Themes

The American Dream: Success vs. Illusion

The Great Gatsby explores the disillusionment of the American Dream. Gatsby’s wealth and mansion represent the dream’s glamorous surface, but his tragic end reveals the emptiness beneath. The novel shows how the dream becomes corrupted by materialism and social status.
Quote: "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 189).
Gatsby devotes his life to winning Daisy and achieving the dream of a perfect future, but the reality never lives up to his fantasy. His downfall highlights how the dream is ultimately unattainable for most, especially those like Gatsby who come from humble beginnings.

Class Division and Social Barriers

Fitzgerald emphasizes that class and status control relationships, success, and respect. Old money (Tom, Daisy) looks down on new money (Gatsby), and the working class (George and Myrtle) remains powerless. The theme shows how rigid and unfair class divisions destroy dreams and relationships.

Quote: "They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted, across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 162).

Despite Gatsby’s wealth, he is never accepted by the upper class. Tom and Daisy’s careless privilege allows them to ruin lives without consequence. The novel critiques the myth of equal opportunity by showing how class controls destiny.

The Power of Illusion and Self-Invention

Gatsby creates a whole identity based on a dream version of himself. He lies about his past, reinvents his name, and throws grand parties to attract Daisy. This theme shows how illusion can drive people to chase impossible goals.
Quote: "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 104).
Gatsby’s identity is a fantasy — one he believes in completely. But his inability to let go of the illusion leads to his downfall. The novel shows the danger of building a life on illusion rather than reality.

Moral Decay Behind Wealth and Glamour

Fitzgerald uses the contrast between glittering wealth and the moral emptiness of characters like Tom and Daisy to show how money doesn't equal integrity. The wealthy behave recklessly, hiding their cruelty behind luxury.
Quote: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then treated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made ....” (Fitzgerald 187-188).
This theme is especially visible in how the Buchanans abandon responsibility. Gatsby’s moral idealism is crushed by their selfishness. The novel suggests that wealth often protects the immoral and punishes the dreamers.

Love, Desire, and Obsession

Gatsby’s love for Daisy is central, but it is less about real love and more about obsession and idealization. He is in love with a version of Daisy that never truly existed.
Quote: "There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 101).
Gatsby doesn’t love Daisy as she is, he loves the idea of her and what she represents. The theme reveals how desire can distort reality, and how obsession can blind people to truth.