The American dream is an ideal that has existed since the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. Normally, the lesser citizen aspires to rise from rags to riches, while attaining luxuries such as love, high social status, and political/economic power on his or her way to the top. This dream has undergone various changes since its creation, however it is generally founded on ideas of freedom, independence and the desire for something greater. The early settlers' desire to travel west in search of land and start a family transformed into a materialistic vision of having a grand, extravagant home, a top-of-the-line car, and a comfortable life. One of the main themes of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is the failure to achieve the American dream; this is exemplified by Jay Gatsby's lost identity and poor choices. The American Dream is the belief that “all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights to liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, America was a place where “men and women are politically free to pursue whatever goals their hearts desire (Pidgeon). “The theme of The Great Gatsby is the withering of the American dream” this dream is anti-puritan as it shows the rise from rags to riches and, in another sense, from rejection to acceptance (Pidgeon). According to 1920s culture, however, the truly worthy achievement is one that leads to material gain. Even though, like most West Eggers, Jay Gatsby had amassed vast wealth comparable to that of a multimillionaire, he was still despised and mocked by East Eggers who believed he was better than everyone else. This proves that the American dream is imperfect, but... in the center of the paper... the elf is the list he wrote as a child. It serves as further evidence of the failure of the American dream, showing that even though Gatsby worked hard to better himself, he failed to achieve his goal. Despite all his smuggling, despite his trials and tribulations, Jay Gatsby failed to make his dream a reality. After Daisy ran over Myrtle Wilson, that night at the Buchanan house she was seen colluding with Tom in what F. Scott Fitzgerald understands as their impromptu vacation from New York. Daisy fled. Jay Gatsby died waiting for a call that would never come. Jay Gatsby died faithful to his only love while Daisy Buchanan fled at the slightest sign of trouble. Gatsby's death is essentially the destruction of the American dream, “'Gatsby, the flower of the republic, the bootlegger who made the American dream his own and died for it'” (Kazin 31).