Reference To The 1920s
Jay Gatsby has always had a longing desire to be a respected, wealthy man. He strives to turn this idea of the idealistic American Dream into a reality. Gatsby is very successful and does manage to achieve parts of this but it was not through hard work. Gatsby cheated his way there but puts a tremendous effort into ensuring that the real truth is not revealed. He uses this wealth to try to impress and attract Daisy. Gatsby takes every opportunity he gets to show off all of his riches, but what Daisy and many others don't realize is this wealth and his reputation of almost achieving the American Dream is just an exaggeration and a deception of the truth. This really proves how the "American Dream," something that is supposed to be the pursuit of happiness, has solely become a quest for wealth.