The Disillusionment of the American Dream in the 1920s

ABSTRACTThis research paper concentrates on the analysis of the spiritual wasteland in The Great Gatsby, which is a fiction about what happened to the American Dream in the 1920s. The whole 1920s is a period when the dream was corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth and cruel reality. The disillusionment of the American Dream is symbolized by the spiritual wasteland of that time. Gatsby, the protagonist of this novel is a symbol for the whole American experience. The realization of his dream, using materialism as its means and the illusion of youth and beauty as its goal, is doomed and means the bankruptcy of American idealism, which in turn becomes the empty promise. To support the thesis, the paper is developed into two major parts. The first part puts an emphasis on revealing the process of the decline of Gatsby’s dream. The second part focuses on discussing the use of symbolization in the novel to imply Gatsby’s failure and the hollowness in heart in American society. The conclusion restates the thesis of the paper.Keywords: American dream; wealth; disillusionment; spiritual wasteland; symbolOutlineⅠ.IntroductionA.Introduction of the authorB.Social background of the novelC.Thesis——The disillusionment of the American Dream brings thespiritual wasteland to the society.ⅡReflection of the disillusionment of the American dreamA.Gatsby’s longing for wealth1.Losing his love because of poverty2.Accumulating wealth to enter upper classB.The wildness of the time1.Showing off his fortune through the parties2.Hollowness of the upper classC.Money’s petty role in realizing Gatsby’s dream1.Wealth being not a passport to upper class2.His wealth not gaining his lost love3.Gatsby’s death being the symbolization of the disillusionmentof the American dreamⅢSeveral symbols implying Gatsby’s failureA.Green Light——Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the futureB.The color of white——The symbolization of the emptiness ofpeople’s mind in that era.C.Two Islands of West Egg and East Egg1.Symbol of the distinctions in rich class2.Sign of Gatsby’s failureD.V alley of Ashes——Representation of the moral and social decay Ⅳ. Conclusion——Restatement of the thesisThe Disillusionment of the American Dream in the 1920sⅠ.IntroductionA.Introduction of the authorF. Scott Fitzgerald (1896—1940), the great American writer of the 20th century, is generally viewed as the literary spokesman of the “Jazz Age”—the decade of the 1920s. He is also considered the famous representative of “Lost Generation”. The “Lost Generation” refers to the young writers such as Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and so on. They experience the World War I and feel the huge material and spiritual damage on humanity. Most of Fitzgerald’s works vividly portray the fact of the craziness, fascination, moral and spiritual decline in the postwar American society. His well-known novels and short stories, such as This Side of Paradise (1920), Flappers and Philosophers (1921), The Beautiful and the Damned (1922), Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), The Great Gatsby (1925), Tender is the Night (1934), best embody the spirit of America of his time.B.Social background of the novelAs Fitzgerald’s most mature work, The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest literary documents of this period. The whole 1920s was the booming age of American economy. After entering the First World War,the industrial production of America gradually increased. When the war ended, the United States had become the most powerful country of the capitalist world. But the abundance of material did not bring any happiness on spirit. The postwar generation of America felt that this was a time to make money and have fun. The 1920s was an age of corruption and the degradation of moral values for the U.S. The so-called Jazz Age was the setting for The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald lived in the wild time and participated the wealth, frivolous greedy, and heedless way of life. Meanwhile he could keep a cold eye on the social condition of his contemporaries and produce the works of that great age.Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel, was born in a poor family. His life is changed when he spent with the gold baron Dan Cody together. Gatsby inherits nothing of Cody’s fortune, but it is from him that Gatsby is first introduced to the world of wealth, power and privilege. This gives him encouragement to enter the upper class. Then, when he enlists in the army, he falls in love with Daisy, a rich girl. But he is too poor to marry her. After that, Daisy marries a brash but very wealthy man. Determined to win his lost love back, Gatsby is engaging in bootlegging and other underworld activities. In this way, he earns much money and buys a magnificent Gothic Villa in West Egg. It is near East Egg where Daisy lived. Gatsby throws lavish parties every weekend. The only purpose of these parties is to draw Daisy’s attention. Though Gatsby meets Daisyagain, he finds that the woman before him is not the ideal love of his dream. Later, Daisy kills a woman in a traffic accident. Gatsby takes the blame for the accident and is shot by the woman’s husband. Daisy returns to her husband and moves away in the end.The narrator Nick Carraway tells the whole story. Nick is the neighbor of Gatsby, and he is also the cousin of Daisy. Fitzgerald establishes