Gatsby American Dream, disillusionment, and corruption,

“He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.” (Chapter 9)

• Gatsby believes in the American Dream, thinking he can recreate the past and win Daisy. However, the dream is always just out of reach—an illusion rather than a reality.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.” (Chapter 9)

The green light represents the American Dream, but it is always distant and unattainable. No matter how hard Gatsby reaches, it moves further away.

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness.” (Chapter 9)

• The American Dream is no longer about hard work—wealthy people like Tom and Daisy are corrupt and selfish, using money to avoid consequences.

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself.” (Chapter 6)

• Gatsby reinvented himself, but his dream is built on illusion, not reality. He embodies the American Dream, but it is ultimately a fantasy.Gatsby's identity is a constructed persona; he transforms himself to pursue an idealized version of success and love, showcasing the illusions tied to the American Dream.

“This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills.” (Chapter 2)

The Valley of Ashes represents the destruction of dreams—the working class struggles while the wealthy live in luxury. It is a graveyard for the American Dream.

“This is a terrible mistake,” he said, shaking his head from side to side, “a terrible, terrible mistake.” (Chapter 5)

Gatsby built his mansion to impress Daisy, but when she finally visits, it doesn’t live up to his expectations. His dream is meaningless in reality.

“Her voice is full of money.” (Chapter 7)

Gatsby worships Daisy, but what he really loves is what she represents—wealth and status. This shows how the American Dream is tied to materialism, not love or personal success.

“I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.” (Chapter 9)

Nick originally believes in the excitement of the East, but by the end, he realizes it is corrupt and empty. He abandons the false dream and returns home.

“Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (Chapter 6)

Gatsby’s belief in recreating the past is a metaphor for the American Dream—he thinks he can achieve a perfect future, but it’s impossible.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Chapter 9)

• No matter how hard people chase their dreams, they are always dragged backward. The American Dream is a struggle against an impossible force.

“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” (Chapter 4)

• The novel reveals that the American Dream is no longer about aspiration or achievement but about endless pursuit and empty ambition. Everyone is running after something but never truly achieving fulfillment.

“I hope she'll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Chapter 1)

• Daisy’s comment on her daughter reflects the corrupt values of the world she inhabits, where women are reduced to their looks and wealth rather than any real agency. This mirrors the hollowness of the American Dream itself.

“I don’t want to go home. I want to go back to that house and be the same person I was five years ago. I want to turn back time.” (Chapter 6)

Gatsby’s attempt to recreate the past reflects his delusion of success. His material success can never replace the love and life he once had with Daisy, underscoring the failure of the American Dream to provide true happiness.

“People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away.” (Chapter 4)

• Nick observes the chaos and disorganization around Gatsby’s parties. It illustrates that the pursuit of wealth and social status has led people to lose their direction, much like the American Dream itself—full of promise but ultimately empty and misleading.

“He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” (Chapter 3)

• Gatsby's self-created persona is appealing and alluring, but it is built on deception. His outward success is a reflection of the American Dream—appealing but rooted in falsehoods and self-interest.

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” (Chapter 2)

Nick’s conflicted feelings show how the glamour of the American Dream entices but also alienates. The constant striving for success and wealth leads to moral decay and emotional isolation.

“This is an unusual party for me. I haven’t even seen the host. I live over there ——” I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distance, “and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.” (Chapter 3)

Gatsby’s grand parties contrast with the Valley of Ashes—a place of decay, desperation, and hopelessness. The Valley represents the underbelly of the American Dream, where struggling, unseen people suffer in their attempt to rise, while the wealthy remain oblivious.

“The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proven.” (Chapter 1)

Tom’s racially prejudiced views reveal the corruption at the heart of the American aristocracy. His wealth and privilege blind him to the real struggles faced by others, revealing the moral decay that accompanies unchecked power.

“I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Chapter 1)

• Daisy's cynicism about the world shows the emptiness of the dream for women within the novel’s context. The pursuit of beauty and status may bring initial happiness, but ultimately, it offers no real fulfillment or personal growth, revealing the disillusionment with the American Dream.

“I believe that on the first night I was in the East I was full of that energy, which I brought back to my home, and so I left with the knowledge that the world I had come into was too corrupt.” (Chapter 9)

• Nick’s disillusionment with the East and Gatsby’s death emphasize that the American Dream is a false hope, doomed from the start. Gatsby’s tragic end reflects how the dream’s promises—love, success, and wealth—are unattainable and ultimately destructive.

“Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it was what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” (Chapter 9)

Nick reflects on Gatsby’s tragic journey—although Gatsby is romanticized, his dreams were ultimately corrupted by false hopes and illusory promises of success, wealth, and love. This comment highlights the fleeting nature of the American Dream and the moral decay it brings.

“Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his hand.” (Chapter 9)

• Tom’s violent behavior and the moral decay in his relationship with Daisy highlight the corrupt nature of the old money class. Even as they are wealthy, their lives are filled with lies, abuse, and carelessness, showing how the American Dream fails to provide true happiness or stability.