The American Dream and Demise
The characters within The Great Gatsby have varying American Dreams, dreams that can lead to happiness or futility and deceit. Although many of the characters believe they are living their dream efficiently, a few people are not maintaining their dream to the best of their ability. Jay Gatsby’s dream leads to his demise thus proving his dream to be futile. All of the American Dreams combined invade Nick Carraway’s personal life and cause him to be deceived by his friends. Even though the characters within the book have varying American Dreams, each individual’s dream affects all of the characters.
Tom Buchanan was a profoundly arrogant man. “He is conceited, violent, racist, and unfaithful” (Great). Tom contributes …show more content…
When she married George Wilson some part of her always wished that he had money. “’He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it’…’I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon’” (Fitzgerald 35). The fact that her husband was not wealthy depressed her. When she meets Tom he makes her feel as though she is rich by buying her things. She never gets to marry into wealth or become wealthy herself. “Myrtle dreams of belonging to a higher social class than George can offer… she hopes her adulterous affair will lead to a life of glamour” (Great). She continues having an affair with Tom due to the fact that it allows her to live the luxurious life she wants to live. Her want to be wealthy, in the end, leads to her demise. Her death drives George Wilson insane and leads to other character’s deaths. Myrtle lived a life of wealth during one short period of her life, and that short period of time led to her …show more content…
Gatsby convinced Nick to help him get Daisy, therefore Nick would spend most of his time covering for them. Tom also uses Nick as a cover up for the fact that he had been cheating on Daisy with his mistress, Myrtle. Eventually Daisy also used Nick in order to get to Gatsby. “He was calling up at Daisy’s request- would I come to lunch at her house to-morrow... Half an hour later Daisy herself telephones and seemed relieved to find that I was coming. Something was up” (Fitzgerald 114). Daisy and Gatsby used Nick as a cover up and also as a distraction for Tom. After Gatsby died Daisy cut off connections with Nick further proving that she used him to get to Gatsby. “…Nick tries to hold a large funeral for him, but all acquaintances have either disappeared-Tom and Daisy, for instance, move away with no forwarding address…” (Chapter). Neither Tom or Daisy cared for Nick, they just used him to cover up their sins. Although the characters used Nick throughout the book, he still respected Gatsby in the
The characters within The Great Gatsby have varying American Dreams, dreams that can lead to happiness or futility and deceit. Although many of the characters believe they are living their dream efficiently, a few people are not maintaining their dream to the best of their ability. Jay Gatsby’s dream leads to his demise thus proving his dream to be futile. All of the American Dreams combined invade Nick Carraway’s personal life and cause him to be deceived by his friends. Even though the characters within the book have varying American Dreams, each individual’s dream affects all of the characters.
Tom Buchanan was a profoundly arrogant man. “He is conceited, violent, racist, and unfaithful” (Great). Tom contributes …show more content…
When she married George Wilson some part of her always wished that he had money. “’He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it’…’I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon’” (Fitzgerald 35). The fact that her husband was not wealthy depressed her. When she meets Tom he makes her feel as though she is rich by buying her things. She never gets to marry into wealth or become wealthy herself. “Myrtle dreams of belonging to a higher social class than George can offer… she hopes her adulterous affair will lead to a life of glamour” (Great). She continues having an affair with Tom due to the fact that it allows her to live the luxurious life she wants to live. Her want to be wealthy, in the end, leads to her demise. Her death drives George Wilson insane and leads to other character’s deaths. Myrtle lived a life of wealth during one short period of her life, and that short period of time led to her …show more content…
Gatsby convinced Nick to help him get Daisy, therefore Nick would spend most of his time covering for them. Tom also uses Nick as a cover up for the fact that he had been cheating on Daisy with his mistress, Myrtle. Eventually Daisy also used Nick in order to get to Gatsby. “He was calling up at Daisy’s request- would I come to lunch at her house to-morrow... Half an hour later Daisy herself telephones and seemed relieved to find that I was coming. Something was up” (Fitzgerald 114). Daisy and Gatsby used Nick as a cover up and also as a distraction for Tom. After Gatsby died Daisy cut off connections with Nick further proving that she used him to get to Gatsby. “…Nick tries to hold a large funeral for him, but all acquaintances have either disappeared-Tom and Daisy, for instance, move away with no forwarding address…” (Chapter). Neither Tom or Daisy cared for Nick, they just used him to cover up their sins. Although the characters used Nick throughout the book, he still respected Gatsby in the