The Demise of Gatsby
As Florence King once said, “People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they 're all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error” (“Florence King Quote” n. pag.). The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes place in post-World War One America, a time when people always want the finest, fanciest things because they feel that they deserve them. This is all a part of their American Dreams, and they make some mistakes and do immoral things in order to achieve these dreams. Major examples of this are the many affairs that take place throughout The Great Gatsby, such as Tom Buchanan cheating with Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan …show more content…
A poor girl by birth, she is marries a mechanic named George whom she does not truly love. Later she has an affair with a man named Tom Buchanan because he is much wealthier than George and can give her anything she wants. At one point Myrtle explains the reason George does not suit her. She states that, “‘The only crazy I was was when I married [George]. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it’” (Fitzgerald 39). This shows how Myrtle is interested in material things instead of love. She is disappointed that George could not even afford his own suit for his wedding. What she really wants is wealth, not someone who loves her. According to Arthur Mizener, author of “The Real Subject of The Great Gatsby,” the greatest choice a man must make is between morality and power (Mizener 77). Myrtle clearly chooses power and wealth over being moral and being faithful to her husband. When George finds out what has been going on, he locks her up in their house. Once her greed finally leads to consequences, she tries to escape to a person she thinks is Tom. Myrtle is not the only person to blame for her death, however. It takes two people to have an …show more content…
He cannot stand it if Daisy does not love him completely. Gatsby has a different kind of greed than Tom, but it is greed nonetheless. He wants to have more, but it is too much to ask. He makes an unfortunate misjudgment, which leads to Myrtle’s death and George’s revenge. Gatsby wants Daisy to say that she never loved Tom. He needs to know that she is in love with him as much as he is in love with her. Gatsby needs to erase all of the good memories of Tom from her life. He tells Daisy that it’s “‘all over now…It doesn’t matter any more. Just tell him the truth—that you never loved him—and it’s all wiped out forever’” (Fitzgerald 139). Gatsby, like the others, is not content with what he has. He needs Daisy to be his. After Daisy refuses, Daisy becomes almost frightened of Gatsby, so Gatsby lets her drive as an attempt to calm her nerves. She is in no state to drive, and she runs Myrtle over, killing her almost instantly. After this happens, his chance at having Daisy is over, and because of this, Gatsby stops caring about what happens. According to Arthur Mizener, “[Americans] are seldom content with a merely material life; that kind of life, as Gatsby’s life seemed to him after he lost faith in Daisy, material without being real” (Mizener 85). Gatsby is still alive, but to him his life is no longer real because his dream is over. Since Myrtle is killed with Gatsby’s car, George Wilson assumes that he is having an
As Florence King once said, “People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they 're all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error” (“Florence King Quote” n. pag.). The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes place in post-World War One America, a time when people always want the finest, fanciest things because they feel that they deserve them. This is all a part of their American Dreams, and they make some mistakes and do immoral things in order to achieve these dreams. Major examples of this are the many affairs that take place throughout The Great Gatsby, such as Tom Buchanan cheating with Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan …show more content…
A poor girl by birth, she is marries a mechanic named George whom she does not truly love. Later she has an affair with a man named Tom Buchanan because he is much wealthier than George and can give her anything she wants. At one point Myrtle explains the reason George does not suit her. She states that, “‘The only crazy I was was when I married [George]. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it’” (Fitzgerald 39). This shows how Myrtle is interested in material things instead of love. She is disappointed that George could not even afford his own suit for his wedding. What she really wants is wealth, not someone who loves her. According to Arthur Mizener, author of “The Real Subject of The Great Gatsby,” the greatest choice a man must make is between morality and power (Mizener 77). Myrtle clearly chooses power and wealth over being moral and being faithful to her husband. When George finds out what has been going on, he locks her up in their house. Once her greed finally leads to consequences, she tries to escape to a person she thinks is Tom. Myrtle is not the only person to blame for her death, however. It takes two people to have an …show more content…
He cannot stand it if Daisy does not love him completely. Gatsby has a different kind of greed than Tom, but it is greed nonetheless. He wants to have more, but it is too much to ask. He makes an unfortunate misjudgment, which leads to Myrtle’s death and George’s revenge. Gatsby wants Daisy to say that she never loved Tom. He needs to know that she is in love with him as much as he is in love with her. Gatsby needs to erase all of the good memories of Tom from her life. He tells Daisy that it’s “‘all over now…It doesn’t matter any more. Just tell him the truth—that you never loved him—and it’s all wiped out forever’” (Fitzgerald 139). Gatsby, like the others, is not content with what he has. He needs Daisy to be his. After Daisy refuses, Daisy becomes almost frightened of Gatsby, so Gatsby lets her drive as an attempt to calm her nerves. She is in no state to drive, and she runs Myrtle over, killing her almost instantly. After this happens, his chance at having Daisy is over, and because of this, Gatsby stops caring about what happens. According to Arthur Mizener, “[Americans] are seldom content with a merely material life; that kind of life, as Gatsby’s life seemed to him after he lost faith in Daisy, material without being real” (Mizener 85). Gatsby is still alive, but to him his life is no longer real because his dream is over. Since Myrtle is killed with Gatsby’s car, George Wilson assumes that he is having an