Hope vs. Disillusionment

In The Great Gatsby, Nick is the narrator; through his eyes we see the world how it really is. Nick is a realist, very grounded, he sees the world literally and not through fantasy. Gatsby on the other hand is filled with hope and sees the world in a better way. He sees his world has the potential to become greater. Like the ash in the Valley of Ash, his world begins as coal and has the potential to burn into something beautiful. But the coal's flame ends and turns to ash and goes under the watchful eye of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in the Valley of Ash.

In this story Nick watches over the happenings and gives us his opinion on them. Nick represents the questioning American. The question, "Is the American Dream dead?" Gatsby is the hope that the world keeps in the American Dream. Gatsby has kept his dream alive over the years and does all he can to obtain it. Daisy is the representation of that dream. For Gatsby Daisy is what he needs to obtain the dream. Daisy is part of high society, rich, and beautiful(maybe more on the outside than the inside). When Gatsby fails to get the girl it and dies it shows the end of the American Dream. Nick respected Gatsby's ambition and what he wished to accomplish. But Nick is a realist and at the time of Gatsby's death Nick speculates the end of that hope we had. While we can respect the idea of the American Dream, it is corrupted by money and social classes. Gatsby was deterred by his class, although he had the money, he did not have the right background. He was a poor boy when he met Daisy and when they met he was inspired to better himself. He wished to be with the social elite but was excluded from it.

Even after all of Gatsby's endeavors to catch the dream, he dies trying because the dream he chased no longer exists. It has been poisoned and is no longer existent. The manipulation of class and money prevented him from having his dream and shows that money and class prevents America as a whole to find that dream once more.