The Great Gatsby: Capturing The American Dream The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its illusionary goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is the plot to many novels. This dream is different for different people, but in The Great Gatsby, for Gatsby, the dream is that through wealth and power, one can get happiness. To get this happiness Gatsby must reach into the past and relive an old dream of love and in order to do this he must have wealth and power. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is one character who dreams for the past. Surprisi