How Is Myrtle Wilson Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

As a class, we have spent a lot of time discussing the American dream. We have examined its origins, meanings, and how it is represented in the media. But throughout this unit I’ve always circled back to one question: is the American dream worth it? With its representation in The Great Gatsby and the way I’ve seen it affect my loved ones, is this ideal really worth all the pain? According to Horatio Alger, the American dream is when people are able to “[pull] themselves up by their bootstraps” and find success in the prosperous America. And Thomas Wolfe saw it as “...to every man,regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity… the right to live, to work, to be himself and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can

Gatsby was born with nothing, and has spent his entire life striving to climb the social ladder all the way to the top. But even as he gained wealth and status, he became consumed with desire and greed. He obsessed over the green light--a symbol of the American dream-- that shone across the bay and no matter what he achieved, he always strove for more. This is similar to how Myrtle Wilson was dissatisfied with her position in society and strove to change it through her affair with Tom. This determination to be something more is eventually what leads to the downfall of both characters. Myrtle’s affair was discovered and Gatsby never relinquished his past love, at the end of the novel both characters end up dead with no one to mourn for them. I can’t help but think that Fitzgerald was purposeful with their deaths. Only the characters of lower social status--who were trying to improve their lot in life-- had tragic endings to their story. While this seems like a direct dig at the American dream from Fitzgerald, the term “American dream” was only coined in 1931, six years after The Great Gatsby was published. So how did Fitzgerald have an opinion on something that didn't even exist? Probably because he saw the downside of the American dream with his own eyes. In the 1920’s, a time of glorious prosperity, Fitzgerald must have seen the greed and desire to succeed that

How my friends are obsessed with taking the hardest classes possible, just to improve their GPA. How they cry over an 89% because colleges only want to see A’s. I see it in myself. I see it in my drive to be perfect and take on everything all at once. I see it in my need to embody this version of myself that makes me feel… American. But I’m exhausted, I feel hallowed out and bled dry of everything that used to make me myself, instead of this machine I pretend I am. Is this the price for success? If I’m no longer myself, how can I claim to embody the American trait of individualism? Can I really call myself free? The real question that nags at me is really quite simple: Is the American dream worth