Money, success, and happiness always seem to be interconnected to each other, especially in the American dream. Remarkably, the American dream once encompassed comfort, freedom, and opportunity. However, as America became prosperous, the American dream gradually transformed into the idea that happiness depends on money and success. The novel The Great Gatsby illustrates Jay Gatsby pursuing the American dream, but failing to achieve it. Despite his relentless pursuit of the object of his obsession, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby's relentless efforts are ruined by money and pleasure, inevitably leading to impending tragedy. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses flashbacks to show the decline of the American dream which is filled with materialism, all wealth and status which marks success. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In chapter 4, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents Gatsby's earlier account of his past when he meets Daisy. Jordan begins to remember when she and Daisy first met Gatsby and how they fell in love. She tells Nick that one "day in October nineteen-seventeen" she came across Daisy's Fay's house which had "the biggest banner and the biggest lawn." Jordan also points out that Daisy "was only eighteen." When Jordan arrived in front of her house that morning, she saw an officer and Daisy absorbed in each other. She persists that "the officer's name was Jay Gatsby and I didn't see him again for over four years." However, Daisy "married Tom Buchnana of Chicago" who "came down with a hundred people in four private cars and rented an entire floor of the Seelbach Hotel" instead of Gatsby. She was too tired of waiting for Gatsby who had gone to war, but above all she longed for more wealth that Gatsby did not have. The story of Daisy's acquaintance with Gatsby demonstrates that Gatsby lingers in the past. He sees it, his American dream, as the ultimate price of the glory and success obtained. His obsession rather than love for Daisy makes him believe that he can only obtain her through wealth and status; this prevents him from realizing that he cannot build a future with her by getting rid of other complications and connections. In Chapter 6, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals how Gatsby looks back on how he got his name and what his childhood was like for Nick. Jay Gatsby, originally called James Gatz, had "changed his identity at the age of seventeen and at the precise moment that saw the start of his career." His parents were bankrupt farmers and, coincidentally, Gatsby tipped off copper and silver mining millionaire Dan Cody on his yacht. He was hired as Cody's assistant for five years. While they were sailing, he lived a glamorous life separate from his life in North Dakota, and James Gatz learns to be Jay Gatsby. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The background of Gatsby's substantial childhood shows that Gatsby was inspired by Cody who had so much wealth and status and strived to become another identity which also became an invention of Cody: Jay Gatsby . His declining American dream gradually turns into a dream full of materialism..