Decay In The Great Gatsby

Taylor Foster Mrs. Eshleman English 11 April 10, 2024.

The Great Gatsby For decades America has been seen as the prized country where many flock to its borders in hopes of chances. More specifically, in hopes of leading a better life. Many have seen America as a place where they can start over, achieve freedom and opportunities, new rights, wealth, and ultimately the pursuit of happiness. The famous “American Dream,” is the idea that people have a fair opportunity through hard work to achieve success, happiness, and wealth. In the 1920’s, immigration rates were at an all-time high. People were flocking to the United States in the hopes of a better life, escaping their past lives. In the 1920s, the idea of wealth and accumulating that high

The story however reveals tragedy and the truth of the wealthy, who exemplify the downturn of the American dream. People flocked to the East Coast towards New York City for the stock market. As it goes on, it was not about the idea of achieving a better life and pursuit of happiness but about accumulating wealth. This contradicts the idea and shows how distorted and rotten the ideal has been. An instance that proves the decay is the very character the book is named after, Jay Gatsby. His real name, James Gatz, came from a working class family and did not have wealth or status. He fell in love with Daisy, who is a symbol of pristine and perfection of the elite wealthy aristocratic families. They were separated and he could not offer her anything because he had no title and was not born of riches. In efforts, Gatsby sees that the only way he will attain Daisy is through money. His corrupted way of thinking that he will get Daisy back through this, is a primary example of the deterioration. This is evident when it is stated, “He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths—so that he could “come

This provides clarity that Gatsby saw that the only way to achieve his goal for Daisy was to impress her with money he would attain. He abuses the moral dream by over materialism and only sees his success through money. The American dream in the novel became an idea of wealth and greed. Gatsby’s indulgence of thwarted intentions ultimately robs him short of achieving that dream, thus revealing the degeneration of the standardized goal. As the novel progresses, many characters are introduced to readers. Fitzgerald incorporates characters that also display the collapsing backwards way of the American dream. Myrtle, a character introduced in chapter two who is the mistress of Tom Buchanan, illustrates this point as well. Myrtle only sees her way up in life is to marry for status, which in turn shows her carnal intentions for materialism. For instance, when Myrtle says, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman,” she finally said. “I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.” (Fitzgerald 34). The American dream is about the pursuit of happiness, success, and a better life. However, Myrtle proves that the dream has been twisted and diverges from its purpose. She