The Great Gatsby, among other things, portrays the tension and conflict that existed between the different social classes of the 1920s. Put less simply, the novel, as described by one individual, explores “preoccupation with class” and “hunger for wealth” (Yardley par. 5). It is therefore fitting that Fitzgerald begins the book with the quote “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world have not had the advantages that you have had” (Fitzgerald 1). These words set the tone for the book and give the reader their first clue as to why Gatsby fails to achieve his dream. Gatsby dreams of marrying a woman separated from him by a few, or more, social classes. Ultimately, Gatsby fails to realize his dream due to an acute and oppressive class consciousness. Gatsby, unlike Daisy, the woman he loved, comes into the world as part of a family of modest means. Gatsby's birth into a middle-class family separated him from Daisy. This is a fact that he is not responsible for and can never resolve, even with countless hours of hard work and unwavering determination. Although he eventually accumulates significant amounts of wealth, Gatsby never acquires the prestige that comes with being born rich. He is always relegated to being considered "a common crook" (Fitzgerald 133), someone who could have "killed a man once" (Fitzgerald 44), or "a smuggler" (Fitzgerald 61). It should be noted, however, that Gatsby attempted to remedy this. Gatsby claimed to have amassed his wealth as “the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West” (Fitzgerald 65). The reader, however, learns that this is not true. Gatsby propagates the aforementioned falsehood because he desires the prestige that is earned... middle of paper... and Daisy's marriage proposal, almost everyone opposes. Socially it would be absurd, out of control and undoubtedly completely unacceptable. By the end of the novel, the reason for Gatsby's failure to achieve his dream becomes quite clear. Fitzgerald makes it abundantly clear to the reader of his novel that Gatsby failed to realize his idyllic, and sadly American, dream of marrying Daisy - the woman he loved more than anything in the world - because of a keen and oppressive conscience class, a class consciousness that separated Gatsby from the traditional aristocracy, which included Daisy, although Gatsby's fortune was equally great; a class consciousness that made the women in Fitzgerald's novel nervous about such a marriage; and a class consciousness that has led society to reject marriage altogether as unfathomable and completely unacceptable.