The American dream, although seemingly glitzy and grand, has elements of dissatisfaction, disappointment, and many flaws. New York City, portrayed as a setting throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, shows parallels to the American Dream and possesses the same double sided reality as the dream that we are shown in the novel. The bonuses and dissatisfactions in achieving the American Dream are very clear to the reader of The Great Gatsby. The characters show how great the American dream can be with their extravagant parties and expensive décor and vanities portrayed in the novel. New York City's parallels, however, are a little less obvious.

· New York City is an important setting in The Great Gatsby, it is where Tom and Myrtle lead their `second lives' and where Tom, Daisy, Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby go one lazy afternoon...