Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How did F. Scott Fitzgerald criticize the American Dream in The Great Gatsby?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Modernist literature
American writer Gertrude Stein was a self-styled genius who coined the term Lost Generation for a younger coterie of her fellow Modernist writers.
In Modernist literature, F. Scott Fitzgeraldās The Great Gatsby (1925) serves as a pessimistic critique of the American Dream, portraying it as an unattainable and corruptible ideal.12
Fitzgerald illustrates this through several key themes:
- Class Barriers: Despite Jay Gatsbyās immense wealth, he remains unable to enter the established social elite, represented by the "old money" of East Egg. His failure to win Daisy Buchanan highlights the rigid divide between those who inherit status and those who attempt to purchase it.1
- Materialism and Corruption: The "valley of ashes" acts as a stark counterpoint to the promise of the American Dream, representing the industrial waste and human suffering that underpin a consumer-driven economy.1
- Symbolism of Failure: The green light symbolizes an "orgastic future" and the human capacity for hope, yet it remains perpetually out of reach. Once Gatsby attempts to ground this abstract ambition in the reality of Daisy, his dream becomes vulnerable to the moral vacuity and corruption of his society.1
Ultimately, the novel suggests that the pursuit of wealth often leads to spiritual emptiness and destruction rather than genuine fulfillment.1