Dreams and Promises of The Great Gatsby The dream and promise of America would be best described as the American dream. The American dream was born in the 19th century and is defined as having money, power and high social status. The importance of the novel The Great Gatsby to the dream and promise of America is to show the reader that it is not always achievable. There will always be something that someone thinks they need to take the next step toward achieving the American dream. An example of this is the case of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. In his youth, Jay Gatsby dreamed of having money, power and high social status. Nick Carraway mentions in chapter six: “His parents were unstable and unsuccessful farmers – his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents. » Gatsby always considered himself a wealthy man and after the death of his wealthy friend Don Cody, Gatsby did everything he could to achieve his American dream. The novel The Great Gatsby shows the reader that America's dream is not always promised, no matter how hard one tries. The main example of this is the case of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby spends his whole life working to secure his social status, but his dreams become out of reach and he realizes that he has forgotten to enjoy the little things. An example of how the dream and promise of America differs between each character is shown by Nick Carraway. He was less concerned with being upper class and having social status than with finding himself and having happiness. The final example of the American Dream shows that sometimes people are born into it. Daisy had always had money, power, and a high position in the class and didn't need to work to get what she wanted. The overall significance of The Great Gatsby was to tell the reader that the American dream is not easy to achieve, and sometimes no matter how hard someone works, it will never be achieved.