(I couldn't resist... enjoy Disney princesses having dreams, they are *so* realistic!!)
The American Dream is the idea of attaining the best possible lifestyle, and it is a staple of what makes America America. Known as "the land of opportunity", America has this image that when someone comes here, they fulfill the American Dream, a lifestyle that includes being rich, attaining all of their goals, and living a happy life. This dream appeals to everyone on some level, and it shows the best of America. However, this dream has come to die out, because most people have realized that aspects of the American Dream are just impossible to obtain, no matter how much work they put into achieving it. Another factor to this decreasing hope in the American Dream is the fact that there are other places that are overall happier and overall better (in the sense of rights, equality, and lifestyle) than the United States. Also, due to recent political turmoil, America isn't viewed as highly as it has been.
In The Great Gatsby utilizes the American Dream as a way of life, and a way of expressing the social commentary on people who try to achieve it, especially during the 1920's. The view of the American Dream is that it is an impossible feat, and no matter what one can never reach it. This is reflected within the social attitude at the time, which was slowly declining due to the depression after World War 1. Within the book, The American Dream is what all of the characters think they are achieving, but in the end (spoiler alert) they actually are not.
Wealth is a very strong characteristic of the American Dream, and I describe it as a large amount of something, not necessarily money, but that is generally what it is. Because wealth is such an important part in the American Dream, it shows what it meant to people of the time. In The Great Gatsby, wealth was mostly associated with money, and wealth was used to show how much better a person's life was and how closer they were to the American Dream. Wealth also showed the power dynamics between characters, and this could easily reflect on the attitude of the wealthy at the time.
I think Americans today have a very individualized view on what wealth and poverty are, with people from both sides thinking different things about both. The most negative views of both sides are that poverty is full of people who don't care enough to get a job, and that the wealthy just get everything handed to them on a silver platter. Within this divide, there are mostly negative attitudes towards each side, as most people consider each extreme as a very bad thing. Within the novel, all the main characters were extremely wealthy and all viewed in a negative light with descriptions of them being fools and selfish. Meanwhile characters like Myrtle and Wilson were viewed differently because they don't have the same amount of money as the main characters.
As a middle class teenager, I think that the world shouldn't necessarily be about money, as unrealistic as it is, but that everyone should also focus on being a good person, and that is my American Dream. Or Disney dream, I'm sorry, I had to add it!
