In Great Gatsby, Gatsby envisions his American Dream as marrying Daisy. In order to accomplish this Gatsby creates an entirely artificial personality and lifestyle that betrays his true identity. Gatsby becomes a "self-made" man after rejecting his parents, poverty, and name. Gatsby's created persona is symbolized at his party by his possessions, guests, physical appearance, manner of speech, and intellect.

At the party scene Gatsby presents this false appearance through his possessions. Gatsby's mansion, equipped with a Rolls-Royce in the drive and motor boats on the water suggests that Gatsby is enormously wealthy. At the party the guests are blitzed with the fine food, the gin and liquors, and the "real brass rail." (p. 44) Gatsby entertains his guests with these luxuries to create an impression of wealth and stability, two qu

Throughout the dinner scene Swede betrays himself by avoiding conflict with his father. During dinner Lou monopolizes the conversation in an argumentative and unrelenting manner. Instead of challenging his father, as most of the other guests do, Swede attempts to pacify his father, in a conciliatory manner, by explaining the others' opinions to him. The Swede denies himself the possibility of holding a conflicting opinion because he believes that a son should maintain filial love for his father. This refusal to hold an independent opinion allows for the congenial relationship with his father that the Swede considers necessary in his American Dream.

Although the protagonists of the two novels have different motives in the party scenes, they both betray themselves in order to achieve their American Dream. Gatsby's American Dream is to marry Daisy, and everything about him is artificial and solely intended to impress her. The Swede wishes to live a calm, peaceful, and "perfect" life even if he has to turn his head the other way and ignore the truth about his wife and daughter. Both characters go to elaborate lengths to create and preserve artificial facades, and in the end, both characters loose everything.

During the dinner party the Swede questions his failure to rescue his daughter in Newark. His mind wanders as he imagines what his father's reaction would be to Merry's history, "'Four people, Grandpa,' she'd told him...'No!' and his heart gave up, gave out, and died." (p. 421) The Swede will not save Merry because he believes that his father and the rest of the family could not handle the truth about Merry. A few years

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Approximate Word count = 1104
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)