“The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they watch their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare into space.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great GatsbyThe American Dream , a long-held ideal embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring '20s, people in America invented facades to disguise who they really were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American dream is simply an illusion, idealistic and unreal. In the novel, Gatsby, a rich socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, we see the extent of corruption that Gatsby is willing to undertake to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American dream, he warns of the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deception; a common trait during the Roaring '20s. The language and plot devices used by Fitzgerald convey that lies and facades, common during the Guided Era, destroy one's character and morals. Through the use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, Fitzgerald explores the American dream and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives. Through Gatsby's symbolic description, Fitzgerald explores the extent of the deceptive nature of the American dream that slowly destroys a person and their morals. During the Roaring '20s it was very common for people to project illusions to mask who they really were; to fit in, it was almost essential to have one to survive in a highly materialistic and deceptive society. Nick is presented as the objective narrator… at the center of the card… a dream that becomes corrupted and leads to ultimate failure and destruction of himself. Some say that Americans strive for the impossible goal of perfection; they live, die, and take unimaginable actions to achieve it, and when they do, they can call the product their American dream. The American dream is substantial perfection. In reality, perfection does not exist, but illusions do. Those who live in a world of lies cause their own death. Life is an infinite series of imperfections. Living a dream of perfection is not possible, thus reducing our cherished American dream to a mere fantasy. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. “The Great Gatsby in the 21st Century.” CBC Books. CBC/Radio-Canada. August 22, 2012. Web. May 5, 2015. http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/08/the-great-gatsby-in-the-21st-century.html