Nick as a neutral observer. His impressions and observations necessarily color the narrative as a whole.C.Thesis——The modern values destroy the American Dream’s pureideals.On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, but the main theme of the novel relates to the disillusionment of the American Dream. The American Dream is the belief that anyone, however poor, can win success and happiness by his own hard work. This idea grows during the fast development period in America. The dream is a sublime motivation for achieving one’s goals. When it is tainted with wealth and power, money becomes the main theme in the American society and the dream becomes void and empty. Gatsby is a prime example of pursuing the American Dream. His dream is symbolized by Daisy, a beautiful, rich and charming young lady. He believes that despite his poverty and empty background, he can enter the upper class on the basis of his skills and hard work. So he does everything, legal and illegal, in order to acquirewealth and win his love. Daisy becomes the only important goal in his life. Money changes Gatsby into a wealthy man, but he will never be turned into a noble man. Being witnesses to Gatsby’s failure, we realize that the American Dream is not easy to achieve and wealth does not bring real success and happiness.Ⅱ.Reflection of the disillusionment of the American dreamFitzgerald exposes the process of the disillusionment of the American Dream though Gatsby’s experience. The novel shows how modern values have transformed the American Dream’s pure ideals into a scheme for materialistic power and how the world of high society lacks a sense of moral. It is mirrored clearly in the following three main aspects.A. Gatsby’s longing for wealth1. Losing his love because of povertyFirstly, Gatsby’s ambition represents the American Dream and money plays an important role in reflecting the novel’s theme. Gatsby comes from a middle-class family in rural North Dakota. From his early youth, he despises poverty and longs for wealth. For example, he changes his name James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. In this way he wishes to be reborn as the aristocrat he feels himself to be. The transformation between James Gatz and Jay Gatsby indicates his longing for wealth and prosperity.Furthermore, the most important motivation in acquiring money is Gatsby’s love for Daisy Buchanan, when he first meets Daisy as a youngmilitary officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917. Gatsby is impressed by what Daisy represents grace, fortune and a life of luxuries. He immediately falls in love with her. But according to the views of society, he knows Daisy is impossible to marry him due to his poverty and low social standing. So he lies to Daisy about his own background. While Gatsby goes off to the war Daisy continues in her luxury life. Gradually, she grows tired of waiting for him and marries Tom Buchanan, a young man from aristocratic family in 1919. Tough he is an arrogant and hypocritical bully; he can promise Daisy a wealthy lifestyle. After the war, Gatsby devotes his life to accumulating wealth and jostling into the high society. All his efforts are to win Daisy back.2.Accumulating wealth to enter upper classTo Gatsby, his dream is symbolized by Daisy while Daisy is the emblem of a perfect woman. Wealth is a major approach of realizing his dream. In order to win his lost love back, Gatsby is involved in illegal business to earn money because it is the only way to gain wealth quickly. He focuses all his attention on realizing the dream and becoming a great man. Gatsby firmly trusts that money can“buy” him Daisy’s love. The use of illegal activities to acquire money also reveals the extent of how the American Dream circumvents the moral revulsion and drives people crazy for wealth even in a criminal way. In Gatsby’s time, people can sacrifice morality to attain wealth. When he realizes that life of high classdemands wealth to be priority, wealth becomes his superficial goal. To a great extent, Gatsby’s intense love for Daisy is changed into his strong desire for wealth, power and social status. This emotion is expressed in his words:“Her voice is full of money.”①That is a direct correlation between Daisy and wealth and happiness. Gatsby’s pursuit of happiness with Daisy is the real reason for the degradation of his moral. Daisy becomes the only important person in Gatsby’s life. She determines all his feelings and deeds. This is why he is blinded by his dream. In fact, Gatsby is really attracted by Daisy’s beautiful and rich life. His dream is his leading force in life and he can never give it up. He stakes everything on his dream, not realizing that his dream is worthless for him. He establishes his necessity to acquire wealth, which allows him to be with Daisy. For this reason, wealth becomes Gatsby’s superficial goal overshadowing his quest for love. It is the primary factor that destroys the pure belief of Gatsby’s dream and also of the American Dream.B. The wildness of the time1. Showing off his fortune through the partiesSecondly, the novel presents a vivid picture of the craziness and fascination of the high society in 1920s America through Gatsby’s dazzling parties. It denotes the hopelessness and helplessness of upper class and also suggests the ruin of the American Dream. Of course, wealth is the most important method to win back Gatsby’s lost love. Sowhen he feels he is wealthy enough to win Daisy