Gatsby's Pursuit of Dream The American dream has always offered a belief the possibility of a better life. Its illusion is the conviction that material wealth alone can bring that dream to fulfillment. Jay Gatsby, the central character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, symbolizes the American dream during the Roaring Twenties. The novel portrays Gatsby's attempts of obtaining love through the pursuit of wealth which, in the end, blinds him from the harsh …showed first 75 words of 779 total…

…showed last 75 words of 779 total…end of the novel, Nick sits on the beach and observes "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (Fitzgerald 189). This imagery symbolizes Gatsby's failure in his quest to move backwards in life and recapture the past. Gatsby refuses to give up his dream till he dies. His pursuit of wealth does not help him to reach his goals. However, in a society of materialism, Gatsby remains true to himself and his dream.