Part 2 Rita(Yixuan) Lin

     

Jordan Baker pretends to be cool and hard in order to be a real part of the old money.

The American Dream is achieved by the cause of sacrificing people’s unique individuality. Due to the American Dream sets the same goal for people to reach, it represents the ideal version of the society and people’s life which is simplex. The definition of success is about wealth and to live a material life, it has become superficial. The American Dream makes only one goal related to the worship of wealth and power, material life decided by the brand name, the idea of superficial money worship, and the respect of white people and upper class. This goal is set for all the people who have different personalities, values, living environment and in different situations. People are told that they have to pursue wealth and power in order to achieve the American Dream.

In The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker is a woman who does not want to lose. She cheated in a golf competition in order to win. She wants to be a real part of the upper class and the East Egg even if she has already been a member of the Old money. “Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible. She was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body.” (3.158) Jordan has to hide her real mind and to be dishonest because she needs to act like a hard and cool woman in the real world "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." (9.130) Jordan hardly expresses her real feeling in front of people. She says about the relationship between her and Nick, which illustrates that she does care about Nick. She still pretends to be a cool woman and says that she does not give a damn about Nick, this sentence shows that Jordan feels sad and surprised about Nick’s behavior. 

Jordan wants to keep herself in a great position and does not want to be doubt about. She pretends to be strong and confident to make herself survive in the old-money world. She sacrifices the vulnerable and tender features that a woman could have and pretends to be strong. The American Dream for Jordan is hard to achieve, but she tries her best to overcome her fragile personality. She is unable to achieve it because she confesses that she was engaged in the car accident and the thing she wants to hide still is shown in public. Her fake strong and cool failed to protect her from the truth.

It indicates the idea that people have to make the change in order to reach the American Dream. They are supposed to try hard to pursue the top position, which would destroy their own mind and individuality, they may lose themselves and their own goals, everyone is assimilated and people changed the vulgar, they are selfishly assimilated, force, money, everyday living in illusions. It is a way of deception to assimilate people’s personalities and pursuit.