How Is Gatsby Selfish

The American Dream is a dream no one can ever truly achieve due to the corruption of reality and the inherent consequences. Those who disregard right and wrong are destined for a life poisoned by the glamour of society. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby examines a group of high class citizens who are free of a moral compass. They fly through life using their riches to escape any obstacles they encounter, not to mention the consequences that entail. One can see by examining Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle that their selfishness is built on a lack of moral foundation, which is driven by greed and leads each of them to losing an essence of their life. By examining Tom Buchanan, one can see that he is emotionally greedy. He is married but his wife is
She attempts to hide her vanity and self-centeredness with her social charm to always get what she wants. Daisy constantly requires affection and with that the knowledge that she can continue her lavish lifestyle, bestowing her heart to whoever can give her this life. She requires material items to know she is loved and connects happiness with money. This is demonstrated when Mrs. Buchanan is overwhelmed when finding out just how wealthy Gatsby is as she discovers his shirts, “They’re such beautiful shirts, she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before’” (89). This shows that she is so object-oriented that she will tear up over something as simple as a shirt. Gatsby owned these magnificent shirts therefore owning Daisy’s love as well, rather than giving her love to her husband. Although Tom came with money, Gatsby had more so he held more of Daisy’s love, leaving Tom and his insufficient funds
Daisy initially fell in love with Gatsby’s newfound riches than Gatsby himself. As soon as she discovered his wealth she falls back in love with him, completely disregarding her own husband. Daisy was too caught up in the wealth and attention she received from Gatsby that she even declared, “why - how could I love him [Tom] - possibly? … ‘I never loved him” (126). Buchanan is so infatuated with Gatsby's lifestyle that she announced she never loved Tom and only married him because Jay was at war. Daisy’s husband had the wealth to support her and gave her some attention, but she detached from him the moment a richer man came along, who gave her the attention she desired. Therefore Daisy’s craving for more riches causes her to cheat on her husband for the man who is supplying superior funds and