Gatsby’s American Dream
In the 1920’s there was always a symbol of the “American Dream,” then the realization there is no such thing Nick said in Ch 9. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”(Fitzgerald 189) Fitzgerald believed the American Dream was unattainable because no matter how much success we have,we’ll always want more. F. Scott Fitzgerald used the concept of “The American Dream” numerous times in The Great Gatsby to prove it is unobtainable. Many characters spend their whole lives trying to be perfect, but Fitzgerald shows that nothing could ever be perfect for them, no matter how hard they try. The novel shows that the American Dream is something that can never be accomplished.
At the beginning of the novel, readers see the life of an imperfect couple. They are first seen as the ideal married couple, but Fitzgerald shows the nice side of their life first. They are happy together, live in a big house, and have a perfect daughter. Sounds like the American Dream, right? Then you are shown the bad side of Daisy and Tom. Daisy is greedy and Tom is careless and both of them are self centered. In Chapter 1, Daisy says to Nick: “I’ve been everywhere and done everything. Sophisticated- God, I’m so sophisticated (Fitzgerald 22)”! When Daisy said that, one can assume Daisy is self-centered. Also in
…show more content…
I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe (Fitzgerald 39)”. Myrtle married Wilson because she thought he could give her the best life she wanted. She expected to have the luxuries of East Egg. Wilson couldn’t give her everything she wanted, he wasn’t rich enough and being a mechanic wasn’t a good job to pay for her. Then she has an affair with Tom because he has what she wants. Tom is rich, which is exactly what Myrtle wants in a man. Throughout the novel Tom gives Myrtle the idea of “The American Dream” and that makes the affair
Myrtle Wilson came from a working class family with a low social standing. Due to her family’s lack of money, Myrtle’s options were limited to marrying men of equal or lower economic status than herself. As a result, Myrtle married George Wilson, a poor car mechanic. In her relationship with George, Myrtle lacked control due to her status as a woman and was thus forced to listen to her husband. However, because of her lower status, Myrtle did learn to use her physical attributes to her own advantage. In other words, Myrtle knew how to exaggerate her physical beauty in order to attract men such as Tom Buchanan; who would pay her with money and expensive gifts in return. Thus, “there is a clear connection between the material disadvantages” Myrtle faced and her lack of morals; given “the paucity of her allotment of the fundamental decencies” (Voegeli). In other words, because of her lack of economic backing, Myrtle Wilson grew up as a woman of lower class with less options in life; which limited her social power and drove her to act unlike any high class lady. Thus, Myrtle’s only option for increasing her status was through material services such as her relationship with Tom Buchanan. All in all, Myrtle Wilson’s economic status limited her to the life of a low class woman and her power others in her
She only wants to be with Tom for his money and for the material things that he gives to her. Myrtle does not care that she is being unfaithful to the man she married, all she cares about is the fact that Tom is person of old money and can buy her expensive things. Women's views on faithfulness and money are flawed
The first time that the reader catches an insight of Myrtle, Fitzgerald develops Myrtle to be a mere object of Tom's’ desire. Fitzgerald does this to extenuate the fact that Tom will not move on past Daisy to be with her. Tom “got some women” that supposedly is a secret but there is a lack of secretism on Myrtles end seeing as she is now calling during evening meals from “New York” just to talk to Tom. This further proves that she is in need of attention, something her husband can not fully give her at any random moment of the day. Myrtle is willing to express herself even when she’s already married. It reveals that she is deceiving her own husband, who is later mentioned in the novel. This allows for Myrtle to be looked down upon by the reader, it also entails her to be seen as an attention seeker. Again, Fitzgerald appeals to present-day behaviors by allowing Myrtle to be viewed as someone who wants to be showcased. Almost everyone can relate that they’ve wanted attention in their life at some point. This connects Myrtle to the reader's past or current feelings. Fitzgerald uses this to let readers feel compassion for Myrtle which emphasizes all she needs is for someone to properly love her, treat her, and show her what she needs to do to become successful in her
Unlike Daisy, who comes from old money, Myrtle is from the lower middle class. Myrtle hopes to climb the social ladder by cheating on her husband with Tom Buchanan.
