In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald elucidates the emptiness of the American dream, as the unbridled desire for wealth and freedom exceeding more honorable desires. It highlights the idea that having or achieving this American dream will result in unethical behavior or actions. In the novel, Jay Gatsby, the main protagonist, was born into a poor and disadvantaged family in North Dakota. He dedicated his life as a teenager to achieving immense wealth and rising to the upper class. When he met worldly mentor Dan Cody, Jay Gatsby saw the opportunity to realize this American dream. He eagerly changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He had erased or at least suppressed every aspect and memory of his past life, including his parents. “His parents were unemployed and unsuccessful farmers, his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, arose from his Platonic conception of himself. (Fitzgerald 98) At a young age, Jay Gatsby only had a glimpse of the American dream thanks to the help of Dan Cody and had already refused to acknowledge who his parents were. After achieving enormous wealth through unethical means, such as illegally selling alcohol during Prohibition. he buys a mansion in West Egg, Long Island, directly across from Tom and Daisy Buchanan's mansion. He bought this mansion solely to pursue Daisy and throws countless parties to try to attract her. When Gatsby befriends Nick Carraway, he begins to lie to Nick about his past, just as he has done to countless others. He tells Nick that he is "the son of some rich people from the Middle West - all dead now" (Fitzgerald 65) and that he "was raised in America but educated at Oxfo... au middle of paper... ...we are just dirty smugglers and we are below him in terms of social status. The definition of what is unethical does not conform to approved standards of social or professional behavior. They were indeed unethical and they achieved the American dream. "They were carefree people, Tom and Daisy. They broke things and creatures, then retreated into their money or their great carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and left other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 179) In their minds, the money was enough to provide them with happiness and all the necessities they needed. They have committed numerous unethical acts and repeatedly demonstrated unethical behavior associated with achieving the American dream, access to wealth and freedom. Works Cited Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.