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The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

1416 Words6 Pages

Literature and music are essential tools for influencing society as a whole. Songs inspire listeners to band together and improve the world. In the Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one song really captures the theme of the book. The “Ain’t We Got Fun” song shows the way of life between the rich and the poor (Fitzgerald 95). The rich continue to build their wealth whereas the poor descend deeper into poverty. Constant, ongoing social class struggle caused by power imbalance is demonstrated through conflicts between characters in an attempt to motivate readers to fix inherent problems in capitalism. Gatsby, a hardworking man attempting to achieve the American Dream, has his dreams brutally crushed by a member of the bourgeoisie, …show more content…

At first, she is lured in with promises of gifts and riches a relationship with Tom could provide her with (Fitzgerald 28). An incentive is offered in the form of gifts in order to encourage lower class people. Although the gifts appear to be only beneficial to low-class people, that is a deceptive view. Over time Myrtle becomes used to living a certain lifestyle that she is unable to maintain without help from Tom. Gifts are used to manipulate poor people into agreeing to enter deals with upper-class people so that she can continue to live a luxurious life. These deals take advantage of the poor, low-class people while benefiting the upper class, rich people. Some benefits Tom receives from his relationship with Myrtle is when “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” she did not report him to the police (Fitzgerald 37). Through payments in the form of gifts, Tom has bought the right to abuse Myrtle without consequences. Utilizing his influence as a rich, affluent man he becomes untouchable. He is able to freely act on his emotions similar to the way a child would. The rich are able to fulfill any desires they wish to because of the power imbalance between the poor and the rich. In the process, they destroy the poor person as shown when Myrtle’s “life is violently extinguished” (Fitzgerald 137). Rich people become used to being invulnerable and they forget that others do not have that luxury. Their actions can have consequences for other people. Either carelessness or ignorance causes the rich to endanger lower class people. Trying to keep up with the lifestyle of the rich life is destructive to the poor. Myrtle is killed as a result of Tom’s power game. The social class struggle is a result of an imbalance of power that is represented in the book by Myrtle, the lower class, and Tom, the upper

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1317 Words | 6 Pages

Yet her thoughts were still affected by money:” I want to get one of those dogs she said earnestly”(Fitzgerald 27) When Myrtle first gets together with Tom she immediately starts to become greedy and wants to buy a dog with Toms money. Leading to Tom being intimidated by her which makes her out to be crazy because her and Tom both lose control of their actions resulting in a brutal ending. Tom to Myrtle represents the life she doesnt have and the wealthy lifestyle Wilson couldn’t give her:”Beat me! He heard her cry..Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!” As soon as Myrtle was told she was going to move away from Tom and his money she thought now that her life was over, causing her to throw herself into traffic and die.

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966 Words | 4 Pages

When Myrtle begs Tom for a dog, he nonchalantly hands her too much money and “decisively” says “Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it” (Fitzgerald 28).Tom’s angry and ‘decisive’ tone of voice is because he uses Myrtle’s must assert dominance through materialism. As, Myrtle does not need ten dogs, yet Tom wishes to flaunt both his wealth and dominance by commanding her to buy them. Because of Tom, Myrtle also lives in excess and must face moral corruption. As after she buys the dog, Nick describes that

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516 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

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616 Words | 3 Pages

The novel shows Tom showing his wealth and how it inversely changes his interactions in the world when Tom buys Myrtle expensive items. Fitzgerald writes, “At the news-stand she bought a copy of ‘Town Tattle’ and a moving-picture magazine and, in the station drug store, some cold cream and a small flask of perfume. Upstairs, in the solemn echoing drive she let four taxi cabs drive away before she selected a new one,” 10. In this scene Tom is buying Daisy expensive things to bring their relationship closer or to form a relationship with Daisy. Fitzgerald shows with his choice of works that wealthy people will use their money to buy relationships or buy happiness.

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792 Words | 4 Pages

The impact of socioeconomic status can be examined through a myriad of lenses. F. Scott Fitzgerald aims to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and power. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom’s character shows that socioeconomic status is equivalent to power within the novel. Tom puts great pride and emphasis on his socioeconomic status and wealth.

