At the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway realizes the profound and heartbreaking unattainability of both the American Dream and Gatsby's idealized love for Daisy.
Nick comes to understand that Gatsby's intense and unwavering hope for a happy future with Daisy was a dream that continually receded into the distance, never quite within reach. This painful reality mirrors Nick's broader realization about the American Dream itself:
- The Elusive Nature of Hope: Just as Gatsby spent years pursuing his vision of a life with Daisy, only to find it perpetually out of grasp, Nick recognizes that the American Dream can similarly become an elusive ideal. It's a future constantly anticipated but never fully materialized.
- The Weight of the Past: Nick perceives how the past, particularly Gatsby's unwavering devotion to a past ideal, ultimately anchors individuals, preventing true progress or the embrace of a new, attainable reality. Gatsby's fixation on recreating his past with Daisy demonstrates this perfectly.
- The Corrupting Influence of Wealth: Through the tragic events, Nick witnesses how the pursuit of wealth and status, especially in the morally bankrupt society of the East Egg and West Egg, can corrupt noble intentions and lead to despair and destruction rather than fulfillment.
Ultimately, Nick realizes that the promise of a bright, hopeful future, whether personal or societal, often remains an unfulfilled mirage, retreating further the closer one seems to get.
