Theme

A popular theme in The Great Gatsby is the American dream. This abstract idea can be summarized as such: each American can achieve wealth and prosperity if the individual works hard and devotes their life to success. This idea is demonstrated by Fitzgerald primarily through the characters Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Meyer Wolfsheim, which are all conveniently males. They have all succeeded in life in the perspective of wealth (even though their wealth wasn’t earned honestly).

In the early pages of the novel, Nick has an obviously opinionated approach to describing Tom Buchanan. He states that “His family was enormously wealthy – even in college his freedom with money was a matter of reproach.”(Fitzgerald, page 6). Tom is being described as having wealth, success and happiness at a young age. Tom is a male, implying that only men can achieve prosperity, which is gender inequality. According to Kate Simon, the work force in America during the 1920s composed of 23.6% women. This suggests that women have an immediate disadvantage when it comes to financial success. This is explicitly presented in the novel, because the richest of the rich in the community are all men (Tom and Gatsby). For, example, even though Jordan Baker is rich, she isn't mentioned as being prosperous, due to her gender.

During a conversation between Nick and Gatsby, an interesting job opportunity was revealed to Nick. Gatsby said “…you see, I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of side line, you understand.” (Fitzgerald, page 82). This was a job opportunity for Nick (a male) proposed by Gatsby (also a male), for Nick to make some money illegally, and achieve the 'American dream'. These two characters were both men, which implies that the American dream can only be achieved by men. Organized crime was very popular during the 1920s due to the prohibition. According to the research of Albany University, 1 million gallons of alcohol was smuggled into America in 1920. Some of the largest bootleggers were Al Capone, Bill McCoy, and Enoch Johnson. All three of these criminals are men, his enforces that criminal activity is a manly activity, and women play the passive role when it comes to the American dream.

Meyer Wolfsheim is clearly a suspicious character who acquired his prosperity illegally, but is a powerful character nonetheless. “He's the man who fixed the World Series back in 1919” (Fitzgerald page 73). Wolfsheim is an influential character, who is conveniently a man. All three of these characters (Gatsby, Tom, and Wolfsheim), who seemed to have obtained the American dream, are men. This suggests that women play a passive role, and are only present to please those who have wealth and prosperity. Another example in the novel is that Daisy Buchanan is born rich, but this isn't talked about nearly as much as her husband Tom. This implies that male prosperity is weighted to be greater than the prosperity of women, which puts a clear masculine label on the American dream.

Remember: The American dream was corrupted in The Great Gatsby, but the object of the presentation of this theme was not to prove this, but rather to prove that men were projected as unequal and superior to women.

1.Cassel, Seth. "The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald." The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. N.p., May 2008. Web. 9 July 2014. <http://www.flamingnet.com/bookreviews/resources/essays_bookreviews/gatsby.cfm>.

2.Simion, Kate, Alyssa Amici, and Jamie Huang. "Women in the 1920s." Women in the 1920s. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 July 2014. <http://www.slideshare.net/KateSimon/women-in-the-1920s-10247493>.