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2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)Decline of American Dream in The Great GatsbyRavi Bhatt, Tenzin TashiDepartment of English , Lovely Professional University, Punjab, IndiaAbstractAmerican dream carried a hope to live a life of richness, luxurious and living a standard life. The novelexemplifies that no matter the background of the individual the American Dream concept has the way topresents a life that anyone can become a rich. The Novel was written after a WWI; Fitzgerald showed howAmerica has boom the wealth as a nation which benefitted the citizen. After that a concept was built, earningmoney and live lavish life. The entire novel is focused on the fall of the American dream which has given aplatform to discuss the issue of the scenario of America. Although the American dream considered everyoneequal but there existed the unacceptable mindset from the old wealth society. The dream which has beendefined in the novel specifies how selfless people can be; there was no place of emotion and sympathy. Theonly reason they follow each other is the money. Fitzgerald portrayed 1922; American dream was decayingthe social values and morality of the people.IntroductionThe Great Gatsby by F The Novel tells a story of a man who has newly found wealth named Gatsby. Thenarrator Nick; who is also a character in the novel tells the story of how he has seen a life of the east coast,where Tom and Daisy lived, and west coast where he and his neighbor Gatsby lived. Gatsby was verymysterious and he threw party at his house. And the people come there from various classes, the general,celebrity. Meanwhile on the other side of the coast there lived a Tom and Daisy in a super luxury house. Tominherited the wealth from his father. Nick goes there to meet his cousin Daisy and Tom was his college mateat Yale. There he also meets Jordan Baker, a beautiful woman who is a friend of Daisy. Nick finds out thatTom has affair outside the town, the affair had started within a year of their marriage. After the meeting, Nickreturns to his house where he sees a person on the dock near his house, he noticed that the person is trying tocatch the green light on the other side of the coast; the person turns out to be Gatsby. After someday TomJETIRDW06121Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org773
2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)takes Nick out of the city under the doctor eye. There Nick meets Martyl whom Tom has affair and Myrtal ismarried to Wilson. They enjoy a party in which the narrator (Nick) said that it is his second time drinking inhis life which turns out to change his life. Nick receives an invitation from Gatsby to attend that party, acurious Nick wanted to know who is the person Gatsby attended the party. There he meets Jordan who wasalso there to attend the party. Gatsby introduces himself to Nick and Jordon, he talks about the personattended at the party. Meanwhile he leaves and calls Jordon. When Jordon return, she tells Nick about Gatsbyand he was an Oxford graduate that fascinated Nicks but before she could finish the story she leaves the partypromising to tell him on next meeting. One afternoon Gatsby comes to Nick house and takes him to NewYork to have lunch together. On their way to New York Gatsby tells him his journey of life, starting fromworking as a boatman and joining WWI and about his wealth and business. For Nick it was hard to take fewof his stories which doesn’t sense to it. But Nick didn’t interrupt and listened to the story. When they sit at thetable there Gatsby introduces Nick to Mr. Wolfshiem who is his business partner and friend, he adds fewinformation about Gatsby to Nick of how he has acquired the wealth. Jordon tells Nick about the Gatsby lovestory of his young age love and how they were in love and due to the war Gatsby leave to war. Nick wasconvinced with the story and he agrees to Gatsby for meeting him with Daisy. Nick arranges a tea party tomeet Gatsby with Daisy. The meeting turns out to believe in Gatsby that she still loves him. Gatsby and Daisykeeps their meeting again and again, Tom sensed it and meets Gatsby. Tom realized that Daisy is also movingher feeling towards Gatsby, so he arranged a meeting with Gatsby, Daisy and Nick. The meeting turns out tobe uncomfortable for Daisy so she decided to go for a ride to the city. The conversation starts on how Gatsbyand Daisy are in love, and also expected Daisy to say that she doesn’t love Tom but Tom made Daisy realizethat they shared a memory of love. The situation in the room gets heat and they leave the meeting room. Ontheir way to home, Daisy and Gatsby sits together. Due to the frustration Daisy insists to drive and accidentlyhit Myrtyl with the car and kills her. Once they reach house Gatsby wait outside Daisy’s room to make sureTom doesn’t harm her, he takes the blame of killing Myrtyl. Nick tells Gatsby that he will make sure Tomwon’t harm Daisy and tells him to rest. He waits next day for a call from Daisy, hoping she will leave Tomand come back to him. There Wilson enters in Gatsby house and shoots Gatsby inside the pool and thenJETIRDW06121Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org774
