The American writer and humorist Mark Twain once said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Every kid once kept a seed of their dreams deep in their heart. While some faded with time, others grew into a blooming tree with tasty fruits and a glamorous outlook. Gatsby is the narrator of The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott. Fitzgerald has thought of the American dream and has attempted everything to achieve this goal since childhood. Sometimes, the ones who prevail over the others possess distinct qualities that allow them to stand out. More importantly, their ambitions and talents must jibe with the era's tide and seize the opportunities under risk. The Great Gatsby wisely criticizes Gatsby’s generosity and romantic relationship with Daisy to criticize the luxurious lifestyle and approach to marriage of the members of 1920s high society. 

The generosity of Gatsby throughout the whole book demonstrates the author’s reproval of the luxurious lifestyle of upper-class men during that era. Apart from having a mansion that “was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy,” Gatsby “gives large parties” every week where “his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus bearing party to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight”(Fitzgerald 5, 39, 49). Taking the market price of these luxury goods and the expense of a party with such duration and frequency into account, the consumption of seeking entertainment prevails over the affordability of typical riches. With the scene switching from the vivid design to interior decoration, the guests there could enjoy “oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York,” the scene of a “Christmas tree,” a table “garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvres,” and flowing music played by the “orchestra” with various instruments(Fitzgerald 39-40). By juxtaposing the conflicting items of the Christmas tree and fresh fruits, the author intends to express a scene of utopia under both winter and summer. With the surges and falls of the music, the guests immerse themselves in a world of delicacy. Criticizing the phenomenon as complete chaos, the author takes Nick’s perspective to share his view: “Fifty feet from a door, a dozen headlights illuminated a bizarre and tumultuous scene”(Fitzgerald 53). The constant occurrence of “bizarre” and “tumultuous” parties with the inestimable scale of consumption in Gatsby’s mansion accentuates the author’s condemnation of consumerism and the extravagant ways that the upper-classmen were living in the 1920s. More importantly, many riches typically involve multiple immoral relationships even when they are in marriage.  

The romantic relationship between Gatsby and Daisy emphasizes the author's scornful perspective on the approach to romantic relationships in the 1920s. Aiming to win his “trophy girl” and fulfill the last piece of his childhood dream, Gatsby relies all his expectations on Daisy: “ [Nick][thinks][Gatsby] revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from [Daisy’s] well-loved eyes”(Fitzgerald 91). Instead of initiating a customary interdependent relationship with Daisy, Gatsby picks an abnormal path in which he provides “bedrooms swathed in rose and vivid with new flowers” and “shirts with stripes and scrolls plaids”(Fitzgerald 91,92). By providing everything Daisy could imagine, this excessive material and mental burden exerted by Gatsby hints at their tragic endings. As their relationship becomes more intimate, Gatsby even confronts Daisy’s husband, Tom, in the hotel, attacking him with words like:“[Daisy] has never loved you” and “[Daisy] loves me”(Fitzgerald 130). A cheater and a disturber of the marriage, Gatsby dares to challenge the legitimate spouse and demonstrate his dominance face to face, illustrating his ignorance of a healthy relationship. Instead of directly employing Nick’s perspective to judge this issue, the author intentionally marks the sudden death of Gatsby as a symbol: Anyone who violates the norms of a conventional romantic relationship should be punished, sometimes even with their lives. The bizarre relationship of total dependence and an intense sense of occupation for women underscores the author’s hatred of people’s approach towards marriage in the 1920s. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald masterfully uses Gatsby’s sumptuous generosity and tumultuous romantic relationship with Daisy to critique the opulence and superficiality of the 1920s upper class. Gatsby's lavish lifestyle and obsessive pursuit of an idealized love reveal the era's materialism and flawed social values concerning marriage. Through Gatsby's ultimate downfall, Fitzgerald underscores the moral decay lurking beneath the surface of the American Dream, offering a poignant commentary on the actual cost of “greatness” and desire in a rapidly changing society.