One of the most treasured aspects of United States tradition is the accessibility of the American Dream to all citizens. Defined as opportunity for all americans to achieve success through hard work and determination, the American Dream is essentially the perusal of happiness. After the Great War, however, American’s became more materialistic, finding a false sense of happiness in possessions. One’s wealth became the definition of one’s well being. Because of this prioritization of money over true happiness, the American Dream began to fade during the 1920’s F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism and characterization in his novel The Great Gatsby to demonstrate the “withering of the American Dream” during the roaring twenties. Although, Fitzgerald’s contemporaries criticized his lack of depth and meaning in The Great Gatsby, the novel is actually packed with symbols that embody the death of the American dream. The green light seen from across the sound is typically associated with Jay Gatsby’s longing for the past. However, with a focus on the American Dream, the symbol can be re-interpreted to represent the evasive, “minute and far away” nature on the Dream (Fitzgerald 20-21). As Gatsby “[stretches] out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,” this idea that the true American Dream has become unreachable is exemplified. With the pursuit of the False Dream, the journey to the finish line has become more monotonous. In the Valley of Ashes there is a population of “men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). Without definition, neither rich nor poor, these men are constantly working towards wealth, but without fruition. And as if to be mocking them, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, commonly associated with the eyes of God, “brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (24). However, these ever present eyes of God merely observe the toils of the workers and never