For Jay Gatsby and many others, the American Dream is about deriving wealth and material ownerships in an effort to happen felicity. Through his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream is merely the construct of flawlessness, something that can ne’er be acquired, but ever can be reached for.
Daisy Buchanon was ever mesmerized by wealth. Her dream is to hold a epicurean life style filled luster. Before the events of the novel, she could non see Gatsby supplying this life style for her. Before Gatsby went to war, she promised him that she would wait for him to come back and they would acquire married. Alternatively, she met Tom and married him, non for his personality, she married him for his money. Her promise to Gatsby before he left was an empty one – she ne’er intended to follow through with it. Gatsby was n’t upper category at the clip they met, he was comparatively hapless and could non fulfill her desire for wealth. Even Gatsby realized he was below her and he felt that, “ he was in Daisy ‘s house by a prodigious accident. . . he was at present a penniless immature adult male without a yesteryear, and at any minute the unseeable cloak of his uniform might steal from his shoulders. ” ( 149 ) . Gatsby showed no ability to be able to back up her, so she lost involvement while he was off and finally forgot about him. She merely started demoing renewed involvement when he began throwing excessive parties every dark. While over at Gatsby ‘s, Daisy remarks about Gatsby ‘s aggregation of expensive shirts, “ It makes me sad because I ‘ve ne’er seen such – such beautiful shirts before ” ( 94 ) . Even though she is married to Tom, his wealth is non plenty to fulfill her. When she sees the shirts she is sad because Tom does non hold the luxury of having such a big aggregation of vesture. She is blinded by wealth and ever seeks more than she has. She can non to the full appreciate what she has because her dream is to ever hold more, and she will merely be happy once she has the best, an unachievable end that is at that place to tease.
To Myrtle Wilson, the American Dream is to go affluent and high category. For her, this is impossible. She is married to a on the job category adult male who owns an car store in a rundown portion of New York. Myrtle is so corrupted by money that she cheats on her hardworking, loving hubby, in order to be with Tom Buchanon ‘s money. When depicting her matrimony, Myrtle said, “ The lone loony I was when I married him. I knew right off I made a error. He borrowed person ‘s best suit to acquire married in. . . so I lay down and cried to crush the set all afternoon ” ( 35 ) . She was, of class, speaking about money issues. She thought her hubby was affluent, but when he had to borrow a suit, she became down and she believed her life was ruined. Myrtles unhealthy arrested development on money ruined her matrimony, and led to her going Tom ‘s kept woman. Tom can provide her with the wealth she needs to experience happy. When given the opportunity, Tom will take Myrtle to parties merely so she can have on the illusion vesture that he gave her. This is every bit close as she will of all time acquire to her dream of being affluent. Her life would be perfect if she could be upper category like Tom or Gatsby, but alternatively she must fall back to moving as though she is: “ with the influence of the frock her whole personality had besides undergone a alteration. The intense verve… was converted into impressive arrogance ” ( 35 ) . This important alteration is the consequence of Myrtle being so near to carry throughing her dream. She has the vesture, she acts as though she is high category, the lone job is, in world, she is non this perfect individual she pictures, she is merely a common common people, making for flawlessness, merely like everybody else.
Gatsby ‘s dream is to be with Daisy. For the past 5 old ages of his life, Gatsby imagined Daisy as the perfect adult female, and he wholly reinvented himself in order to derive credence from her. During this clip of reinvention, Gatsby is really lonely, and his ain imaginativeness turns Daisy into everything he wants her to be, and non everything she truly is. After old ages of bootlegging and other assorted illegal actions, he additions adequate money to seek and fulfill Daisy ‘s demand for wealth. When mentioning to Gatsby ‘s sign of the zodiac, it is said that “ Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be merely across the bay ” ( 83 ) . This shows what Gatsby is willing to make to be with Daisy. All for her, he involves himself in condemnable activities, becomes rich, and buys a sign of the zodiac that is merely across the H2O from hers. He frequently stands outside and looks out towards Daisy ‘s topographic point, where a individual green visible radiation is seeable, reflecting from her dock. Nick Carraway describes this juncture, “ He stretched out his weaponries toward the dark H2O in a funny manner… and distinguished nil except a individual green visible radiation ” ( 26 ) . To Gatsby, the green visible radiation symbolizes his love for Daisy and when he reaches for it, he seeking to carry through his dream of being with her. He fuels his life though Daisy, all of his actions reflect this. In the terminal Daisy disappointed him because “ no sum of fire or freshness can dispute what adult male will hive away up in his apparitional bosom ” ( 101 ) . Gatsby expected flawlessness from Daisy, but was alternatively met with a shallow corrupt adult female, who could ne’er carry through all of Gatsby ‘s dreams. Daisy was ne’er meant to be Gatsby ‘s, she was merely supposed to be the thing he tried to acquire, the false image of flawlessness. The existent fulfilment of the American dream was Gatsby ‘s way towards flawlessness, non his eventual failure to make the terminal.
Throughout his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows many characters seeking to happen flawlessness. Daisy, Myrtle, and Gatsby all believed wealth would take them to happiness, though, no affair how hard they tried, they could ne’er rather acquire at that place. These characters show that the American Dream is about endeavoring for flawlessness, but ne’er making it.