Myrtle Wilson did not have a lot in the beginning, but she gained a new life with Tom when she tried to reinvent herself for him. Things like new dresses, a big apartment, and fancy outings with Tom became the new “normal” for Myrtle. On the other hand, Myrtle lost the respect of her husband and friends when everyone found out about her affair. In addition to losing respect, Myrtle also lost herself, both mentally and physically, when she tried to keep secrets and live a double life. She became someone she did not recognize, and although her end in the novel was tragic, it was a cost that she had to
She became used to him being unfaithful to her that she suggests to him after leaving him during Gatsby wild party “ and if you want to take down any addresses here’s my little gold pencil” (105). Tom and Myrtle relationship caused problems more in Myrtle life rather than Tom’s because unlike Tom’s wide, Wilson was unaware about her unfaithfulness and reacted way differently by becoming sick. In Nick’s perspective, he explains, “He had discovered that Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him in another world, and the shock had made him physically sick” (124). Wilson behaves in way by having her locked in a room until he gets the car to move away but soon enough for jealousy to strike among Myrtle about Tom and his wife which later causes her death. Her death occurred because of the greatly amount of envy she has towards Daisy and her lifestyle with Tom. The feelings that she felt showed upon her by having “…one emotion after another crept into her face like objects into a slowly developing picture” (124). This single small affair between Tom and Myrtle became something bigger than expected by a heart broken husband, dishonesty, and death among a mistress. This crime is much relatable to many affairs in the world that ends really bad divorces and trust issues from the dishonesty from their significant
Tom knew Myrtle better than any of the main characters. He had met her on a train headed for New York. When the train reached the city, she went with him in a taxi, and their affair began. Tom never made much of an effort to keep their relationship secret. In fact, he almost paraded her around in the presence of his acquaintances. They made frequent trips into New York so that they could be together. Myrtle was Tom's escape from his own life in East Egg. While Daisy provided him with a wealthy, acceptable social image, she was not much more to him than a mere possession. His affair with Myrtle offered him a chance to defy his social expectations. Their relationship was important to him because of this opportunity to escape. When Myrtle died, it shook him deeply, especially because he believed Gatsby had been driving the yellow car. After leaving George Wilson's garage the night of the accident, he managed to drive slowly until he and Nick were out of sight. Then he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, driving much faster. He began quietly sobbing, privately mourning her death. He immediately blamed Gatsby for bringing their relationship to an abrupt halt. "That God damned coward!" he cried. "He didn't even stop his car." His feelings of anger and hurt were greatly intensified by the day spent in New York....
The American Dream states that with hard work people come rich. Fitzgerald questions this value. Gatsby’s story presents the unrealisticness/falsehood of the tradition/original American dream.
Myrtle’s ambition proves to be her fatal flaw in being the tragic hero. The goal of her ambition is to lead her to a higher social status. In pursuit of her ambition she expresses that her husband, George Wilson, serves as an obstacle since he is in the opposite direction of where she wishes to be. She expresses disgust in George for committing actions that are considered lowly by her standards. She was particularly unenthused with her husband after it is revealed that “he borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married” without telling her. (35) She expresses her marriage as regretful, which illustrates her ambition to strive for better, being Tom. Essentially it illustrates that she would rather be treated with little respect to achieve status, rather than to be treated with respect without status. Myrtle not only exudes her ambition through her pompous attitude, but also in the manner in which she carries herself. She is a young woman in her “middle thirties, and faintly stout, but (carries) her surplus flesh sensuously,” and although she is not attributed with beauty she is somewhat charismatic. (25) The way in which she carries herself may be considered sexual, and her persona is alluring for men such as Tom. Her seducing persona illustrates her ambition in being a temptress in order to move up the social ladder.
Though Myrtle Wilson makes an attempt to escape her own class and pursue happiness with the rich, she ends up gaining nothing and eventually dies. She is basically a victim of the group she wanted to join. Myrtle tries to become like Tom by having an affair with him and taking on his way of living, but in doing so she becomes unsatisfied with her life. Her constant clothing changes show that she is unhappy with her life, she changes personalities every time she changes her dress: "with the influence of the dress her whole personality had also undergone a change.
The American dream in the novel is shown to be unachievable. For some time, the American dream has been focused upon material things that will gain people success. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald attempts to criticize American
Tom thinks his relationship between himself and Myrtle is just another affair. “Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it” (32). Tom did not care about the dogs because he did not care about the money, which it seems that he did not care about Myrtle. Tom beats Myrtle, which it is not the best thing to do in a relationship.
For example, Myrtle only truly desires Tom due to the amount of money he has. Also, her husband doesn't notice the affair is happening due to the fact that he sees Tom a good man due to his wealth and power. However, Wilson who is poor is treated with much disrespect due to the blunt fact that he is poor and he wouldn’t even be on the same level as Tom, even if he tried. His wife Myrtle would even go as far to say things like, “..he wasn't fit to lick my shoe”(). Also, Fitzgerald finds that love overall is never perfect and it is impossible to have anything close to perfection in a relationship like this.
The “American Dream” is a complicated decision on whether it is better for someone to be happy in pursuing their dreams or if they fulfill their dreams and realize that their dreams are not as perfect as they seemed when one was chasing them. In the novel named, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a highly specific portrait of American society during the twenties and is perhaps as old as America itself: a man reaches his way from rags to riches, only to find that his wealth cannot afford him the privileges enjoyed by those born into the upper class. Fitzgerald stops Gatsby from having his dream come true because this would interpret that money cannot buy happiness, seeming is better than being, and that he cannot always expect someone to choose you when
The Great Gatsby, a love story on the surface but commonly understood as the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s sight on the American Dream is that it is possible. One time he portrays the american dream and the one that stood out to me is the green light at the end of daisy's dock, to me this says the american dream can be big or small it only matters if you are happy. I think that in this story it is saying that the American Dream is real and it is possible but it is not all about money. Gatsby is debatably living the american dream in The Great Gatsby.