Question

S Gatsby a criticism of the American Dream, or does it (cautiously) reaffirm it? Or is it something else entirely? (CLUE: Note the change in definition indicated by Truslow Adams.)

Answer 1

Answer: In "The Great Gatsby", Fitzgerald criticizes people's obsession with consumer culture and their wrong perception of the American dream.

Explanation:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is a 1925 novel. Set in 1922, in the fictional towns of West and East Egg on Long Island, the novel explores the character of Jay Gatsby, and rich people around him. One of the main topics explored in the novel is that of the "American dream." The term was first used by James Truslow Adams, who described it as "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" ("The Epic of America", 1931). Adams later argued that people have focused on gaining wealth so much that they forgot about the true values of the American dream. He reminds people that the American dream "has not been a dream of merely material plenty."

It could be argued that what Fitzgerald was trying to demonstrate in his novel is the corruption of the American dream. It seems that the characters put effort into gaining wealth, while they feel empty inside. The most obvious example is Jay Gatsby himself, as a man who has it all - luxurious house, expensive clothes, etc. However, he feels sad because he cannot be with the woman he loves and is lonely in his big house.