back, he attempts to impress Daisy by the splendor of his parties, the impressiveness of his house and the extravagance of his lifestyle. He buys a gigantic villa that appears to be an imitation of the Hotel de Ville in Normandy. He also has a yellow Rolls-Royce limo, the finest automobiles of the time, which is extremely expensive and rare. Every weekend, Gatsby throws big parties. At these parties, he has the best of everything. He brings in crates upon crates of fresh vegetables and other food. He has a great deal of crates of wine and other alcoholic beverages. He even has bands that play music of the time. All of this is to impress Daisy.Every guest marvels at Gatsby’s Roll-Royce, his enormous swimming pool, the live musicians he engages weekly and the sumptuous food he generously supplies. These scenes show to us that how extravagant life the upper class lives in the thriving age. Fitzgerald gives great attention to the details of contemporary society. The crazy party is both a description and a satire of the moral decadence and it is just a symbol of the carelessness of the wild time. Most of the guests hardly know the host. Many come and go without invitation. There is a very sign of merriment but people get dead drunk and break down in tears. The mansion is alive with crowds of guests eating and drinking but the place is empty. The music, the laughter and the faces all blurs as the confused mass signify the purposelessness and loneliness in their spirit. Fitzgeraldintends to make readers see and feel the hypocrisy and despair underlying the superficial splendor.2. Hollowness of the upper classThe guests take advantages of Gatsby’s hospitality but are contemptuous of the host. They casually gossip the vicious rumors about Gatsby that he is a German spy, a murderer and so on. They circulate the rumor, which does not mean that they care about Gatsby. What they really concern is the large party. The aimlessness and shallowness of the guests, the crazy extravagance of Gatsby’s parties, and the indication of Gatsby’s relation with the bootlegging business represent the background and the American setting. Especially, the criminal business expresses the social condition of the wild age. In American history, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1919) rules a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. The ban makes many millionaires out of bootleggers like Gatsby. The pervasiveness of bootlegging and organized crime increase the wealth of the general public during this time. It is the prime reason of the heedless, excessive pleasure seeking and sense of abandon. The American Dream—the pursuit of happiness has degenerated into a quest for mere wealth. Gatsby’s dream has become the motivation for lavish excesses and illegal activities. The whole America has become vulgar and empty as a result of subjecting to its greedy pursuit of wealth.As the host of the weekend parties, Gatsby is exceedingly courteous but he never really takes part in his parties. He stands aloof from his own celebration. He does not drink and dance. He sits back and watches from a distance, hoping that one night Daisy would show up at one of the parties. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald describes the character Daisy as a flighty and shallow woman. Her purposes in life are material comfort and luxuries. For Gatsby, wealth means that he will finally have a chance of getting Daisy. But his money is exactly an obstacle in winning his love. Daisy is merely impressed by Gatsby’s fortune, but not his genuine love for her. Gatsby also becomes corrupted because his main goal is to attain money in order to have Daisy. His dream is dead when the motivation and ambition are gone and the dream is left with the pursuit of an empty goal.The defeat of the American Dream in Gatsby’s life is represented in the hollowness and the moral decadence of the upper class. Instead of becoming a great man, Gatsby turns into a member of the “rotten crowd”, to which Tom and Daisy belongs. The upper society is a world where money takes precedence over moral integrity. Materialism has already overshadowed a portion of his spiritual world. Once wealth has taken priority over integrity, people of the high society focus on immediate indulgences, rather than on long term pleasures of life. In such a society, Gatsby simply feeds the appetite of high class by throwing big parties. Hebelieves that he can create an earthly paradise for others and himself. Unfortunately, the so-called paradise only exists with physical pleasure and wealth priorities.C. Money’s petty role in realizing Gatsby’s dream1. Wealth being not a passport to upper classThirdly, the failure of Gatsby’s ideals is directly related to the failure of the American Dream. Just as what we have discussed above, wealth is what Daisy really desires. Money is clearly identified as the main culprit in the dream’s disillusion. Gatsby’s wealth has little role in realizing his dream. He is considered as the “new money”. Although Gatsby possesses a luxury villa, piles of expensive English shirts and antiques, he lacks the sense of aristocratic grace and social nuance. Daisy, as a typical woman of that time who considers happiness more of a physical state than a mental state, would never desert her own class status and social background to be with Gatsby. Gatsby can never exactly enter the higher social group.2. His wealth not gaining his lost loveFor Daisy, she is