The Role Of Myrtle Wilson In The Great Gatsby

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The concept of the American Dream is used in many literary works. The term refers to a set of ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity for prosperity and success, commonly held by Americans. Furthermore, Robert Reich, an American political commentator, professor, and author explains, “the faith that anyone could move from rags to riches – with enough guts and gumption, hard work and determination – was once at the core of the American dream” (Reich). However, as stated by Azar Nafisi, “the negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.” This is reflective of the state of those who chase the Dream today: they “are so busy dreaming the American Dream [and] …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald explores this idea throughout the novel The Great Gatsby. It is made apparent through the lives of the characters of Myrtle Wilson, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby, that the American Dream is truly a nightmare in disguise as its blind pursuit leads to the destruction of oneself and of the lives of surrounding people.
The character of Myrtle Wilson is evidently doomed to suffer catastrophic events in the hands of her foolish desires. Residing in the Valley of the Ashes with her husband George Wilson, Myrtle is far from living her ideal life: a life in which she may enjoy heaps of wealth and be part of a high social class; the East Egg lifestyle. Selfishly, Myrtle engages in an affair with Tom Buchanan, an abusive Yale football star of high status and ‘old money,’ for the sole purpose of achieving her materialistic American Dream. She continues her adulterous relationship with Tom even after he “broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37) for saying his wife’s name at a party in their New York apartment. Despite knowing that her relationship with Tom merely exists on the basis of infatuation, and that she is to Tom a possession of his, Myrtle perceives the situation …show more content…

Gatsby, despite having worked hard to earn his riches and having achieved what most would consider the American Dream, is on an endless quest to win Daisy back. Gatsby takes extreme measures to ensure that he catches Daisy’s attention through his wealth as seen by the massive mansion in which only he resides, the weekly lavish parties he throws, and all of his expensive shirts. He “bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). While admiring his house with Nick, Gatsby accidentally admits, “It took [him…] three years to earn the money that bought it” (Fitzgerald 90). Jay has worked extremely hard to get to where he is now and it seems that all of his hard work, dedication and wealth is for Daisy Buchanan. He is aware that he must be rich in order to have a chance with Daisy, as she is accustomed to a luxurious lifestyle and solely love will not be enough for her. Gatsby went from rags to riches and took the risk of getting in trouble with the law while doing so, as he “was in the drug business” (Fitzgerald 90). Additionally, Gatsby, who is head-over-heels for Daisy and yearns to achieve his dream, takes the blame for the death of Myrtle Wilson and as a result, he is fatally shot by George, who seeks revenge. It was “The

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