The Great Gatsby

In the film The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is portrayed as a very "two faced" endeavor. On one hand it portrays Gatsby as a man with all the material wealth in the world. He has an amazing house, view of the ocean, and everyone seems to love his parties. One the other hand he seems to be very unhappy. He seems to be missing something, as the material wealth has not filed a void in his life. This is a great characterization of the American Dream of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is all about getting as much "stuff" as we possibly can, not worrying about anything else. Many such as Gatsby learn that material wealth is like a "black hole" in that no matter how much one gets, we just keep wanting more. The parties that Nick goes to throughout the film are more about showing off clothes, jewelry and houses, rather than actually socially engaging with other people. The Great Gatsby portrays the American Dream as a "me first" mentality. Tom cheats on his wife and seems to have no regrets about it. He evens seems to smirk as he takes Mr. Wilson's wife from him. Under this idea, the American Dream is all about taking care of oneself and ignoring the wants and desires of others. It consists of a selfish and materialistic mentality. Jay Gatsby is a man who would, on the outside, seem to be the happiest man in the world, but inside he seems to be a wreck. Gatsby is portrayed as a living representation of the Dream; he has it all, but is empty on the inside.