2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)shoots himself. Nick remembers that on Gatsby funeral only him and few of his servant turn up, none of hisfriend, not even Daisy.Back ground of American DreamAmerican has been a dream land for many people of the world because of one famous ideology that anyonecan become rich no matter what class they are from. The history of the American dream was favored in 17 thcentury when America was called New England by John Winthrop, for him America is a chosen land of God.American is land of blessed and anyone who wants to change their fate could be done in America. The ideahas been popular in throughout the world. The initial idea was to treat everyone the same as they are whetherthey are from rich back ground or poor back ground.The term American dream was actually used in 193 by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic ofAmerica. He has mentioned in his book“That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, withopportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is .â .â . a dream of social order in which eachman and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and berecognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” (415)The book is about how individual is free to choose their dream without any difference of social class.The can become rich and they can grow their social status. If individual is willing to work hard and is willingto obtain their wish can do so by moving towards their dream. The concept was same for the women as well.The American dream was opportunity for the women as well to grab the opportunity and live as they wishedfor.JETIRDW06121Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org775
2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)Decline of American Dream in The Great GatsbyEast coast is where newly rich people lived and west coast is where old wealth people lived. The old wealthhasn’t accepted new coast wealth as they believed the wealth is not a genuine and also there is no social classon their status of life. The East Coast was place for highly status society like Tom and Daisy who is amongthe richest in the East coast. The West Coast is a place where Gatsby stayed who owned a new wealth. Hisdream of acquiring wealth was fulfilled but he never realized that his long lost lover is not same. For Gatsby,Daisy was still the same love of him and he expected the same for her. He never realized that Daisy was notthe same Daisy that he used to love her. His American dream was achieved but with achieving the love of pastmade the American dream failure.Fitzgerald wrote the novel after the WWI and it has very much influence in the novel as the Americaneconomy was booming. Nick has a dream of writing but he chose to become broker because the money in thefinancial world has influenced him. It gives the idea of how a person chose materialism over their dream.Gatsby who is the central character in the novel has a great change in his life from a boy from a small andpoor family to owning a huge mansion in the city. The idea of American dream self-made can be called toGatsby. He acquainted the newly rich beating his poor early life. His story tells that he has achieved theAmerican dream but his motive to reunion with his long lost love has turned his life around. The concept ofmoral and values was lost with respect to the story on the novel. People from both the side of the city gatheredin the Gatsby party but they never really tried to know the person behind it.There is valley of ashes between New York and West egg. The valley ashes depict the moral decay ofthe society. The entire major incident took place in the valley of Ashes. With the Tom affair with Myrtle, andDaisy hitting Myrtle by car and Tom brainwashed Wilson to kill Gatsby for killing his wife. AS in the novelthe valley also defines the decay of the American society.“A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, whereashes take the forms of house and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a superior effort, of men whomove dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”(P.23)JETIRDW06121Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org776
2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162)ConclusionFitzgerald believed both Daisy and Gatsby is from different world of class, but their desire to achieve is same.Both have a desired which is unrealistic, and it makes them to expect more which could have never leads tohappiness.American dream irrespective of Daisy and Gatsby portrayed that it won’t give anyone happiness, evenhaving money and class. The only thing American Dream can add to a person is money, but not the realisticlife.Works CitedBookworm. “Literary Themes American Dream.” Literary Articles, 18 Aug. 2012, troduction-The Great Gatsby.” Jstor, 2012, doi:10.1515/9781400843114.xv.West, Clare, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. Oxford University Press, 2013.Wulick, Anna. “Best Analysis: The American Dream in The Great Gatsby.” Best Analysis: The AmericanDream in The Great Gatsby, Sebinkarahisar-Ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.Pdf.” History Studies International Journal of History, vol. 10,no. 7, 2018, pp. 241–264., doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658.JETIRDW06121Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org777
Decline of American Dream in The Great Gatsby Abstract American dream carried a hope to live a life of richness, luxurious and living a standard life. The novel exemplifies that no matter the background of the individual the American Dream concept has
