In The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, dreams, goals, and ambitions have the power to attract and delight the characters. A goal becomes more than a goal; it becomes something that the characters immerse themselves in and define themselves by. These dreams then create impossible expectations, detached from what can realistically be achieved. Gatsby dreams of love with Daisy, a dream that ultimately consumes his life. This pushes him to completely abandon himself to his achievement. Likewise, Tom's ambitions to control every aspect of his life ultimately consume him. One might consider this fundamental tendency of human dreams to seduce dreamers into devoting themselves entirely to the dreams that constitute their dangerous nature. Probably the most famous evidence of this is found on the very last page of the book, where it is stated that Gatsby "believed in the green light", which is a metaphor, as the apposition implies, for "the future orgastic that moves away from us from year to year” (180). The fact that such a future is constantly receding will convince any rational person to give up – especially because it is receding faster than we can pursue it, which is implicit in the wording at the end of the paragraph: “Tomorrow we will run faster. , let us extend our arms further... and one fine morning..." (180). The fact that this statement is so narrow in scope, as if the speaker has tunnel vision, implies that the goal is unattainable because we know that the speaker is Nick, who sees the big picture and realizes that such an approach leads to ruin. But Gatsby is so captivated by his dream that he cannot bear to let it go, nor accept the idea that his quest to achieve it is doomed to failure. In the middle of a paper...panic" as they "precipitously escape his control" (125). He doesn't feel anything constructive, but he does feel panic, a reaction typical of his inability to cope with his environment and to situations. It is this moment that most clearly offers us a sense of how Tom was consumed by his ambitions Let's take Tom as an example and Gatsby as another It seems clear that Fitzgerald wants the reader to see the. dangerous and seductive side of such dreams Some might call it a warning to the dreamer, because it warns us that this is a difficult situation facing everyone, from the optimistic and idealistic Gatsby to the pragmatic and. realistic Tom, is susceptible: the danger of being trapped by an unattainable dream or ambition, then seeing that dream fall apart before us Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott New York, NY: Scribner. 2004. Printed.