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Examples Of Substance Abuse In The Great Gatsby

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When one in-visons the golden and all-powerful idea that is known simply as The American Dream it is only human to immediately think of the “grand” result of achieving the stereotypical dream, portrayed in a vast majority of pieces of media are the struggle and often overlooked deception that gaining and earning this idea of the dream costs. In most cases (and always in the cliché), the end all result of “working one’s entire life to earn the American dream” is seen as an ultimate bliss or euphoria because it means that one is earned the life they now have by putting in blood, sweat, and tears. Those claims quite possibly and a lot of the times accurate but what is almost always ignored is the journey to the dream. This journey is the complete opposite of the dream …show more content…

Most frequent is a character being involved in an act of violence against another character or even an act of violence against themselves, in this case the act of violence doesn’t actually involve James but instead involves Tom and his mistress; Myrtle. While both drunk Myrtle continues to bring up Tom’s wife Daisy and even eventually ends up just blatantly shouting her name in his face, "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai –– " Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. (125-127). This event in the novel shows the problems with substance abuse and the difficulties with not being able to control oneself under the influence of a given substance. In retrospect the idea of substance abuse and the American dream also directly relate in this event because just like acting out while intoxicated, one will act out without thinking of repercussion while chasing the dream

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75 Words | 1 Pages

In the chapter 3, Mrs. Wilson says something rude about Daisy to Tom Buchanan, then Tom “broke her nose with his open hand” (39). From Tom’s action, it shows he is protecting his wife’s reputation. Even though he always ignores Daisy by calling Mrs. Wilson at table notwithstanding, he did not “punch” his wife. In a word, it shows Tom Buchanan respects his wife more than Mrs. Wilson by he is breaks Mrs. Wilson’s nose.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Nick later went to Tom’s apartment and “Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name … ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! … Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). In this example, Tom and Myrtle are fighting. While neither of them has empathy towards the other it is clear that Tom has less. Tom has led her to believe that he will break up with Daisy and that she is something of the past.

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421 Words | 2 Pages

Daisy! Daisy!”(41) and then Tom gets mad and slaps her and he breaks her nose. This is important because this event shows that Tom was careless around Myrtle and just straight up broke Myrtle’s nose because he didn’t want her to talk about Daisy. Second, Tom is careless about his actions and words.

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991 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Buchanan is an arrogant, controlling man, who does what he wants not considering about how his actions influence those around him. Tom is also the earliest person to use physical violence in the book, striking Myrtle in a fit of rage when she would not stop shouting Daisy 's name. "Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy 's name. "Daisy! Daisy!

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266 Words | 2 Pages

F Scott Fitzgerald used his novel The Great Gatsby to expose and decry many of the excesses of the roaring twenties. To do so Fitzgerald described the outrageous parties many of the wealthy would participate in or host, as well as describing how the impoverished lived. Then going on to describe the interactions between the rich and poor, along with the outcomes of such interactions. One of the many examples illustrated by Fitzgerald would be the outrageous parties hosted by the namesake of the novel, Jay Gatsby. There were major instances debauchery at Gatby’s parties where one guest was even “drunk for about a week”, this guest was found by the narrator in the library trying to sober himself, but was so scatterbrained from the aftereffects

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

The American dream is not as easy as people say it is. The American Dream is being able to afford the necessities you need, without having to struggle and suffer just to put food on a table for their families. People think it’s easy to live the American Dream, but little do they know that there are people out there struggling to support their family. The American Dream is difficult to achieve but very possible if people could find the opportunity and available to them.

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625 Words | 3 Pages

Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai—” Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. Then there were bloody towels upon the bathroom floor, and women’s voices scolding, and high over the confusion a long broken wail of pain.”

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2003 Words | 9 Pages

The theme of carelessness represented by Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan is crucial for the development of the plot of this novel. Myrtle Wilson is a prime example of carelessness within the novel. She knows that Tom is a married man, and is very violent, yet, she continues to see him. Myrtle is focused on what

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Paradox and dream Americans have developed the idea of an American Dream over decades of time, we have came to believe and trust in these ideas throughout the years. From generation to generation the American Dream has been built on, changed but still carries some of the past along with it. Our beliefs help us pursue the American Dream in that they give Americans the idea of never settling for less, to fancy ourselves as stubborn realist, and that we have inherited self-sufficiency. According to John Steinbeck, Americans are never satisfied, always searching for the next come up and wanting more.

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141 Words | 1 Pages

Daisy! Daisy! Dais-“ Causing Tom tohit her right before she could finish the last time. Thisshows that he

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1149 Words | 5 Pages

When you think of the American Dream what do you think of. Some might think of coming from another country, going to college, or maybe becoming an owner of a business. There 's many definitions of The American Dream, everyone’s is different. I see the American Dream as a reality not so much of a dream these days. First thing I 'm going to talk about it what are some obstacles of reaching the American Dream, which groups of people have had trouble obtaining the dream, and why.

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838 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone has their own idea of the American Dream. Although everyone’s idea of the American Dream is similar, media has done a very good job at altering our ideas of that dream. The dream used to be to work hard and get a good job that you enjoy and to make good money, now however, the dream is to have to latest and best technology, make a lot of money but not take any pride in their job, and become famous and known from all of the stuff that you own. Although this may seem appealing, America’s media has distorted the people’s view on the American Dream.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

Tom’s altercation with Myrtle accentuates his hypocrisy and lack of self-control; while he doesn’t feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, he feels that he has the right to maintain his authority over Myrtle. In this same scene, Myrtle, who is also drunk, draws attention to the negative aspects of her personality.

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1399 Words | 6 Pages

Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.

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1357 Words | 6 Pages

Shouted Mrs Wilson… making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.’ It is possible to infer from this that Tom is concerned about the possible outcome of putting his marriage with Daisy at risk as he gets increasingly aggravated and aggressive when Myrtle speaks of her. However the brutality he shows towards myrtle implies that she is somewhat meaningless to him and acts as more of a possession. Even though he may be sacrificing his marriage to have a relationship with her, he understands it is unlikely due to his status. ‘Short deft movement’ illustrates his physical strength and dominance as his ability to ‘break her nose’ appears almost

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