THE OBSCURITY OF GATSBY’S “AMERICAN DREAM”

Examine the associations between the inherent fragility of the "American Dream" and a fundamental environmental resource in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

The “American Dream” is a simple, yet impractical idea. It sounds good in theory, but falls short in application. This shortcoming was particularly seen in my mother and her family’s escape from communist Russia in the 1980s, where they faced a cultural and a social barrier, preventing their assimilation into American culture. They longed for a world in which they could be anything they desired—that was their “American Dream.” Upon arrival, however, they were quickly disappointed. This falsity of the “American Dream” is explored in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald describes the limitations of the “American Dream” in the 1920s, such as the insurmountable barriers to achieve it, through protagonist Jay Gatsby and his love-interest Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald uses various symbols to elucidate the truth about the “American Dream,” namely through the symbol of water, which bookends the life of Jay Gatsby. Water symbolizes the flaws of the “American Dream,” physically separating Jay Gatsby from his aspirations and corrupting him in the process of reaching his ambitions, which suggests that the “American Dream” is a work in progress.

The glistening water of the Long Island Sound represents the sheer unattainability of the “American Dream,” which frames Gatsby’s aspirations. Gatsby longs for the purity of his past relationship with Daisy, a relationship Daisy’s mother “effectually prevented” because of Gatsby’s low status as a soldier in the army (75). So, Gatsby illegally accumulates wealth to purchase an estate where “Daisy would be just across the bay” (78). Instead of purchasing a home in East Egg within immediate proximity to Daisy, Gatsby buys an estate in the opposing West Egg that possesses a clear view over the “dark water” to Daisy’s home (20). Water separates the distinct towns of East and West Egg, serving as a barrier between the newly-accumulated and more corrupted wealth of West Egg, represented by “bootlegger” Gatsby, and the established wealth of East Egg, represented by Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan, whose family was “enormously wealthy” (133,6). Fitzgerald implies that those who sought the “American Dream” in the 1920s—such as “promoter[s]” and “gambler[s]”—were bound to live in West Egg due to their new, self-made, and corruptly generated wealth (62). Thus, Gatsby and other followers of the “American Dream” are incapable of ever achieving true success as they are unable to integrate themselves into the pinnacle of the arbitrary hierarchy during this time period controlled by those living in East Egg: Daisy and fellow East-Eggers are even "appalled by West Egg" (107). Accordingly, Fitzgerald presents water as the literal manifestation of the stratification between these two towns, and figuratively, the goals and the pessimistic reality of the “American Dream” through these opposing social classes.

Water symbolizes the flaws of the “American Dream,” physically separating Jay Gatsby from his aspirations and corrupting him in the process of reaching his ambitions, which suggests that the “American Dream” is a work in progress.

Gatsby attempts to conquer the social barrier that water represents through his extravagant parties, as at his famous parties “his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound” (43). The party extends outwards from Gatsby’s dock, demonstrating Gatsby’s use of wealth to establish social legitimacy and overcome the barrier water represents. However, Gatsby never overcomes this barrier, with his parties “preserv[ing] a dignified homogeneity” consisting of “East Egg condescending to West Egg” (44). As Gatsby looks across the bay towards East Egg, he sees the “single green light” radiating from Daisy’s dock (21). In looking towards the green light, which comes to represent Gatsby’s longing for Daisy, Gatsby faces a colossal body of water, symbolizing the obstacles he will have in attempting to court Daisy. Gatsby is able to “stretch his arms out” for this light,  but is unable to grasp it, evidenced by his affair with Daisy, which ends in complete ruin as she ultimately flees Long Island with Tom (20). On a larger scale, the green light symbolizes the dreams that followers of the “American Dream” will never achieve, prevented by the social obstacles the water represents.

Accordingly, Fitzgerald presents water as the literal manifestation of the stratification between these two towns, and figuratively, the goals and the pessimistic reality of the “American Dream” through these opposing social classes.

Gatsby’s pursuit of the “American Dream” corrupts him, and the water represents the fact that this corruption is an inseparable part of the “American Dream.” Gatsby is first introduced to the splendors of wealth on the shores of Lake Superior, where he serves as an assistant to Dan Cody on his yacht. Water, in religious ceremonies and baptisms, symbolizes spiritual rebirth,  which parallels Jay Gatsby’s rebirth from the innocent “salmon-fisher” Jay Gatz into the corrupt Jay Gatsby (98). Ironically, water does not purify Jay Gatsby, but rather leads him down a path of corruption and bootlegging, serving as fuel that Jay Gatsby believes will propel him across the Long Island Sound and into Daisy Buchannan’s life. In fact, Gatsby colludes with Meyer Wolfsheim, a corrupt businessman, ready to commit nefarious acts, such as “work[ing] for [Meyer Wolfsheim’s] client” after recognizing that he provided Daisy a “sense of security” by giving off the impression that he was of the “same stratum” of wealth as her (171, 149). Gatsby’s baptism on the water has reborn him into a man who believes that the “American Dream” requires deceitful behavior. Ultimately, Gatsby is murdered by George Wilson in his pool, as George mistakenly believes it was Gatsby, rather than Daisy, who ran over and killed his wife Myrtle. Gatsby’s life as Jay Gatsby begins and ends on the water; he both is born and dies a corrupt man—Gatsby is a conspirator in the death of Myrtle, demanding to his chauffeur moments before his death to not take the car Myrtle was killed in out “under any circumstances” (161). Nick finds Gatsby’s body leaving behind a “thin red circle in the water” in his pool, and Gatsby’s blood mixing with the water symbolizes Gatsby has now fully succumbed to corruptness (162). Thus, as Gatsby represents this futile chasing of the American Dream, his death on the water further exposes the inherent fragility of this dream by demonstrating that true happiness and success cannot be achieved. The water frames Gatsby’s story as a tragedy, and Fitzgerald includes the water as a symbol to demonstrate the full-circle inevitability of his fate. 

The water frames Gatsby’s story as a tragedy, and Fitzgerald includes the water as a symbol to demonstrate the full-circle inevitability of his fate. 

In F. Scott Fiztergald’s The Great Gatsby, water symbolizes both the barriers and corrupting mechanisms of the “American Dream,” revealing this dream is in need of tremendous refinement. In theory, the “American Dream” sounds incredible—it certainly did to my mother and her family—however, Fitzgerald’s use of water as a symbol as well as Gatsby’s journey throughout the story reveal the underlying hollowness and consequences in following this path. As my mother traveled from Europe to America, her Russian culture and traditions became her limitation in her new world, lost in translation over the Atlantic Ocean she traveled over. Thus, this body of water served as her and her family’s barrier: blocking them from achieving their “American Dream.” To overcome this barrier, my mother and her family were corrupted in a sense, Americanizing themselves in their bid to achieve success. It is imperative one recognizes the dangers presented in following the “American Dream,” as the “American Dream” is corrupting in nature, and must be altered to promote diversity and allow all to achieve success, rather than power being held onto by one type of person—whether that be Americans or East Eggers. 

Ryan Bernstein for "Air That I Breathe" // 19 November 2020