Abstract:
In This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and several of his short stories, F.
Scott Fitzgerald questions the importance of wealth as a factor in supporting
happiness and fostering the American Dream on an individual basis. With
these texts, Fitzgerald acknowledges that wealth is a factor and,
simultaneously, a problem in fulfilling one’s dreams. Furthermore, he suggests
that idealism is a more essential, lasting factor, in comparison to wealth or
social status, in motivating individuals to reach goals or to sustain defeats.
However, as Fitzgerald’s writing suggests, personal idealism often conflicts
with drives for social status and wealth—a problem which foresees potential
concerns in contemporary American culture.
