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Antonella Carovillano
Ms.Forlini
English 3
30 May 2014
American Dream or Moral Nightmare?
In The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, one is exposed to the lifestyle of the time
period known as the Roaring Twenties. During this time, America was experiencing economic
prosperity and the idea of the “American Dream” seemed possible. However, the American
Dream, which is defined as the ability to work hard to achieve a better life, seemed to have lost
its meaning turning into a desire for wealth. F.Scott Fitzgerald used symbols such as the green
light, the eyes of T.J Eckleburg, and the valley of ashes to portray the decline of the American
Dream happening during this time.
The green light represents hope, dreams, and goals, which made it work as Gatsby’s
motivation to achieve the American Dream. When the narrator, Nick Carraway, sees Gatsby for
the first time, he describes Gatsby as, “… [stretching] 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 expect a single green light” (Fitzgerald 21). To
Gatsby, the green light symbolized his American Dream, which was to attain Daisy. However, to
do this, he needed to make himself a successful man to prove himself worthy of her. According
to Verderame, “Gatsby's ability to reinvent himself comes from his belief in the American
dream,” which meant his hope in creating a new self to get Daisy was triggered by the
motivation of the green light. During this time prohibition was present, and when Gatsby met
Dan Cody he began to receive his wealth by bootlegging. Bootlegging is transporting and selling
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illegal beverages when it is forbidden by the law. Gatsby gained his wealth quickly and indulged
himself in riches while throwing over the top parties. As stated by Tunc, “Fitzgerald uses
Gatsby's elaborately staged weekend parties as another metaphor for the greed, material excess,
and unrestrained desire for pleasure that resulted in the corruption and disintegration of the
American Dream.” Through this metaphor, Fitzgerald shows that Gatsby’s parties promoted the
corruption of the dream by showing off this wealth, even if it was earned illegally. This increased
desire to achieve the green light, or American Dream, caused people to participate in often
illegal and unethical actions to have a piece of the extravagant lifestyle of the wealthy.
Therefore, the idea of working hard to obtain a better life declined because of the corruption in
the business world present.
The eyes of T.J Eckleburg represent the eyes of God watching the deterioration of the
American Dream occur. With all the corruption contributing to this decline, it seemed as if God
began to neglect America leaving the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, unable to prevent the decay of
the dream, to stare upon the people who gave up spiritual values to pursue material wealth.
Licence expresses that,
“the painted-on eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, while suggesting the possibility of an
omniscient greater being, are incapable of preventing disaster within Fitzgerald's entropic
valley of ashes…” Weather-beaten into symbolic blindness [ T.J Eckleberg] can only
watch events unfold.”
This billboard overlooked the Valley of Ashes, which is an area that resulted from the
weakening of the American Dream. The valley consisted of the people who were working
towards the dream, but were unsuccessful because of the corruption involved. Due to this
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overlooking, the sense of T.J. Eckleburg’s God-like presence is felt when the eyes are described
as,“… blue and gigantic- their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead,
from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose”( Fitzgerald 23).
Through these eyes, it is shown that the people of America became consumed with the idea of
materialism. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg watched as “[people welcomed] the idea of a fluid
society- one in which individuals enjoy the opportunity to succeed financially”(Verderame).
Through this idea of a fluid society, many people were motivated to go through drastic measures
to achieve this “dream” instead of trying to pursue noble goals that embraced the American
Dream. Since there was an increase desire for easy money, these drastic measures often included
actions which lead to the decline of the moral idea of the American Dream. The eyes were
watching the motivation and ambition of the dream disappear and become replaced with empty
goals. The people who belong to old money influenced this lack of motivation because they do
not work for what they want. Considering this, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg watched as the
Buchanans married for wealth and status gaining the ability to indulge in a lavish lifestyle, which
would only lead to infidelity. Thus, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg watched the decline of the
American Dream as it happened.
The Valley of Ashes represented the poverty, along with the moral and social decay
during this time. It is located between West Egg and New York City and its described as a
place,“… where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke […],of men who
move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”(Fitzgerald 23). The Valley of
Ashes became an industrial dump as an outcome of capitalism. As a result, this place “serves as
one huge metaphor symbolic of a land that produces only dust and death,” (Seiters) along with
the decline of the American Dream because the corruption present left the people actually trying
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to work for a living to reside here. These people attempted to make an honest living by working
hard, because that is what the dream entailed, but soon learned that becoming as rich as the
Buchanans, was simply not possible for everyone. With that realization, it led to the lack of
motivation and ambition in the dream. The people of this area began to lose faith in the dream,
believing their dreams were like the ashes while the rich were indulging themselves without the
consideration of their consequences. One person who believed his dreams were turning into
ashes was George Wilson. Wilson, who was the owner of a rundown auto shop found himself in
the valley straying away from the dream and becoming a lifeless man. The East was full of life
and opportunities, but the Valley was just the opposite. When George, a loyal husband, found out
about the affair between his wife Myrtle and Tom Buchanan, he wanted to move back West.
Wilson believed returning to the West would bring Myrtle and him back to a place with morals.
Through the affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, it showed the moral decay of the time.
Infidelity was common, but people did not acknowledge its happening due to the change of
moral ideas. According to Tunc, “Like Gatsby, [Myrtle Wilson] cannot comprehend that
attaining the American Dream is far more complicated than slipping into a disguise of creamcolored chiffon, and is therefore doomed to a life of disillusionment.” This meant that since
achieving the American Dream was actually difficult, Myrtle lived the dream vicariously through
her affair causing her to be trapped in the valley with false hope. As each generation became
more self- centered and arrogant, the ashes piled higher, distorting the vision of the American
Dream ever more. Hence, the Valley of Ashes was a product of the deterioration of the American
Dream.
F.Scott Fitzgerald showed most aspects of the Roaring Twenties through The Great
Gatsby. By using symbolism, he described the realistic decline of the American Dream. Through
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the green light, it was shown that this motivation to achieve a better life somehow turned into a
desire for wealth. The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg watched this decline happen as the wealthy of this
time were unaware of its occurrence. The Valley of Ashes became a product of the occuring
decline. The American Dream became stained with its unworthiness of money and pleasure as a
result of the weakening of the American Dream
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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
Licence, Amy. "Jay Gatsby: Martyr of a Materialistic Society: Amy Licence Considers Religious
Elements in The Great Gatsby." The English Review 18.3 (2008): n. pag. Literature
Resource Center [Gale]. Web. 11 May 2014.
Seiters, Dan. "On Imagery and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby." Bloom's Literature. Facts On
File, Inc. Web. 18 Mar. 2014
Tunc, Tanfer Emin. "The Great Gatsby: The Tragedy of the American Dream on Long Island's
Gold Coast." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Mar. 2014
Verderame, Carla. "The American Dream in The Great Gatsby." Bloom's Literature. Facts On
File, Inc. Web. 18 Mar. 2014