Examples Of Failure In The Great Gatsby
Failure to Achieve the American Dream A perfect world does not exist. Fitzgerald knows this, as he shows it in “The Great Gatsby”, which follows the story of different people who live out their lives in certainly different ways. All the characters are aiming to be happier with their lives in one way or another. They are all chasing after their American Dream. But through their actions and past, they ended up worse than they were originally. Money is the center of many of the characters’ lives; however, that money could not buy them happiness and because of their actions and life choices, this led to the failure to achieve their own American Dream.
The idea of the American Dream has always been a questionable topic. In a journal written by …show more content…
Even though many of them have achieved wealth, all of them failed to achieve their own happiness. Myrtle is an example that we can use. She believes that if she can marry into wealth and act as if she is in a higher social class, she can achieve her American Dream. She intends to do this by trying to marry Tom to advance her own social class. In chapter 2 of the book, she even goes as far to denying her own social class by saying, “The only CRAZY I was was when I married him. I knew right away that I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.” (Fitzgerald 39). In the end however, Myrtle is hit by a car, which Fitzgerald shows us that the American Dream cannot be achieved with such means. Daisy is another example. Gatsby and Daisy had an interesting love past together. But even though she loved Gatsby, she still went forward to marry Tom. And even more, during a crucial moment where Tom confronts Gatsby about his background and newfound wealth, she is affected and eventually comes to Tom’s side once more rather than going with Gatsby. For Daisy, she is constrained in a marriage where her own husband betrays her with another woman. But because of the influence of wealth, she is tied down to a fate where she has decided to choose money over love. The most noticeable character who wasn’t able to
The idea of the American Dream has always been a questionable topic. In a journal written by …show more content…
Even though many of them have achieved wealth, all of them failed to achieve their own happiness. Myrtle is an example that we can use. She believes that if she can marry into wealth and act as if she is in a higher social class, she can achieve her American Dream. She intends to do this by trying to marry Tom to advance her own social class. In chapter 2 of the book, she even goes as far to denying her own social class by saying, “The only CRAZY I was was when I married him. I knew right away that I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.” (Fitzgerald 39). In the end however, Myrtle is hit by a car, which Fitzgerald shows us that the American Dream cannot be achieved with such means. Daisy is another example. Gatsby and Daisy had an interesting love past together. But even though she loved Gatsby, she still went forward to marry Tom. And even more, during a crucial moment where Tom confronts Gatsby about his background and newfound wealth, she is affected and eventually comes to Tom’s side once more rather than going with Gatsby. For Daisy, she is constrained in a marriage where her own husband betrays her with another woman. But because of the influence of wealth, she is tied down to a fate where she has decided to choose money over love. The most noticeable character who wasn’t able to