The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is known for its theme of the “American Dream.” The American Dream is achieving everything you want in the world, that being wealth, fame, love, and the like. In this context, Gatsby started from nothing and rose to seem to have everything. Gatsby is hinted at being Black in this book which deems him at a lower racial social standing. “The American Dream”, and in this case to Gatsby would be, being treated fairly and gaining respect with those around him. With Gatsby being Black, his racial social standing would be considered low due to the societal norms which makes Tom Buchanan treat him with distaste. Racial social standings dictate how people are treated, lower racial social standings are treated unequally and overlooked while higher racial social standings, white and rich people, are treated with respect.
The green light across the lake in The Great Gatsby signifies the American Dream. In the film, Gatsby stares across the lake at the green light which some usually interpret as his yearning for his first love Daisy. However, Gatsby is chasing the feeling that Daisy gave him by treating him equal. Gatsby has achieved everything that a high racial social standing would have, wealth and fame, but is still overlooked because his race deems him as low racial standing. Gatsby is chasing his American Dream of being treated like an equal which Daisy treated him while he was poor.
Even though Gatsby worked for all of his money and fame himself, Tom Buchanan, or anyone, will never accept him as an individual or equal due to their racial social standings. Tom Buchanan has the upmost highest racial social standing one can get, a rich white male, while Gatsby is a Black male who grew from being poor to wealthy. Even with the wealth, Gatsby would never be accepted into a higher social standing just due to his racial social standing during that time period. This popular culture book demonstrates how racial social standings are judged upon and not treated equally even when they work so hard for their dreams, they can never actually obtain them.