simply attracted by Gatsby’s money. The short love affair with Daisy is ended by an accident. When Daisy kills Myrtle in a traffic accident, the only thing he is worried about is whether Daisy will be in trouble or not. In order to protect Daisy, Gatsby takes the responsibility of the accident and is shot by Myrtle’s husband. In Gatsby’sfuneral, all of his former friends and acquaintances either disappear or refuse to come. Tom and Daisy even move away with no forwarding address. The desolation of his funeral is a contrast with his exciting parties. After Myrtle’s death, Daisy does not stay with Gatsby but goes back to Tom, who can keep her safe and protect her from trouble.3. Gatsby’s death being the symbolization of the disillusionment of the American dreamDaisy’s choice reflects her real intentions. Their different social status keeps them from grasping their dream of true love. All Gatsby’s wealth cannot help him, and Daisy’s abandonment is what kills him inside. There is a sense of hopelessness at the end of the novel to prove that the purity of the American Dream is dead with Gatsby’s death. To Gatsby, his dreams of love with Daisy far shadow the realization of life, and make him unable to create an image of the future without Daisy. But the reality makes him aware that his dream he has pursing is not that of love but of money. The collapse of Gatsby’s attempt to win Daisy proves that dreams, money and blind faith are not enough for a man to reach his goal. After Gatsby’s death, any chance of the old American Dream of surviving in the modern world is destroyed. All of the hopes and dreams that strengthen and uplift Gatsby are shattered as he lies in his swimming pool. Now the dream is completely lost and can never be restored. The tragic story of Jay Gatsby describes the bankruptcy of American values.All of the pure ideals have been replaced by money, greedy, and materialism.ⅢSeveral symbols implying Gatsby’s failureOne of the characteristics of The Great Gatsby is symbolism. On one hand, it is fully integrated into the plot and structure. On the other hand, symbolism used in this novel also implies Gatsby’s miserable and tragic fate. The major symbols such as the green light, the east and west, the valley of ashes are filled with meaning that goes beyond the plot, and extremely mirrors the theme of this novel—the bankruptcy of the American Dream.Color symbolism is really popular in novels written during the 1920's. One such example is Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. There is much color symbolism in this novel, but there are two main colors that stand out more than the others. The colors green and white influence the story greatly. Green shows many thoughts, ideas, attitudes, and choices that Gatsby has throughout the story. White represents the stereotypical features that every character is hiding behind.A.Green Light——Representation of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for thefutureFirstly, the green light is a central symbol in the novel. The green light shines from the East Egg to the West Egg luring Gatsby towards what he has always wanted. Gatsby has considered Daisy a symbol ofeverything he values, and he sees the green light on her dock a symbol of his destiny with her. The light presents all his dreams and hopes for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy.……he stretched out his arms towards 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 might have been the end of a dock.②He reaches out towards the green light in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his aim.Green is the color of promise, hope, and renewal. The green light is a part of the American Dream—everlasting hope, perseverance, hard working, ambition and a desire for adventure. It symbolizes Gatsby’s constant searching for a way to reach the goal, as Nick describes it in the end of the novel.……Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning—.③The green light plays a chief role in implying the downfall of Gatsby’s dream throughout the novel. His goal gives him a purpose in life, which sets him apart from the rest of the high society. He is constantlychasing his dream of being with Daisy from the moment he stretches toward her house till the final days of his life. When Gatsby rows forward the green light the current draws him backward. He loves Daisy of the past and endows her kind of ideal perfection that she never possesses. Gatsby expends all of his energy in pursuing a goal that moves ever farther away because his love with Daisy is impossible at that society. His longing to achieve his dream and the connection of his dream to the pursuit of money and material success reflect the combination of pioneer spirit and unrestricted materialism. Just as Gatsby’s dream is deteriorated by the worthless aims, the American Dream in that time is corrupted by the money and pleasure.B. The color of white——The symbolization of the emptiness of people’s mind in that era.White is the other color symbolism interlaced into this novel. Where green only influenced one character, white has a wider range of influence on the characters. This color symbolizes one thing, a fantasy, but it appears in every character. For example, Daisy is always seen wearing white, which gives her and innocent naive appearance. It is as though she uses that as an excuse for when she does something ridiculous or childish, making it seems like she does not know any better. In reality, she knows exactly what she does but just doesn't care. She uses this little princess image and her money to hide her biased, snobbish, and conceited view ofherself and her lifestyle.