Arguably, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is more then anything, a direct statement and musing on the nature, derision, and concept of the American Dream. Creating a variety of characters, each stands as a player in the Illusion of the Dream, whether that involement is direct, subtle, or as onlooker. Through these characters, and most notably of course, narrator Nick, Fitzgerald is able to comment, primarily in a negative way, about the American Dream. …showed first 75 words of 843 total…

…showed last 75 words of 843 total…shallowness of the Ameican Dream, or its potential for futility if misused, and his presentation of Gatsby as a warning to substantiate this statement. Symbolically, and of course literally also, Gatsby dies. This death, rather then just the death of a fictious character, is symbolic on several different levels. Fiztgerald's concern about the moral decline of the 1920's, the status of the Ameircan Dream itself, and the fate of those who fall victim to it.