America's flawed dream

F. Scott Fitzgerald's work is intrinsically connected to the American dream, which is the belief that through hard work and determination one can achieve success. The lives of the male protagonists in The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night, however, reveal the many flaws of the American dream. The most significant flaw, as Fitzgerald demonstrates, is that although a certain level of success is possible, a dreamer is never satisfied. Despite the passage of nine years between the publication of the two novels and the changes the nation underwent between 1925 and 1934, Fitzgerald's opinion is not altered; he remains pessimistic. He concludes in both novels that [the] American dream cannot be attained.