……They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together...④Another character that hides behind the white symbolic fantasy is Jordan Baker. She also wears white quite often. She acts as though she is superior to everyone around her. Her posture, her attitude, and even the things she says imply this arrogance.……She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me she me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it-indeed I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in.⑤She portrays a bored and apathetic attitude about everything, which is part of her.……I am too good for you" appearance. In reality, she just wants to be as respected and socially accepted as Gatsby. She is not willing to take responsibility for her actions and uses her image as a guard implying that she could not have possibly done anything immoral, much like Daisy. However, "She was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep the coolinsolent smile turned towards the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard jaunty body.⑥Color symbolism is not very noticeable, yet it can tell a great deal about a story. In this case, the colors give the reader a look at the character's choices and the paths he or she could have chosen compared to the ones the character chose, which adds dimension to the story. The green the different choices Gatsby can make, whether it serves as a warning, an inspiration, or an urge to get ahead. The white symbolizes a mask, or a fantasy. It allows the characters to portray themselves as a whole other person and hide who they really are. This puts a piece of reality into the story, as everyone wears a white mask of some kind to hide his or her true self from the world. It is the unsubtle clues given to the reader that are fascinating and allow a person to relate to the characters.C. Two Islands of West Egg and East Egg1. Symbol of the distinctions in rich classSecondly, the division between East and West is a significant theme in the novel. The two islands West Egg and East Egg show the conflict between Gatsby and the higher class. Though the islands are both home of wealthy people, the two different locations are nearly opposite in values. East eggers represent the established rich—education, taste, aristocracy and leisure. The East is more refined and consists of peoplewith more money and higher social status. The old aristocracy holds in a graceful lifestyle, which is epitomized by the Buchanans’ tasteful home and the elegant dress of Daisy. However, they seem to lack in their souls. The wealth they have inhabited makes them arrogant, condescending to others and losing their moral.The East Egg is a world of cruelty, corruption, carelessness, hopelessness and materialism. They live a shallow, aimless, empty and lonely life. And, the West Eggers present the self-made rich like Gatsby. They do not have any social standing and earn much money through o some illegal business. Gatsby engages in criminal activities as his only path to reach the higher society. The newly rich are vulgar, tasteless, ostentatious, and lacking in social grace. Though Gatsby own huge fortune, he does not understand the subtle social signals. For example, he does not realize that the Sloanes’ invitation is insincere. Compared with those “old rich”Tom and Daisy, Gatsby is more sincere and loyal. In chapter 7, he stands outside Daisy’s window until four in the morning to make sure that Tom does not hurt her. The West Eggers have these values such as honesty, human respect, faith, ambition, and romanticism. Gatsby simply reveals himself to be an innocent and promising young man who bets everything on his dream. He has no good education and no family background and he is self-made.2. Sign of Gatsby’s failureThis is why he is not exactly a member of the upper class. Two kinds of wealth stand for the different social backgrounds. The division between East Egg and West Egg shows the clear class distinctions even among the high social group. There is a wide gap between Daisy and Gatsby. The division is a sign implying Gatsby’s failure. Due to his empty background, Gatsby always tries to hide the source of his wealth so that people will not know the real source. He is afraid that when Daisy finds out the truth someday she will leave him. Gatsby’s deeds suggest that he perhaps will never get Daisy back because he has no social background. He can acquire lots of fortune, but he cannot rebuild his past. Daisy, the woman he loves all along, is a very shallow and materialistic person. She will never renounce her high standing and solid family to be with Gatsby. This is also a hint of the decline of the American Dream. The dream is based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins are, can gain success by his own effort. But Gatsby’s defeat means that it may be impossible for one to completely disown his past.C. V alley of Ashes——The moral and social decayThirdly, another main symbol in this novel is the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes locates between West Egg and New Y ork City. It consists of a long stretch of desolate land that is created by the bumping of industrial ashes. The novel portrays the valley of ashes as a picture of bleak land without glamorous surface. It symbolizes the moral decay。