Warshauer http://www.americansc.org.uk). Hard work is what George intended to do to reach his dream, but Myrtle wanted the instantaneous benefits of high society. The quiet, yet pressing conflict between the two ways Myrtle and George went about achieving their dreams in the end shatteredShow MoreRelatedDestruction of Dreams, Failure of Dreamers in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1489 Words   |  6 Pages Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. 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