He was born to a poor American farm family living in rural North Dakota. Despising the poor life he leads, he runs away and fortuitously meets his mentor, a copper magnate, who teaches him about wealth. After the death of his mentor, he is drafted for the war and upon returning from the war he lands in the Jazz Age. He meets various gangsters, who help him succeed in smuggling. From this illegal business he finally obtains the riches he has always wanted. He is able to purchase a 22-bedroom mansion in Long Island's West Egg and has enough assets to finance weekly nights out. This is Jay Gatsby's rags to riches story from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Gatsby's success story is something that every individual aspires to have as their own: growing up poor, yet still being able to become a self-made millionaire, or otherwise known as achieving the American dream, regardless of the method used. This rags to riches ideal is long gone. It's been almost a century since Gatsby's story was told, since the dream was even slightly achievable. Society has changed, inequalities have widened and the Gatsby era is over. The American Dream is no longer achievable in the postmodern United States due to class and wealth inequality, educational gaps, and the Matthew Effect. Social stratification runs deep in America, and there are many glaring social inequalities between the lower and upper classes. Those in the upper class can afford to live a very comfortable life, while those in the lower class have a difficult time living. Professors at OpenStax College wrote a book as an introduction to sociology and dedicated a section to social stratification in the United States. Professors noted: The upper class not only h...... middle of paper ...... ngs writes: “I would redefine the American dream today as the potential to work toward an honest and secure lifestyle and save for the future” (573). Kings' new version of the American dream is much more realistic than the outdated one, which is to live a respectable and honest life. Rarely can anyone go from being very poor to filthy rich in postmodern society (573) However, there is another option besides changing the American Dream, and that is to completely eradicate the concept of the so-called “American Dream”. Our dreams in life depend on us, as individuals, and we are the sole creators of our dreams . This collective dream given to American citizens is no longer satisfying. More importantly, we must not let society place limits on our dreams. We must defend our inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. (Declaration of Independence 2).