When reading The Great Gatsby, audiences must marvel at F. Scott Fitzgerald's purpose in writing one of America's most influential novels. Fitzgerald's life has notable similarities to that of Jay Gatsby. They both sacrificed and succeeded in the name of love, but were ultimately disappointed. Fitzgerald drew on his personal experience to artfully weave a story of love, lust and luck, all centered on the ever-elusive green light. That dream that cannot be achieved. That hope that can never die. And unless the reader looks closely, he or she will fail to grasp the purpose of The Great Gatsby: to highlight the folly of this cliché of the American dream. This novel is set in the 1920s, when everything was easy. Money was easy, love was easy, and life seemed easy. The American Dream was alive and well in the heart of every American. The main character of the novel, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, is the embodiment of this time. He is a classically handsome, self-made man, envied by all, but known by none. He and his wealth appear out of nowhere and he flies up the social ladder throwing lavish parties in his extravagant home. Nick Carraway, the narrator of this novel, reveres Gatsby before they are even introduced. The first time Nick sees Gatsby, the mysterious man was all alone on the lawn and "stretched his arms out to the dark water in a curious way... I looked out to sea - and distinguished nothing except a single green light , tiny and distant” (Fitzgerald 25-26). The reader's first glimpse of Gatsby reveals a man desperately trying to achieve his dream. As the men become friends and Gatsby confides in Nick, the narrator evidently loses respect for Gatsby. Gatsby originally appears to be a worldly and charming man… middle of paper… er parents” (Fitzgerald 182). Eventually, he rises to power, both financially and socially. Despite all his success, he is still dissatisfied with his life. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he triumphs, he is determined to be miserable until he captures his green light. Unfortunately, the light cannot be captured. It cannot be grasped by a human hand, whether that hand belongs to a successful man or a failure, a rich man or a beggar, an adult or a child. It is a hopeless ambition, but one that enslaves men and women throughout history. “Gatsby believed in the green light, in the orgastic future that year after year recedes before us. It escaped us then, but it doesn't matter: tomorrow we will run faster, we will stretch our arms more. . . . And then one beautiful morning... So we continued to row, boats against the current, brought back incessantly to the past" (Fitzgerald 189).