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I 100% agree with MP above. The Great Gatsby is a classic not only because of its dazzling, in-depth representation of the Roaring Twenties, but also because the relevance of its message has not disappeared. Modern-day celebrities such as Kim Kardashian could be compared to Daisy, whose past relationships seemed to have fluctuated with her fiancee's bank accounts. There are characters like Gatsby seen everywhere, whether on Drugs Inc. with masks covering their faces explaining how they've made millions to a camera, or a regular entrepreneur who has stepped on a few feet to climb the ladder of success. The book itself resonates with readers today because they recognize the shallowness and selfishness of the empty characters on the page as people they may know or have known, and the lack of change is frustrating. However, the economy has changed much since Nick was in the bonds business. As said by Marianne Cooper,

"For more and more families, achieving the traditional American dream has become just that—a dream. Instead, what surveys indicate is that people are downsizing their definition of the American dream. Today, the desire to own a home or to move up economically is often replaced by a desire to be debt free and to have financial stability."

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/american-dreams/408535/

Although the American Dream still exists and capitalism runs rampant, our goal as a society has changed. Financial stability and a lack of debt is considered more important than a Rolls Royce or being able to throw lavish parties. Reasonably, it should. But deep down...isn't that still everyone's dream?

I too agree that the American Dream remains a widely striven for ideal in modern society, however it is as elusive today as it was in Gatsby's narrative time. The divide between the upper and lower classes in constantly increasing, resulting in a rich-get-richer and poor-get-poorer society. However I would like to point out that climbing to a higher social class and fulfilling the American Dream wasn't common or easy in Gatsby's world either. Gatsby all but sold his soul to transform himself from James Gatz to the 'great' Gatsby that Nick is so enthralled by. In order to fulfill the American Dream James Gatz perverted it, and took advantage of other Americans, to achieve what they could not. The means Gatz used to become Gatsby went against America herself, breaking her prohibition laws, rigging the championship game of her national pastime, and engaging in other illegal activities. Here Fitzgerald seems to be implying that the easiest way to achieve the American Dream is to cheat, lie, and counterfeit until you have become some you do not even recognize. In this way, it isn't even really you who has achieved the dream, but rather the characterchure who you have become. It is true that in the modern world it is very difficult to achieve the American Dream, but perhaps it was always that way. Perhaps "The Great Gatsby" is Fitzgerald's cautionary tale used to remind the reader that some things are more important than wealth and that, given Gatsby's fate, the American Dream simply isn't worth what one loses in the process of fulfilling it.

To answer the above post, Ta-Nehisi Coates' book would argue that the American Dream is not attainable for non-white Americans because it is built on creating disparity between peoples. Regardless of the lack of systematic segregation in today's society, the division of peoples, particularly between whites and non-whites can be found in the economical differences that put certain groups into certain neighbourhoods, with lower qualities of health, education and overall lives. This disparity cannot be changed unless those in power are willing to give up their claim not just in cases of social justice, but in the overall institutions of America that promotes the rise of some peoples in detriment to others.

Going back to the topic of Gatsby, I think Nick's complex treatment of Gatsby's characterization does speak to an American sense of exceptionalism and dream to rise into power and influence. I think, on one hand, Nick cannot blame the way in which Gatsby gains his wealth given the many roadblocks that stand in his way through more legitimate means of success. The lavishness of the era definitely plays a role in making the book memorable, but it's unforgettable nature can also be questioned in the way the book ends. Does this mean that readers saw Gatsby's death as a tragedy purely in his disillusioned love for Daisy? Or did they see it coming given the way he rose to power? Moreover then, is the American Dream proven a hoax if it is ultimately unattainable for most people?