The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

They carry the façade of wealth and happiness, when in reality; they both are unhappy with their marriage and are seeking other partners. Neither of them can take responsibility for their actions, especially Daisy, who kills Myrtle Wilson. Instead they flee into their wealth and leave without a trace. The Buchanan’s traveled cross country because Tom wished to get into the bonding business. Therefore they followed the American dream and headed East, only to be met with difficulties. Tom had met an automotive shop owner’s wife, Myrtle, who desired to be rich, and fell in love. Daisy was originally heartbroken, and upset with her marriage. When they had delivered the Buchanan’s daughter Daisy wept and wished for her to grow up and become “a beautiful little fool” because in the 1920’s world, that’s all a woman can achieve with the American dream. Since knowing about her husband’s affair, Daisy immediately falls back in love with Gatsby once the couple is reunited but can never admit that she once loved Tom also. This becomes a major issue for the estranged couple, and leads to Daisy recklessly driving home from town one day in Gatsby’s car. She crashes into Myrtle Wilson, killing her instantly. Instead of taking responsibility, Daisy flees from the crime scene. The repercussions cost Gatsby his life, but neither Daisy nor Tom attend his funeral and eventually travel away, without telling a

Another drastic situation created by Daisy arises. However, she does not have to deal with the consequences of it. Myrtle’s husband sees Gatsby in the car, and makes the assumption that he was the one having an affair with Myrtle, which is why she would run into the street to leave her husband and be with the man in the car. Instead of owning up to her mistake, Daisy allows Gatsby to willingly take the blame for Myrtle’s death. When Nick asks if Daisy was driving the car, he replies “‘Yes, but of course I’ll say I was’” (Fitzgerald 137). This causes George Wilson to kill Gatsby, an innocent man, because of the assumption that he was the one who killed Myrtle and had an affair with her. Through all this, Daisy never confessed to being the person behind the wheel of the car and Tom never confessed to being the man who Myrtle was a mistress to. After this incident, Daisy and Tom packed their bags and moved to the Midwest, avoiding the problems they created yet

Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George, and the lover of Tom Buchanan, is brutally murdered toward the end of the novel. After an uncivilized afternoon in New York, Daisy and Gatsby head swiftly back to East Egg. Gatsby explains to Nick, “It all happened in a minute, but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew” (Fitzgerald 109). Myrtle ran out toward the car looking for Tom but sadly for her it is not him. Many know about Tom’s affair, but not with whom he is having it, especially Daisy. Daisy never slows the car down, and she never realizes who she hits. This shows that Daisy is oblivious to Myrtles existence. Myrtle is sleeping with her husband, she ruins their marriage, and Daisy kills her. The irony exists in this because Daisy actually saves her marriage by killing

He has gone to great lengths to make himself appear as appealing to a girl who never proves herself to be worthy of sacrifice. Gatsby creates a facade for himself in order to appear as a man who- in his mind- would be worthy of Daisy’s affection.

George and Myrtle Wilson are two characters in The Great Gatsby representing the working class of society aiming for the American Dream. George Wilson owns a run-down auto shop in the Valley of Ashes and is doing his best to get business, while Myrtle Wilson chases after wealth and status through an affair with Tom. However, both characters face a tragic ending in their attempts to achieve the idealistic life: Daisy strikes and kills Myrtle with Gatsby’s car and George commits suicide after murdering Gatsby. George and Myrtle’s deadly fates help illustrate the novel’s pessimistic attitude toward the American Dream, symbolizing that it is impossible to achieve. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Wilsons as a tragic way to demonstrate the unnatainable American Dream.

After her death, George is devastated and starts to go crazy. Because of his love for Myrtle, he enters a mental state that is only concerned with avenging her death. George confronts Tom, but Tom convinces George that the person truly responsible for Myrtle’s death was Gatsby. George believes Tom and travels to west egg where he shoots Gatsby and himself. Tom’s actions are another example of the rich being careless. He knows that George about to do something dangerous and desperate, but instead of trying to defuse the situation, he merely redirects the aggression towards Gatsby. Tom shows his belief that he was justified in sending Wilson after Gatsby when he tells Nick, "What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy's, but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you'd run over a dog and never even stopped his car.” As a result of Tom’s careless actions, two more people die, and Tom leaves the mess for other people to clean

Gatsby thought he was being chivalrous for Daisy, but he did not care that Daisy chose not to take responsibility for her hit-and-run. Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, gets revenge for Myrtle’s loss, assuming that Gatsby had an affair with his wife and killed her once he finds a dog leash and Myrtle 's belongings. George kills Gatsby,

After his mistress, Myrtle is hit and killed by Daisy driving Gatsby’s car, Tom informs George Wilkins; newly deceased Myrtle’s husband, that it was Gatsby who killed his wife, and then gives George Gatsby’s address. George then goes to Gatsby’s house and shoots him in the back, killing him. This is a great example of how dedicated Tom is to protecting his family and lifestyle. After Gatsby’s death, Tom and Daisy go on a vacation, running away from their problems, which is another way Tom protects himself and his family.

Nick demonstrates that: “He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs”. This reflects the fact that Gatsby really builds his house in order to see Daisy across the bay. The way that Gatsby looks at Daisy obsessively, shows that he longed for the acceptance from Daisy.

Gatsby no longer has to rely on himself for pleasure. He fills his house "full of interesting people who do interesting things" (96). Gatsby's pursuit of wealth becomes so intense that it gets in the way of his dream. After a while, he becomes accustomed to this lifestyle, and money and immediate pleasures become more important than being with Daisy. Because of this, Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure.

Daisy hits Myrtle Wilson (who is sleeping with Tom) with a car and kills her. Out of love Gatsby takes the blame. Myrtle’s husband George kills Gatsby for murdering his wife. None of the characters are happy and are all trying to find happiness.

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

For generations many have immigrated to this great nation know, as the United states of America, all seeking for their share of the American dream. The American dream is the philosophy that anyone can become successful through hard work and perseverance. The 1920’s embodies this concept like no other decade in American history. It is also during this time frame that one sees the perversion of this dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests in his novel, The Great Gatsby that there is a right and wrong way to obtain the American dream. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is symbolic for the materialistic nature of the American dream and its corruption in the 20th century.

Gatsby dedicates his entire life to Daisy. Without hesitation he devotes his own self towards her. When Gatsby realizes Daisy wanted money he immediately made as much as he could and flaunted his wealth to attract her attention. All of his actions are executed specifically for Daisy, and after all of that dedication Gatsby expects for Daisy to recuperate this unyielding love. The issue is that Daisy is married, she is not the perfect person Gatsby has imagined her to be, she has faults and over the years she’s changed. Gatsby is baffled at Daisy’s inability to “understand,” he wants her to be the same girl she was five years ago, and cannot comprehend that Daisy has changed (109). Nick persuades Gatsby “not to ask too much of her,” Gatsby disregards this claiming that she can always become who she once was (110). Gatsby choses to ignore the real world for the romantic fantasy he has of Daisy and in the end this drives her away. This internal conflict drives Gatsby throughout his life, and after five years of devotion towards Daisy he creates an unrealistic, romantic world he expects Daisy to fit in. The issue is that she is no longer the girl she once was, and now Gatsby must learn how to battle the internal conflict between his dream of Daisy and her

Gatsby’s aspirations are destroyed when he comes to the realization that certain dreams can never be converted into reality. When Gatsby and Daisy re-meet for the first time in years, he still refuses to see how self-absorbed, shallow, and greedy she truly is. As more events occur, he becomes aware of her intentions and can finally see how blinded he was by her charm and beauty so many years ago. Even though Gatsby has come to this