Failure Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The Failure of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

In an era of greed and corruption, the American dream became less important in the 1920’s as social values decayed in people 's lives. Materialism became most important in society, resulting in selfishness and carelessness. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby shows this reckless behavior with Tom and Daisy Buchanan, a spoiled couple married for the wealth. The failure of the American dream is represented in The Great Gatsby with the upper class’s overindulgence and recklessness with material objects . F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the difference between old money and new money in The Great Gatsby with the East and West Eggs and the residents who live there. The east represents old money,

Due to the lack of a loving relationship, the Buchanans cheat on each other constantly without care. Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, who is engaged to George Wilson. Daisy forgives Tom for doing so because of his affluence: “Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." (Fitzgerald 251-252). Daisy was a trophy wife; Tom did not truly love her, for he is married to her because of her beauty. If Tom did love her, then he would not repeatedly cheat on her with Myrtle. On the other hand, Daisy doesn 't love Tom either. She is only married to Tom for the life he can provide for her. He supplies her with a fancy, snobby life: “They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together” (Fitzgerald 17).This explains the Buchanans’ lifestyle because polo is a sport for those who have enough money to play it, and Tom can take Daisy wherever she wants to go. Daisy doesn 't love Tom because she is in love with Gatsby. Daisy and Gatsby had been in love a few years before, but when Gatsby left to fight in World War one Daisy married Tom. Gatsby came back from the war with all intentions to get her back. He made money illegally and bought a house across the bay from her to try to win her back. He also threw lavish parties in hopes to reel her into his house to show her how much money he had: “It is all a

Much like the Buchanans, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life was influenced greatly by the pursuit of pleasure. He experienced his own failure of the American dream after years of alcoholism and smoking. His unhealthy habits affected his work and his mental health. “His [Fitzgerald] own alcoholism enslaved Fitzgerald.” (Doreski pg 2). Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, both carried on this lifestyle until Zelda went mad and was placed in a mental institution. After Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, he did not have anymore success. This caused more depression in Fitzgerald 's life, resulting in more drinking. This eventually led to Fitzgerald’s death at age 44, from a heart