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The Great Gatsby Research Paper

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The Effects of the American Dream “Money is not good or evil”. It has no morals or intentions on its own. Money reflects the character of the user.” (Dave Ramsey) The American dream seems like an exciting endeavor, but excess money often leads to greed and immorality. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s thrilling 1920s novel, The Great Gatsby, readers witness the compelling story of Nick Caraway and his interactions with the elites of American society. Characters such as Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Myrtle Willson represent the dangers of excessive wealth and fortune gained from pursuing the American Dream. The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald's critiques of the American dream and the immorality it brings out of normal people. Fitzgerald uses Tom Buchanan …show more content…

Myrtle is an ungrateful woman who has an affair with Tom Buchanan. Myrtle is obsessed with looking wealthy and upper class, she spends lots of money on her outings with Tom and makes sure her outfits look the part. Myrtle takes advantage of Tom's riches, when she asks for a puppy, he replies “Here's your money, go buy ten more dogs with it.” (38) Myrtle doesn't care for Tom, she only cares about the money he comes with. Myrtle uses Tom as an outlet for the American Dream, instead of working for it she tricks others into believing she is of high social status. F. Scott Fitzgerald also uses Myrtle's untimely death to critique the pursuit of the American Dream. Directly before the crash, Myrtle noticed what she believed to be Tom’s car in the distance. Myrtle then “rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shaking.” (121) Before she could process what was happening, the car ran over her. Myrtle spends her whole married life in a meaningless affair, all the wealth in the world cannot stop her tragic passing. She was so focused on adopting this new lifestyle she forgot what mattered, her husband waiting at

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Myrtle is married to a man named George Wilson but, has an affair with Tom Buchanan because he is wealthier and more put together. Throughout the passage given, the author refers to Myrtle every time as Mrs. Wilson not as Myrtle. This continuously reminds the reader that Myrtle is pretending to be this fancy, educated women, when that is not reality. Myrtle is not a wealthy person, she just aspires to be. Due to the author referring to her as Mrs. Wilson everytime is causes the reader to see that the character truly is just two faced.

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Tom’s clothes and shoes highlighted his status and wealth which is what made Myrtle interested in the first place, knowing that he could give her the life she had hoped to have with her husband. Myrtle married the man she loved but could not provide for her, which is why she reached out to Tom who could give her everything her husband couldn’t. Myrtle leans toward the man better dressed and therefore has more money

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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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Myrtle, as a woman of the 1920’s, should be a paragon of feminism and independence, however, she is used by Fitzgerald in order to show how unrealistic these ideals truly are. As a lower-class female living in the valley of the ashes, Myrtle has no chance of achieving the goals of the ‘new woman’ of the 1920s, and consequently, must try to gain upward mobility by seducing Tom Buchanan. She believes that as his mistress she will be able to overcome the barriers between her lower-class life and her upper-class dreams, but in the end, Tom only treats her as a glorified pet he can treat however he wants. This is seen when Tom, “[breaks Myrtle’s] nose with his open hand.” P.g.30.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Tom and Myrtle’s relationship to show how the poor are willing to do anything for money and status, and those of status flaunt their power shamelessly. In the story, Tom is having an affair with Myrtle, the wife of Wilson. “ It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce. Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie.”

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“The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it, and contiguous to absolutely nothing.” (Fitzgerald, 24). She carries herself in a way that a financially prosperous woman would, although, in reality, she lives in a dingy garage with a man whom she doesn’t love. Myrtle is so besotted with leading a lifestyle similar to that of a person with high social status that she pursues Tom Buchanan, a man of high status and wealth. Her desire to be with Tom is fueled by her desire to be the affluent woman she portrays herself to be.

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Evident in the novel is the difference between the social standing of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. For Myrtle, by having this relationship with Tom, she is given an insight to the luxury of having vast amounts of money. Alongside this, when Tom “broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 39) she didn’t make a big fuss and continued the relationship as though it never occurred. She is in an abusive relationship which

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Myrtle’s lack of money led to her facing the consequences of her actions. Early in the novel, Tom is shown to be involved in an extramarital affair.

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From the start, Myrtle is born into poverty which automatically decreases her chances of attaining her American Dream. Although Myrtle’s options were limited in terms of building an empire for herself, she still managed to seek out men that could give her what she wanted. In chapter two, Fitzgerald introduces Myrtle in a way that demonstrates her bold confidence despite her lack of money and social status. Because of this, it catches Tom’s eye; he demonstrates a savior complex because she is below him in terms of wealth and status. Essentially, Myrtle falls out of love with men and falls in love with money.

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Myrtle’s inability to see the big picture, and failure to understand the consequences of cheating on her husband, reveals how shallow of a character she really is. Through her and Tom’s actions, the reader can begin to see just how little society at that time values

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Myrtle's character embodies the darker side of the American dream. Myrtle wants a new life with Tom, who represents wealth and status. “The only crazy person I was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (Fitzgerald 39) This reveals Myrtle's bitterness against her husband and her conviction that she is entitled to better.

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Kylie Hester Angela Hobart English 11 13 May 2024 Theme Development of The Great Gatsby Some relationships may lack love, while others openly demonstrate their affection. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author, shows the consequences of actions in a relationship and the struggles of chasing the American dream. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald develops a theme of love and marriage using plot elements, plot development, and literary devices. F. Scott Fitzgerald develops a theme of love and marriage using plot elements.

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In a similar fashion to Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, is vital in understanding how Fitzgerald believes romanticism leads to negative outcomes. Myrtle was not only in love with the idea of her new lover, Tom, but her lackluster husband in the past and was even “‘crazy about him for a while.’” Myrtle's experience with her husband was a mirror of her relationship with Tom because she is blinded by the illusions that both men cast. When the illusion of Mr.Wilson’s gentlemanly manners fades, Myrtle looks for a new person to stimulate her romantic needs, which leads her to Tom. She feels like her marriage to her husband was a mistake and the “room rang full of her artificial laughter.”

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The American Dream is the concept that everyone has equal opportunity if they work hard enough to achieve their goals. This is an unrealistic lens through which to view the world since it focuses on the isolated idea that hard work equals reward, avoiding all other factors. The American Dream represents a false sense of reality, one where once one achieves their goals or personal version of success, it's guaranteed happiness, assuming everyone's intentions are pure. What it fails to include is that people are flawed. Benjamin Disraeli said, “Money is power, and rare are the heads that can withstand the possession of great power," expressing that responsibility and wealth can be overwhelming, highlighting the influence of money and the challenges

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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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