The Non- Realistic American Dream in The Great Gatsby

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In the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, the characters truly believe that they can have everything they ever dream for and have a life that others will envy. Myrtle and Gatsby both seem to have the same agenda for their lives; desperately seeking wealth, social status, beatitude, and love. Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby are both driven to reach their goals but do not realize that the American Dream is just an illusion.

The dream of finding fortune, fame and true love is something that almost all Americans strive for. Fitzgerald classic, The Great Gatsby, is no exception. Myrtle Wilson is in her “mid thirties and faintly stout but she carries her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can" (25). She is representation of those who stop at nothing and does whatever it takes to get what they want. From the beginning, those who met her saw the pretense and cunning woman she was. She often held a front as pretending to be wealthy; rejecting compliments toward her dress saying “it’s just a crazy old thing,” (31) when in fact she had nothing to her name. She is tired of living with the poor and is now prepared to do what needs to be done in order to live the lavish life she desires without caring who she has to step on in order to get there. On the other hand, Jay Gatsby is the representation of every man trying to find the American Dream. He is looking for a life better than the one he grew up with, filled with fortune and wealth. When Gatsby meets Daisy, he finds what he is looking for. For Gatsby, Daisy is his American Dream. From then on he does everything he can to be with her. Before coming up with his fortune, Gatsby felt that “he wasn’t fit to lick (Daisy’s) shoe” (34) under the social status. Believing that b...

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...to pay “a high price for living too long with a single dream” (161).

Many people do not believe that the American Dream exists. They believe that the American Dream is a saga we have created to have something to look forward to in our life but the reality is that the American Dream does exist. It is consists of the many things we wish we could have and there is nothing wrong with wanting the best in life but when those desires begin to hurt those around us they can come back to get us. Myrtle and Gatsby only thought of themselves when they pictured what the perfect American Dream was. They did not brother to think about what others felt or wanted. They were consumed with greed and did not realize that the American Dream they wanted and brought them to their own down fall was all just an illusion. They began to dream of a non realistic American Dream.

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