What is a Great Gatsby?

Throughout the fallacious and intimidating tale of the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald captivates his audience by revealing the harsh reality and fault-lines within the "American Dream".
For many, The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story--depicting the lost love of Gatsby and Daisy. Obliviously, this is a completely mislead perception of the novel.

For most of us, the message of the novel is lost. While we do gain the intended perspective toward alcoholism and greed, we forget the true purpose. It is as though the main topic of this week has shifted from The Great Gatsby into "Ms. Valentino why don't we read happy books?!"--now to be fair a part of me would enjoy some more optimistic novels but we gained positive aspects from our time with the transcendentalists. Regardless, this further proves the point many people fail to see the reasoning of Fitzgerald. It is not a tale depicting the ultimate failure or success of the individual, but instead the individual's weakness and strength; which either leads to their rise or demise. Fitzgerald is not telling us we are incapable of being successful and happy in life--but instead that our actions may deter us from the road toward achievement. Instead, he warns us that greed, suppressed emotions, lying, cowardly silence, and illegal activities--all bad actions, will lead to serve consequences. The inability to accept yourself, intertwines into the branches of others--forming tangled webs and broken twigs for bonds (relationships). The purpose of the American Dream is to provide opportunity for everyone; that the common man is the successor just as greatly as the man who came from wealth. And just like the Great Gatsby, it inspires the strive toward success. Fitzgerald is not telling the reader that he shall ultimately fail, whether born inherently wealthy as Tom, become wealthy as Gatsby, or live middle class as Nick; but instead that everyone is equal. No matter their social representation, all of the characters ended up unhappy and unfulfilled in their lives. By satirizing the West Egg vs. East Egg, and the charming appearance of each character, Fitzgerald reveals that happiness is not gained through materialism, but instead through the individual themselves. Everyone is capable of becoming wealthy--it is simply the road each person takes that leads them into difference directions.

The true message of the Great Gatsby is that life is not always a fairy-tale ending, and it never will end up unflawed. Fitzgerald warns his audience the dangers of greed and materialism, along with his own experiences with alcoholism and affairs. By satirizing the era through his own life experiences, Fitzgerald is revealing to the reader not to make the same mistakes he did; and instead to live life as though in a moving car--always going forward and striving for the higher road.
Enjoy the ride of life, wherever it takes you.