30, October 2026
The Architecture of Desire: Aspirational Self-Fashioning and the Precarity of Belonging in The Great Gatsby and An American Tragedy
Author(s): 1. Ananya Kalra, 2. Dr.HK Jha
Authors Affiliations:
1 Research Scholar , Amity School of Liberal Arts, Amity University Haryana
2 Faculty, Amity School of Liberal Arts , Amity University Haryana
DOIs:10.2015/IJIRMF/202610011 | Paper ID: IJIRMF202610011
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Self-creation is often a performance of class, desire and belonging in many forms of the 20th century American fiction. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925) and Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925 are similar examples of aspirational self-fashioning, where identity has become dependent upon receiving some form of social recognition. Rather than looking at these two works through the lens of the traditional interpretation of the American Dream being disenchanted, this paper will explore both Jay Gatsby and Clyde Griffiths as creating socially recognizable versions of themselves for the elite worlds they wish to enter. Using dramaturgy theory developed by sociologist Erving Goffman, this paper views identity as a continuous negotiable process of creating one's aspirational self- based upon their audience, managing impressions, how one appears and receives social validation. Gatsby creates an aesthetically pleasing version of himself that attempts to eliminate the contingencies of his origin; however, Clyde continually adjusts his self-image based upon what he perceives as the desired image from various groups who have socially desirable status. Despite having different paths of self-creation, the two authors reveal a very important paradox regarding social ascension: the more we pursue recognition, the more difficult it is for us to be certain about our sense of belonging. This paper will use comparative close reading method to demonstrate that Fitzgerald and Dreiser reveal social ascension as an architectural structure of desire, whereby the performance of becoming can result in self-hood being ever more unstable and the ability to belong being unattainable.
Aspirational Self-Fashioning; Social Recognition; Performed Self-hood; Class Aspiration; Precarious Belonging; Erving Goffman
1. Ananya Kalra, 2. Dr.HK Jha (2026); The Architecture of Desire: Aspirational Self-Fashioning and the Precarity of Belonging in The Great Gatsby and An American Tragedy, International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, ISSN(O): 2455-0620, Vol-12, Issue-10, Available on – https://www.ijirmf.com/
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