The American novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates the withering of the American dream, an idealistic and illusory goal aimed at achieving high status and wealth. Fitzgerald makes James Gatz the embodiment of the American dream. Gatz is a self-made man who devotes his life to creating a new, higher status persona. The product of James Gatz's hard work is the great "Jay Gatsby", who embodies one of the main characteristics of the American dream: eternal hope. However, Fitzgerald concludes the novel with the death of Gatsby and therefore the death of the American dream. The American dream died because of Gatsby's blind idealistic pursuits, the materialistic nature of the upper class, and the social discrimination within this superficial society. Jay Gatsby has an “extraordinary gift for hope” and a “romantic disposition” that wins everyone over. immoral and material corruption. Gatsby's idealism evolves long before he meets Daisy. Gatsby finds his inspiration in his association with Dan Cody. Cody represents the romance of the frontier, a time when exploration and risk-taking often led to fame and immense wealth. Cody's individuality influences the impressionable James Gatz. However, it is Gatsby's innate sense of hope that sets him apart. Gatz welcomes the possibility of reinventing a new character. So when Daisy enters his life, she becomes the manifestation of everything that drives his desire and purpose, as she is part of the upper-class wealth that Gatsby hopes to achieve. Daisy “blooms for him like a flower…making the incarnation complete” (117). She embodies her dream. "He had waited five years and purchased a mansion in which he distributed starlight to occasional moths - so... middle of paper......travagance and flaunting. This is seen when Tom Buchanan and the Sloanes give up out of courtesy, the lady invites Gatsby to her dinner and he unwittingly accepts, unaware that the invitation is not sincere of "old rich men" refinement (83). the upper classes cannot be achieved through an accumulation of wealth. Ordinary individuals seeking social mobility must be forever isolated from the elite, as demonstrated by the lower class citizens inhabiting the Valley of Ashes. moral and social decay as the ash pile grows, distorting the American dream Condemnation of others based on social status is inevitable, therefore the dream of social mobility is fundamentally unrealistic...