"The Great Gatsby": Analysis of Literary Depiction of the American Dream
'The Great Gatsby' paints a picture of a luxurious lifestyle. In 'The Great Gatsby' Scott Fitzgerald represented the American Dream through this essay. He put emphasis on the American Dream through his characters by showing the poverty on the other hand and lavish lifestyles the characters and characters on the other. Characters strove to achieve the dream because of what the dream can do for them, and how it changes them. The American dream is a belief that anyone can be successful if they work hard enough. Through 'The Great Gatsby' , the writer Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the American dream directly through his characters. In book shows the darkside of the American dream by the failure of money alone to realize the fantasies and goals of his main characters Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby himself. Myrtle’s dream was to be in the successful lifestyle. Tom’s dream was use a wealthy life to have power over others. Gatsby’s dream was to have Daisy as the love of his life.
Wealthy Life as the Key to Success
In the Great Gastby, Myrtle wants a better life for herself she doesn’t like the life she has now. She feels like she’s being held captive in her own marriage with her beaten-down hus- band George Wilson. She doesn’t love or respect him. They live in a place called “The Valley of Ashes” that is run down and depressing. “It’s covered in dust and ash from nearby factories”- and in that place they live in a garage. She’s tries to getaway from this life and wants to find something better. She tries to find that something or someone when she meets a wealthy man named Tom Buchanan. She becomes his mistress he spoils Mrytle by buying her tons of gifts, he also rents out an apartment for her in Manhattan. When Mrytle is with Tom, she acts as if she’s part of his lifestyle and believes that Tom really loves her. She thinks that if Tom were to divorce Daisy, that he would marry her, but that’s not what Tom wants.
Tom’s description would be aggressive and manly. He went to Yale University “there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts”. Tom wants to do whatever he desires. He has a wife Daisy Buchanan and his mistress Mrytle Wilson. He was born into wealth a.k.a “old money”, lives in a fancy house, has luxurious cars, a child with his wife Daisy. He was born into everything, so there really isn’t much work that he has to do. According to Dr. Anna Wulick she states that since Tom has old money he does not need the American Dream, since he was born into it already at his feet. All of it was basically given to him without work being needed, but with all of that what power, control, he wanted to be in charge.
Tom has no care about his relationship-cheating on his wife with Myrtle, his relationship with his wife is so unhealthy, but they have no intent on trying to make things work for the better of their relationship. Publicly Tom acts so unfaithful to his wife. In the beginning when Nick Carraway came over to the Buchanans house he received a call. Tom’s butler notified him about the call from his mistress. After Tom left Daisy seemed calm but clearly something was bothering her she seemed disturbed.
Nick Carraway the narrator of the story tries to talk to her. He notices that one time leaves it seemed to have triggered something inside of her. The way she spoke was so pleasant that you obviously know that she was trying to hide the fact that she was very disappointed. Tom got up and received the car like his wife wasn’t sitting at the table.
When Tom Buchanan had went to Myrtle‘s apartment in Manhattan to visit Myrtle’s sister Catherine, apparently Myrtle went on talking about Daisy and repeating her name back-and-forth, so then Tom punched her in the nose without hesitation. When he hit her he broke her nose. ‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai——‘Making a short movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”. This life that Tom Buchanan was born into created a man with his ego so high that he’s so careless and reckless. It makes him feel like he’s too good for everyone else. In general Tom Buchanan is just a harsh and cruel person who just degrades women and have no respect for them, but Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson are not the only main character that represents the American.
Gatsby as the Main Representation of American Dream
The main character is Jay Gatz also known as James Gatsby. Gatsby was originally born as Jay Gatz in North Dakota. When we was seventeen he legally changed it to James Gatsby. When Gatsby was younger “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people—his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all”. As time went on Gatsby was eventually on his own. He got a job as a clam digger and a salmon fisher. Also trying to go to college at the same time. “He knew women early and since they spoiled him he became contemptuous of them, of young virgins because they were ignorant, of the others be- cause they were hysterical about things which in his overwhelming self-absorption he took for granted'. He became a gentleman in his new lifestyle all on his own. After Gatsby meets Dan he stays with him for a while. Dan leaves money for Gatsby $25,000 worth, but Mr. Cody’s wife took away that money, so once again Gatsby is left penniless but knows how the rich operate. Then Gatsby builds his own career. “America is the land of opportunity, but all the opportunities that really matter are basically communal and character, like bootlegging”. Since Gatsby wasn’t born into the American dream he had to come up by himself and achieve the dream on his own. So, he associated himself in the bootlegging business and that’s how he became wealthy.
Gatsby meets a woman named Daisy, and he falls head overs heels for her. Then later he had to take off and go to war. When he returned he sent her a letter and she received it the day of her wedding. By the time he returned she had already moved on. They have never spoken ever since“. He achieved the success that everyone in America was seeking for a period. Gatsby has a huge house, servants and many friends that attend his parties”. Because of his wealthy estate he would have huge parties. He’d always thought that Daisy would come to one.
Gatsby wanted to reunite with Daisy and start over their relationship they had in the past, but Daisy is married to Tom. After they settled and Gatsby tried to rekindle everything with Daisy he all of a sudden expected her to leave Tom and come running to him. He really wanted Daisy and he wasn’t gonna let anyone or anything stop him from getting what he desired most, Daisy. Dr. Anna Wulick states that for Gatsby to regain Daisy in spite of all he has, including a great amount of money, for Gatsby his main goal was Daisy. When Daisy and Gastby reunitedn Gast by actually seemed to be able to achieve his goal. Turns out that in the end Gastby fails to achieve is goal because he dies. In the end both Mrytle and Gatsby didn’t achieve their dream the way the expected to but sadly fell to there deadly fates.
Work Cited
- Wulick, Anna. “Best Analysis: The American Dream in 'The Great Gatsby' .” Best Analysis: The American Dream in 'The Great Gatsby' , Jan. 2018, 11:00:00 pm, blog.prepscholar.com/the-great-gatsby-american- dream Fitzgerald, F.Scott. 'The Great Gatsby' . Penguin Books, 1950.
