“If wealth were the inevitable result of hard work and resourcefulness, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire” (George Monbiot). In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the decay of the American dream and the corrupt and materialistic tendencies of the American elite. The main character, Nick, who also serves as the narrator, is indecisive but attentive. He lives in West Egg on Long Island Sound, surrounded by immense prosperity and luxurious titles. Gatsby, Nick's next-door neighbor, is portrayed in an air of mystery and uncertainty, but we learn that he is a man in his early thirties who grew up from an impoverished childhood in North Dakota to become exceptionally wealthy. As a military officer in Louisville in 1917, Gatsby met and immediately fell in love with Daisy Buchanan for her aura of elegance and charisma. Throughout his novel, Fitzgerald focuses on Nick's relationship with Daisy and Daisy's friend, Jordan Baker, and particularly Gatsby's unattainable goal of winning Daisy's love through power and wealth. In the process, an atmosphere of superficiality, discontent and deception is created through the immoral actions of the main characters. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby turns the American dream into a nightmare by revealing problems of unbridled materialism, moral emptiness, and social hypocrisy during the 1920s. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes the 1920s as an era of mistrust and greed by revealing the corruption of the American dream and embodying decadent parties and an obsession with material possession. Although Daisy did not wait for Gatsby and married Tom Buchanan, from then on Gatsby will be dedicated to winning Daisy back through a superficial… middle of paper… erosion of the American dream. By revealing unbridled materialism and obsession with moral goods, characterizing issues of moral emptiness, and pointing out the social hypocrisy rampant everywhere, the idea that the American dream is nothing more than an illusion is reinforced. In particular, Fitzgerald conveys the atmosphere of superficiality and greed characteristic of his novel through Nick's narration, satirizing the actions of his main characters and focusing on Gatsby's unattainable goal of winning Daisy's love. In the process, a clear correlation can be drawn between Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald conveys the idea that without his good morals, Nick is the mirror image of Gatsby. If he hadn't returned to the Midwest, Nick might have turned into Gatsby, pursuing the corrupt and careless Jordan just as Gatsby aimlessly pursued Daisy..