Characteristics of a Dream

We often use the two words “dream” and “goal” interchangeably, but do they actually mean the same thing?

For me, when I describe my goals, they tend to be more achievable and realistic. For example, I would say that going to college is a goal of mine, rather than a dream. Dreams, on the other hand, seem to be more fantasized or unlikely to happen. Some of my dreams include traveling around the world or going skydiving.

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald purposely characterizes Gatsby’s desire to be with Daisy as a dream than a goal. We see that as Gatsby reunites with Daisy and becomes updated on where she is in life, he finds more obstacles getting in the way of his dream. He sees Daisy’s child and Nick doesn’t think that “he had ever really believed in its existence before” because he “[keeps] looking at the child with surprise”. He wants Daisy to tell Tom that she “never loved him” and as much as he wanted her to confirm that it was the truth, he soon finds out that she actually did love Tom at one point. Although these events may seem like the stepping stones for Gatsby to reach his goal of being with Daisy, they actually tell us that his possible love with Daisy is unrealistic and far-fetched, like a dream. The way that Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s journey throughout the book perfectly portrays what the essence of a dream is: wishful thinking that isn’t really achievable.

I think that the ideas that we differentiate as dreams or goals can change labels depending on our circumstances. For example, going skydiving may seem like a dream right now, but eventually when I can find out more information and start to plan how I’m going to do it, it becomes less of a dream and more of a goal, simply because it is now more likely to happen than not. Based on this, can dreams really come true? Or are dreams a way for our minds to categorize our wishful thinking into distinct ideas?

This week’s song:

The 1975 - Somebody Else // https://youtu.be/UxVRhrfsleQ

I thought this song related to Gatsby finding out about Tom and Daisy in a sense that he was heartbroken by the fact that his love was taken by “somebody else”. The person singing the song and Gatsby are different though because while the person singing claims that he does not want to be with his ex again, Gatsby obviously does. Make sure to listen and share your thoughts :)