In 1931, James Truslow Adams published the first definition of the American Dream. It describes it as the dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for everyone. It also talks of opportunity for all, according to ability or achievement. This dream, however, was not a new invention. Since America’s independence, this dream drove individuals to achieve the life they wanted. This same dream was manipulated in the 1920’s to state that America will provide fame and fortune. This took a motivation for success and turned it into an excuse for greed and the want for more. The American Dream became a powerful, yet fleeting idea. This idea, in all instances, left the individual feeling a hollow happiness. The clear reason for this is that money never can and never will buy the true happiness these people sought. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tackles this issue in several different ways. One of these is through the use of music. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald creates a soundtrack through references to music and artists. This reflects the story in a way that parallels the novel in a film-like manor. Chapter Three, however, is pivotal to the book. This scene highlights the motif of Jazz music as a metaphor of the American Dream. Jazz, like the American Dream, is both fleeting and powerful. This, in turn, leaves the individual experiencing hollow happiness.
During Chapter Three, Fitzgerald demonstrates the power of Jazz music on the individual. To give some historical context, Jazz music originated from the Blues, from African-America in the 1800’s. Blues dealt with themes like injustice, lost love, and dealing with adversity. By the 1900’s, New Orleans was a hub of sound, full of many varying styles of music. This is where Jazz as a genre emerged, when all these kinds of music blended into one. Jazz is known and revered for its ability to invoke heavy feelings, be it sadness, lust, joy, or thoughtfulness. Throughout the chapter, we see various examples of the powerful effect that Jazz has on people. This includes its ability to affect our innermost feelings, like the American Dream. One such example of this is seen on page 55. Neither Vladimir Tostoff or his composition ‘Jazz History of the World’ actually exist. This music would have sounded like Azalea by Louis Armstrong. Armstrong one of the most famous Jazz musician from that time and a pioneer of the genre. He played a key role in the development of Jazz improvisation and various subsets of Jazz. After the band has finished playing this fictional Jazz number, “girls were putting their heads on men’s shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, [and] girls were swooning backward into men’s arms”. This piece marked the change from “the echolalia of the garden” into a more concupiscent atmosphere. In this instance, Jazz music has invoked a communal sense of lust in the crowd. This demonstrates the power Jazz music has on the individual. Another example of the power of Jazz is seen when the girl in yellow was playing the piano while a red haired young lady sang. One contemporary example of this 1920’s piano music is ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ by Nicole Atkins. During her song, the singer decided that “everything was very very sad”, and was “not only singing, but weeping too”. This quote demonstrates the power of Jazz music, and how it has power. The American dream shows power of people’s desires, as seen in Chapter Eight. After Myrtle dies, most of the characters’ dreams do too. Gatsby’s dream of a life with Daisy is different. Gatsby is so engrossed in his dream that it only dies when he does. The murder of Gatsby also ends in the suicide of Wilson. This results in the destruction of the relationships between the main characters. It leaves only the relationship between Daisy and Tom, the old rich.
Chapter Three also demonstrates the fleeting nature of Jazz music, and how it leaves the individual experiencing hollow happiness. One such demonstration of this occurs when the orchestra starts playing “yellow cocktail music” and “Laughter is easier, minute by minute”. The crowd is clearly elated as a result of the music, and as such their happiness is without concrete reason. When something is hollow, it is empty on the inside, regardless of how it looks on the outside. The apparent joy that these people feel is not substantiated, and disappears as soon as the orchestra disappears, as evidenced on page 57, where two men and their wives start disagreeing, as they become more and more intolerable. This drunken dispute finally ends when the men carry the women out kicking. The fleeting nature of Jazz and its influence is also demonstrated on page 51, where happy vacuous bursts of laughter are heard. Fitzgerald’s use of the word bursts as opposed to something more continuous demonstrates the ebb and flow of the power of Jazz. Hollow Happiness is also demonstrated when a gypsy at the party downs a cocktail for courage and starts dancing, before the band backs her and the party begins. The American Dream, like Jazz, leaves the individual experiencing a Hollow Happiness. This is shown by Nick’s discomfort at the party, where feels the emptiness of Gatsby’s party