Gatsby’s American Dream… Gatsby’s American Dream is to love Daisy, “he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward- and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that must have been at the end of a dock.” Page 16, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future and the American Dream in general as in chapter 9 Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to the settlers of the new nation, “I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes- a fresh green breast of the new world” -but it is more specifically associated with Daisy and its situation across the water is symbolic of the chasm of difference that separates them. Gatsby’s American Dream is corrupted by: the difference in their respective social statuses- the clash of “old money” and “new money” manifests itself in the novel’s geography- East Egg symbolic of the established aristocracy and West Egg the self-made rich, “I lived at West Egg, the- well, the less fashionable of the two, though this was a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them”; Gatsby’s resorting to crime to make enough money to impress her- Wolfsheim and Gatsby’s fortune is symbolic of rise in organised crime+ bootlegging, “Mayer Wolsheim...He’s the man who fixed the world series”; the rampant materialism that characterises her lifestyle, “he opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits and dressing-gowns and ties, and shirts, piled like bricks in stacks a dozed high.” Page 59.

What Kills Gatsby? It is essentially Gatsby’s loyalty and love that leads to his death –Gatsby instils in Daisy an idealised perfection which crumbles as she proves to be unworthy, “he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right to the end” Page 59... “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness...” Page 114. The unworthiness of Daisy as the downfall for Gatsby is symbolic of the ruin of the American Dream for Americans in the 1920s due to the unworthiness of their goals, money and pleasure.

Nick’s American Dream… Nick Carraway’s dream varies vastly from that of the other characters, being one of the “Only of the few honest people that [he has] every truly known”, and he therefore isn’t driven by consumerism. His pursuit is of moral values as he “wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention for ever”, however, he only finds this in Gatsby, “Only Gatsby... Was exempt from my reaction-Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have unaffected scorn”. “They’re a rotten crown...You’re better than the whole damn bunch put together!” Nick’s dream is corrupted as the only person he values is defeated, “I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone” Page 104. Nick’s dream is corrupted further as he gives way to the glamorous lifestyle of the East and what comes with it, being slightly drawn into and indoctrinated by what it represents, “Do you remember...a conversation we had once about driving a car?... You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straight forward person.” Page 104. Both Gatsby and Nick exhibit the newfound cosmopolitanism and cynicism that resulted from the war.