Research Proposal on "Decline of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby"

Research Proposal 24 pages (6858 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Decline of the American Dream Depicted in Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby

Scott Fitzgerald's novel, the Great Gatsby is a novel that reveals many things about human nature and the inclinations of the human spirit, namely the weakness of it as it becomes tempted with the promise of excess and materialism. When we read the novel, some of the details become hideous to us, as we do not like to think that man can fall pretty to such whims and devices and perhaps this is the truth that makes the novel such a classic. In the novel, we have the very basic creature of man that is experiencing life at a time of extreme freedom - or, at the least, a need to be free. The war has just ended and there is enough money for almost anyone to rise to the top and enjoy all of the extra things that an affluent life guarantees. We see that there is a desire to be free from the previous restraints of Victorianism as well as an escape from the depressing war. Jazz, dance, alcohol, and wild parties are the ingredients for a decadent lifestyle that spins completely out of control in a few short months. The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly a tale about the American Dream but it is more a tale about the decline of the American Dream. What we learn from this novel is that man cannot handle a life of excess and remain compassionate, caring creature. When left to his own devices, he will kill what little humanity is left in his soul and eventually kill himself because he does not know how to control his desire for more. The decline of the American Dream begins and ends with too much greed that refuses to let go. The Great Gatsby demonstrates how this greed operates through a series of characters that come from different walks of life, representing different attitudes. Fitzgerald captures the broken and fragile spirit of man through these characters, highlighting their weaknesses when it comes to human emotion. Gatsby, the Buchanans, and Nick become representatives of different personality types that respond differently to life and its challenges as well as its opportunities. While these characters my have their differences, they all point to the decline of the American Dream by way of their behavior and mindset. Only Nick emerges a free man, unhindered by want and desire. Through setting, characterization, symbolism, and setting, Fitzgerald illuminates how destructive materialism, greed, excess, and unadulterated desire can actually be. Man becomes a victim of his own weaknesses and, as a result, murders his own dream through sheer desire.

Chapter I

The Premise of the Decline of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald lays the foundation for the decline of the American Dream by placing it in the heart of the 1920s when every American had the opportunity to achieve that dream. The land of the free and the home of the brave became the land of excess and the home of materialism. David Trask notes that in the minds of many people, the American Dream was "sometimes thought of as a promise" (Trask) that meant anyone that possessed a practical amount of talent "could reasonably aspire to material success if they adhered to a fairly well-defined set of behavioral rules" (Trask). Trask also points out that there was another aspect to this dream that often drove people to achieve it and that was the assumption that "spiritual satisfaction would automatically accompany material success" (Trask). With this notion in mind, we can see how the dream became bigger than it really was. The rise to fortune is enough to drive one to succeed but when one attaches a sort of spiritual satisfaction to the dream, one begins working outside of the dream realistically. Certainly, fulfilling a dream can make one's life better in many ways and there is no doubt that reaching one's goals makes life "better" in many respects but attaching to the notion that something spiritually occurs within a person once this American Dream is achieved gives the dream too much power. Many critics have connected this idea with Thomas Jefferson, who "firmly established the myth of the garden -- the concept of agrarian virtue and the urban vice -- in American minds" (Trask). It is this notion that becomes planted in the minds of many Americans and once it is realized, life changes and suddenly, values take a second place to success. Spiritual satisfaction should never be associated with material success for then it creates the premise that one must always be present with the other, thus creating a conflict in the very nature of what spiritual satisfaction means. In this day and age, however, it is easy to see how spiritual satisfaction was equated with materialism because materialism was so prevalent.

Gatsby, of course, makes this mistake, thinking if he finds the success he is after, he will also find Daisy, who is his spiritual satisfaction at the end of the proverbial rainbow. Everything he did was leading up to the very moment he could her say she loved him and wanted to be with him forever. On the surface, we must admire Gatsby for his goal to have a better life and his ability to accomplish that task. Digging deeper into his personality, however, reveals that much more was going on inside Gatsby's head. He never had a firm grasp on reality and this only led to his failure. For Gatsby, the dream of the past was not only the link to his future but also to his spiritual satisfaction. He lives so much in the past that he allows it to dictate his every move, ignoring anything that might get in his way or cause him to stumble. The clearest illustration of this occurs when he tells Nick, "Can't repeat the past?... Why of course you can!" (Fitzgerald 113) and he is "going to fix everything just the way it was before" (113). In short, he thinks money will solve all of his problems because he thinks he can buy any and everything. Gatsby's sight is myopic at best. Another aspect of this dream fulfilling some sort of spiritual need comes from Gatsby's belief that Daisy is perfect. It is only with her and for her that he can see any happiness in his life and only she can fulfill his need. Gatsby is the typical individual blinded by love and this is a role that he plays very well. The image of Gatsby is captured perfectly in Nick's recollection of the man:

There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion. (92)

His emotional attachment to the dream is so extreme that absolutely nothing can make it right for him but he is unable to see this because of his fondness for Daisy. Nick understands that the dream has outgrown the individual of Daisy but there can be no telling Gatsby this. She becomes the spiritual satisfaction and, as a result, the source of his idolatry. Gatsby states that her voice is "full of money" (127) and he sincerely believes that she will simply walk away from Tom without a second thought. We read that Gatsby paid careful attention to the decoration of his home so that it would please Daisy; Nick explains, "everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes" (97). Gatsby's attachment to this spiritual need is something that has been a part of his life the many years the two have been separated. While they were apart, Gatsby was planning everything out for a life with her and in the meantime, he "read a Chicago paper for years just on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy's name" (84). Perhaps the most telling sign that Gatsby was reaching for a dream that could never satisfy him spiritually or otherwise was the fact that he deliberately purchased a home from where he could see the green light on her dock. For Jay Gatsby, the American Dream and spiritual fulfillment is directly related to Daisy Buchanan.

The life of decadence becomes the vehicle through which Gatsby will achieve this dream. The 1920s are plagued with greed and limitless pleasure, which is demonstrated through Gatsby's outrageous weekend parties. Materialism and greed become the primary forces that ruin the American Dream and led to its decline in the novel. Reckless behavior with no sense of consequence covered up by loud parties and jazz music lies at the heart of everything that goes wrong by the novels' end. In addition, the desire for more and the unadulterated greed of these people kill what is essential to the American Dream, which is honesty and respect.… READ MORE

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