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429 Words | 2 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," the characters exhibit a spectrum of traits that evoke admiration and disdain among readers. Through their actions and motivations, certain characters stand out as the most admirable and despicable. By examining and delving into the intricacy of these characters, readers gain insight into the society and moral normality that was present during the time of the novel. Jay Gatsby shows the societal ambition of the American Dream through his pursuit of wealth and status. Regardless of his questionable methods, Gatsby's unwavering dedication to his glamorized vision of love and success is worthy of admiration.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Not only does the amount of wealth affect social class, but the type of wealth also affects it. It even affects where people live and who people marry as seen with Gatsby and Daisy. The characters social standing affect who they interact and how they are perceived by others. Fitzgerald highlights the different class structures like “New rich” and “Old rich” and the impact of wealth on the people’s lives in those classes. He also shows the superficial nature of the characters and highlights the value placed on wealth.

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866 Words | 4 Pages

People pursue wealth as a means to gain power and influence, viewing it as a symbol of success. However, the relentless pursuit of wealth can lead to moral decay and corruption, causing people to sacrifice their moral principles in order to obtain material possessions. The character of Tom Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel exemplifies this phenomenon. Tom's relentless pursuit of an idealized lifestyle defined by wealth causes him to abandon his moral compass, how wealth can have a corrosive effect on an individual's character and drive them to behave in ways that destroy themselves and those around them. Tom Buchanan views physical objects as tools to assert his superiority and dominance over others.

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1034 Words | 5 Pages

Tom was born with wealth, thus he is living an American dream he did not earn. Tom uses his wealth as an excuse to do whatever he pleases, in doing so, he hurts others without remorse. For example, Tom uses Myrtle just for pleasure, treating her like an object and not caring about her emotions. He abuses her and doesn't care about the repercussions of his actions and how they impact Wilson, her husband. When Myrtle dies, Tom comforts Wilson just to protect himself.

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547 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Gatsby, the author Fitzgerald offers up commentary on a variety of theme such as empower, dishonesty, greed, betrayal, and justice. Of all the themes, mostly none of it can well perform to develop than the social stratification. Fitzgerald carefully set up and mention in his novel into distinct groups and each of the groups have their own problems to concentrate with, but it can leave the audiences a powerful reminder of what an unpredictable concept of the world. By generating distinct social classes, Fitzgerald addresses strong messages about the behaviorism running throughout every classes of society. Therefore, The Great Gatsby is often touted as one of the finest pieces of 20th century American literature.

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

When individuals want something bad enough, there will eventually come a point where they will be willing to do whatever necessary to get what they want, even if that means sacrificing their own morals. This irrational desire is present in both the upper and lower class, however, Fitzgerald makes this most apparent in the upper class. When those in the upper class desire something, they go after it without thinking of the moral repercussions. This can best be seen through Tom’s affair with Myrtle. During his affair, Tom doesn’t outright lie to Daisy, but he keeps her in the dark just enough so that he can have his cake and eat it too.

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1180 Words | 5 Pages

When she first laid eyes on Tom, she knew she would be able to have the social status and way of life that came with great wealth. Myrtle’s husband was not rich enough to give her the luxurious lifestyle she craved and Myrtle did not believe her marriage reflected her social class. Her husband worked with cars and didn’t earn a large amount of money nor did he acquire a large inheritance. Myrtle was ready to leave her husband for Tom yet Tom was not willing to give up his reputation for her since he never really wanted her. The day Myrtle was hit by Gatsby’s car she was indeed chasing money.

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1149 Words | 5 Pages

Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

Geographic divisions such as the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and West Egg segregate the characters into one of two classes; those who were born with money, and those who weren’t. The Valley of Ashes is a byproduct of the lifestyle of the rich, conveying all of the destruction that their reckless lifestyle causes, and is inhabited by what the vieux riche view as the “garbage” of society, namely George and Myrtle Wilson, who receive much abuse at the hands of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. East and West Egg, despite the denizens of both being extremely wealthy, also have divides that Fitzgerald emphasizes in order to demonstrate the differences between the vieux riche and the “lower class”, including even the nouveau riche. East Egg outshines every other location in terms of sheer opulence; in comparison, even the extraordinarily wealthy West Egg seems penniless (5). Fitzgerald’s inclusion of geographic locations separate the characters into two distinct classes who struggle for power, where the vieux riche emerge triumphant not due to their actions, but due to their ability to oppress those lower than

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841 Words | 4 Pages

He displays this control when he manipulates those of the lower class, and he tries to dominate his relationships. The struggle between the power and powerless in the novel develops into a battle between the upper and lower classes. The main powerful and wealthy character, Tom Buchanan, uses his power to hurt other people, and he does not care who it is. For example, Tom Buchanan has a very powerful status, which attracts Myrtle because she strives to be in the upper class.

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