Jay Gatsby was a mysterious man who was seen to create himself, or at least some sort of illusion of himself that he wanted people to see. He was self-conceived because of a dream that he had, yet in the end, he was crushed by reality. The story written by Fitzgerald shows the visions people had for America. It represents their struggles through characters. The story shows that there is no such thing as the American dream, and that the dream should stay a dream forever. Gatsby, as a character, suggests that once the dream is realized, it becomes bitter and ugly. The beauty of the American dream is that it promises something greater, however it might be better staying a dream. People love the feeling of mystery and uncertainty, it gives them hope and something to look forward to. The only reason why Gatsby worked so hard was because he had a dream, a vision. His air of mystery was just an illusion that he created for himself. The story of The Great Gatsby revolves around the truth behind the American dream.
''The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of west egg, long island, sprang from his own platonic conception of himself. He was a son of god--a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that--and he must be about his father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty'' (5.105).
Fitzgerald compared Gatsby to Jesus, saying he was a son of God, which he thought was an appropriate description. There is an air of mystery about where he really came from, and people have their own idea of him. At the start of the novel, when Nick was speculating about this Gatsby character, everyone had heard about him, and they all had different stories to tell. This is probably much like religion, life and death. People don’t quite have the same idea about it, but it is something that is there and they talk about it. Fitzgerald describes Gatsby, saying that he is going about his father’s business. His father is actually him, since Gatsby did create himself to be who he is. Maybe this is also in some way like the Holy Trinity in the Christian faith, how the father, the son and the Holy Spirit are in one. And, they all have the same duty in the world. Religion was, after all, a theme that was repeated in the novel more than once. This view of Gatsby is largely related to the American character. During the time this was written, people were picking up from the war. There were still a lot of people struggling to meet ends. Gatsby was this great, wonderful illusion that gave people hope. His lavish parties and generosity was only a front. Inside, he was looking for something more than that. His pursuit of wealth wasn’t as great as his pursuit of love. However, Daisy, for him could also symbolize something deeper. It was when he would be staring across the water so intently that we could say Daisy represents wealth and security. After all, she was married to someone who came from a rich family. Even though the couple had their disagreements, they seemed to have been content with the money that they had. The illusion of Gatsby was just a front, because inside he was still trying to pursue something else. This is much like the image of a lot of Americans who are not content with what they have. However, the context during the time this was written is different. This was right after the first World War, and right before the collapse of the stock market. This means that people were spending and partying in excess.
“He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work or rigid sitting in youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games” (4.12-13).
Gatsby, as a character is one vision of America that people can imagine. He is almost like the American dream embodied. However, we do not know about this until later on in the story. And, the story is an example of how there was no such thing as the American dream. You are who you are. Gatsby created himself into this character that he thought would make him happy. He was rich, he felt as if he had class and he changed the way he spoke in order to mimic those that he thought were of a different society. Although, in the end, we see that he died with nothing and that he lost everything he worked with just because of this woman. Daisy, to him, was greater than anything could buy. She was, as described earlier, the object of his desires. Maybe she also represented hope or a clearer future. However, there was almost no way that he could have her. Even after he did gain wealth, even after he worked hard for his living. There was still a divide between them. The story of Gatsby showed that you are who you are born. Gatsby was born with nothing, he died with nothing. Nick is the almost omniscient presence in the story. The way he sees characters and describes them gives us hints as to how they relate to American culture. How he described his home, and the cities of West and East Egg show the division in class. This was a relevant theme in the story. There was always this divide in classes, and it was shown very well. George Wilson was someone who represented the beat-down America. He worked hard, and he was usually seen frustrated. His wife cheated on him with someone who was richer. He was always dirty and grimy, even though he was the one who killed Gatsby, we still see him as someone who got the shorter end of the stick. Tom, on the other hand, was the other side of America. He was rich, he was stable and he came from a good family. He had a wonderful home, a trophy wife, and even a woman on the side. He had everything that would be considered a luxury. It was the attempt of changing classes that struck tragedy. Nearing the end of the novel, you could see how different Gatsby and Tom really were. Tom knew it from the start, he always had a feeling that Gatsby wasn’t who he said he was. Not because he was jealous, but because he grew up in that more privileged class. To represented wealth and security, in the end Daisy chose him because he would be easier to live with. It shows that, maybe during the time, relationships between classes were impossible. Daisy, who also represented wealth and a dream, could also represent the insecurities of people. She was confused, she did not know what she wanted, but in the end, she chose to save her own skin and go with someone who could offer her security, not the love and the passion that Gatsby had for her. Myrtle was sort of a female version of Gatsby. Although their characters are very different, they strived for the same thing. Myrtle wanted to jump between classes. She was born poor, and kind of naive. However, she had that hope that Tom would leave Daisy for her. She was stuck in an illusion where she honestly believed that her relationship with Tom was something that was going to pan out. Of course, her story did not end up happy either. Again, it shows that there is no hope for those who were born poor, during this time. If you try to climb the social ladder, you’ll end up further down than you were before.
"You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock." Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever” (5. 121-122).
During this time, Gatsby was trying to tell Daisy about the green light on their dock, the one that he stared at. Green is the color of money and wealth. It could also go along the lines of the cliché “the grass is always greener on the other side”. As soon as he mentioned this to her, she stopped him, as if it wasn’t that important to her. Nick, who was narrating this, said that it might have been because the light was always very near to her, that she didn’t noticed. This might be because she already had security and wealth. She had everything in terms of material objects, that she didn’t need anything more. This might mean that she had no need to see the light, or no interest in it. The novel did say that the light was very near to her, and that it was almost touching her. Before mentioning the light, Gatsby said that a mist hindered him from seeing Daisy’s house across the bay. This could be representative of his cloudy vision for the American dream. Although it was established that there is no such thing as the American dream, Gatsby still hoped to work hard and earn a more than comfortable living. Even though he was in a fancy house, even though he held parties every night, there was still that mist blocking him from what he really wanted. It shows that even though he acquired wealth and everything one would consider as objects that a rich man would have, he was still a poor boy dreaming to become more than what he really was. Inside, he was still scared and confused. He was still fighting for something that everyone knew he couldn’t have, which was Daisy. The green light was an illusion of his dreams. This showed that if you were close to the “dream” then it isn’t so great anymore. Daisy lived near the light, and it was almost touching her. However, to her it was nothing special. It wasn’t even worth paying any mind to. However, Gatsby was still mystified by it. In the end we realize that once you have what you considered a “dream” the ugly truth and reality of what surrounds you starts to become more real.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 1991.
