The False Promise Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

The False Promise of the American Dream
Elegant, wild, and luxurious are all ways to illustrate the beauty of the Roaring Twenties. It was a time of economic growth, where people lived lavishly and carefree, spending their time partying and climbing up the social ladder. The American Dream, whereby anyone can climb the social ladder, is a spirit that guides this prosperous decade. However, as luxurious the dream may have seemed, it is in fact an illusion fueled by money which corrupts those who touch it. Jay Gatsby, a fictional man who follows this dream in the setting of the 1920s does not focus on the materialistic side of success, but, rather changes the goal to what the success brings him - a machiavellian soul, Daisy Buchanan. In F. Scott

This characteristic of ignorance is illustrated in the climax of the novel when she commits vehicular manslaughter, later leaving Gatsby to die, and finally fleeing. After her confrontation about her affair with Gatsby, Daisy drives his car and is involved in a hit-and-run due to speeding, crashing into a woman named Myrtle, killing her instantly; “The ‘death car’, as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop”(Fitzgerald 131). The importance of her social image takes over as she does not want to deal with the consequences. Instead, Daisy is unable to come to terms with her actions as she takes advantage of Gatsby's care and desire to have her, leaving him to shoulder the blame. Daisy's ability to get away from the crash’s aftermath without taking responsibility highlights her ignorance toward consequences due to her status as part of Old Money. In this way, despite the effort Gatsby puts towards winning over Daisy, she allows Tom to falsely state that “[Gatsby] ran over Myrtle [...] and never even stopped his car” (Fitzgerald 169). She sacrifices Gatsby’s reputation in order to keep hers pure, allowing false narratives to conspire, demonstrating her machiavellian nature, and proving her willingness to throw people under the bus to save her personal reputation. This self-deprivation leads her to migrate her family elsewhere, running away from any backlash. Finally, Gatsby’s American Dream comes to a tragic end as “[Daisy] and Tom had gone early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them”, fleeing his funeral and leaving no information of their return (Fitzgerald 156). Regardless, vanishing after discovering Gatsby’s death confirms Daisy’s importance of her social status. She forgets Gatsby's true innocence, allowing her ignorance to consume her mind. This characteristic demonstrates Daisy’s ultimate corruption, discarding Gatsby’s American dream,