1. THE AMERICAN DREAM

2. WHAT WAS IT TO AMERICANS? “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." James Truslow Adams, in his book The Epic of America, which was written in 1931, first defined the American dream It represented to those who colonised the USA that they were free from the traditional powers of Europe This shows that the dream was misinterpreted by many, which caused the societal greed we see in Gatsby

3. DISINTEGRATION OF THE DREAM IN THE 1920S Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed and empty pursuit of pleasure The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music resulted in the corruption of the American Dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals; this is portrayed through Gatsby’s parties that have an underlining current of corruption. When World War 1 ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned as the brutal carnage that they faced simply portrayed the stuffy Victorian values as hypocritical The rise of the stock-market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained increase in the national wealth heralding an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Though this increased material value, it caused a corruption of the dream He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing throwing them, one by one, before us … lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in a many coloured disarray: pg 76, chapt. 5 A person from any social background could potentially make a fortune: e.g. Gatsby. However, the American aristocracy scorned this “new Money” i.e. Tom’s belittling of Gatsby’s wealth. The passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 which banned the sale of alcohol created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand for bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike.

4. GREEN LIGHT A physical, metaphorical representation of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates this green light with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal– leaning towards Daisy. In chapter 9, nick reflects on how the light represents America–Like America rising out of the ocean, so does the Green light.

5. COLOUR OF THE GREEN LIGHT The colour of the light green;  Green- colour of money and wealth- exacerbates the fact that American society is driven by opulence and wealth- that is the majority of people’s American dream  Green- colour of life i.e. plants– perhaps symbolic of the vitality in Gatsby’s dreams  Colour of hope  Colour of Daisy’s eyes – she is all that matters to Gatsby

6. QUOTES ON THE GREEN LIGHT "a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock.“ Chapter 1  ” Minute and faraway”- shows the obscurity of Gatsby’s dream- unachievable  ” Single Green Light”- idea of individualism, each person has a differing American dream so it emphasises that the American Dream cannot be generalised– Single Green Light shows that despite Gatsby’s opulence, he has one dream and that is Daisy.

7. QUOTES ON THE GREEN LIGHT “Gatsby believed in the Green Light, the orgastic future, that year by year recedes before us” Chapter 9  This quote demonstrates Gatsby’s romanticised view of his life.  He continues to pursue the American Dream and his ultimate happiness, that previously eluded him  In the end his ideas are dated or stuck within the past.  These words conclude the novel. Nick reflects on the struggle to achieve their goals.

8. MYRTLE’S DREAM “She let four taxicabs drive away before she selected a new one, lavender-coloured with grey upholstery … into the glowing sunshine” -She chose a specific cab: POWER -Glowing sunshine – marks the step Myrtle takes from her life to the dream “She announced” -This verb is associated with power/command “These people! You have to keep after them all the time” - Myrtle always talks about the “lower orders” as if she’s not one of them

9. MYRTLE’S DREAM CONTINUED “Toms got some new woman in New York...she might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner time” -Myrtle will do anything to achieve her dream. Because she is having an affair with a rich man like Tom, she feels as though she has the right to call him anytime. She does this to continue feeling that she belongs in a higher social class Myrtle and Gatsby both have something in common: they both want to rise above their class! -Gatsby wants to be of a better class to get Daisy (His American Dream) -Myrtle wants to be of a better class to lead a better life (Her American Dream)

10. CONTINUED… “Beat me…throw me down and beat me you dirty little coward!” (to George) -Myrtle would rather be beaten by a rich man than cared for by a poor man. -She tries to dominate George as she believes she is from another class. Like Gatsby, Myrtle trying to achieve her American Dream led her to death. “Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust” - although she tried to reach her dream of becoming rich, in the end, her blood and life always belonged in “The Valley of the Ashes”

11. NICK’S DREAM Nick, as a narrator, sinks into the background of the text, however he is able to channel some of Fitzgerald's ideas Some images in the text are given extra meaning e.g. T.J. Eckleburg Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was lookingat the eyes of Doctor T.J.Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving light pg.102 Chapt. 8 Nick sees the ability to create meaningful symbols as part of AD - thats what the first americans did

12. GATSBY’S DREAM Daisy is Gatsby's dream The green light at the end of the dock symbolises daisy etc Both Gatsby and nick represent the cynicism that has crept into the dream with those returning from war Daisy is perfected in Gatsby's mind - these exaggerated qualities ruin the dream by the "unworthiness of its subject" just as AD was ruined by the unworthiness of the money