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What Does The American Dream Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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The American Dream during the 1920s transitioned from being all about moral values to wealth and statues. In James Adams writing “The Epic of America,” the American Dream is an elusive fantasy that brought destruction and corruption upon the people who desired power, wealth, and happiness. Power and wealth corrupted people’s minds by believing a fantasy, which would later turn into reality. The American Dream that Gatsby desperately wanted to live up to was the one object of his affection, Daisy. His love for Daisy consumed his whole life and lead to his disillusionment. The repetition of the green light symbolizes Gatsby’s dream of having Daisy and living a perfectly life. It is ironic how he died looking at the green light because he captured …show more content…

When Myrtle first got married to George Wilson, she thought that she was crazy about him and thought that they were happy being together, but the desire for a luxurious life is what lured Myrtle into having an affair with Tom. Myrtle found out that George was porror than she had expected and proceeded to cry because she thought he was rich. This shows how she only cared for his money and not for who he really was. She has the hope and desire for a perfect, wealthy and famous type life that she thought could mask her ordinary life with George Wilson. She believes that Tom is the ideal picture perfect man that represents the advertisement of the American Dream. This decision harms her marriage with George, which leads to her death and loss of true happiness. It was later found that Daisy was the one that hit Myrtle with her car, which resulted in the demise of Myrtle. It is ironic how Daisy was the one that killed her, since Myrtle was having an affair with her husband, Tom. This shows how the desire for a luxurious life and having the American Dream only caused destruction in this novel, and destroyed almost all the characters lives because in the end none of them were actually

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487 Words | 2 Pages

Myrtle having an affair on her husband with Tom shows she dreams of having money and being a part of the upper class social group. Myrtle wants the life that Daisy has with Tom, this is clear when they are at the apartment that Tom keeps. Fitzgerald shows Myrtle as being jealous of Daisy because when Tom gives her a puppy as a gift she talks about Daisy, Tom says sternly never mention my wife again.

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1129 Words | 5 Pages

Myrtle gains an apartment with Tom and they have a party that attracts some wealthy and important people which contrasts greatly to her home with George in the valley of tears. Myrtle thinks Tom really loves her and someday he might leave Daisy to marry her however Tom uses her for her body just like the wealthy American factory owners use their workers for profit. Myrtle’s delusion that Tom cares for her ultimately causes her demise because when she escapes George she thinks that Tom will stop and sweep her of her feet taking to the promised land fulfilling the American Dream. However, that does not happen Tom’s wife Daisy ends up running her over and kills her on the spot and Myrtle’s body in the aftermath invokes images of the run over American Dream “her left breast was swinging loose like a flap and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long” (Fitzgerald 137).

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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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823 Words | 4 Pages

Myrtle is a very outgoing girl who is happy and content with her life. She is married to George who sells used cars to make money. ¨George Wilson’s neglect of his “dust-covered wreck of a Ford...” (Little 4). Georges car symbolizes how poor they are, that they cannot drive or fix their car. Myrtle attends all of Gatsby's parties, and is always enjoying herself no matter what.

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842 Words | 4 Pages

Myrtle is married to a man named Wilson, who has such love for her that her infidelity tears him up inside. The novel ends with tragedy, and with three of the main characters dead. Through the juxtaposition of the characters Gatsby and Wilson, it is shown that when living in an idealized

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Myrtle is the quintessential example of an impoverished woman living in the twenties, with an aspiration to reach the romanticized upper class through a rich aristocrat named Tom Buchanan. Although she thinks this is possible mean of escape, an aristocrat like Tom would never be seen with a measly peasant such as Myrtle. We see early on that Tom could have easily taken her out of poverty and into his lifestyle, but he chooses not too. Myrtle is resentful of her husband for putting her in her current situation, saying small remarks such as, "The only crazy I was was when I married him.” (23) Myrtle doesn’t understand that she will never be accepted into a higher social class.

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661 Words | 3 Pages

George is so devastated by Myrtle's death, he kills Gatsby, who he believes killed Myrtle, and then kills himself. Myrtle on the other hand is corrupted by the need for wealth. She is never able to love George, solely because he is low class, and poor. Thomas C Foster explains Myrtles corrupt reasoning, “She is coarse and unrealistic, not understanding how Tom is using her in the relationship and truly believing that he will leave Daisy for her” (Foster 140). Myrtle is blinded by the opportunity for a life of wealth and high class living, that she fails to appreciate her loving husband, and instead is delusional that Tom loves

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1019 Words | 5 Pages

The American Dream is a concept that is embedded into the fabric of American society. The American Dream promises prosperity, social mobility and encourages the pursuit of happiness for all Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, calls the idea of the American Dream into question through Gatsby Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson. The Great Gatsby demonstrates that the American Dream is unachievable, as both Gatsby Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson attempt to achieve it, but due to being impoverished, failing to find true love, and their sudden untimely deaths, it is unreachable, despite their social status.

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789 Words | 4 Pages

After eleven years of an unhappy marriage Myrtle sees her affair with Tom as an escape from the awful like she is living in. The fact that she knows so little about the upper class men and the poor judgement of her character makes her an easy target for Tom to take advantage of her. Although she finally buys everything that she desired for, she never could have Tom’s heart all to herself. Tom would rather not leave Daisy because their marriage represents a larger meaning than only love it almost a symbol that show their social status. " Daisy!

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1075 Words | 5 Pages

This ultimately shows that she is not satisfied with what the men in her life have to offer. She found love with Wilson, but it wasn’t enough. Then, she used Tom for money, but she eventually wanted more from him. Myrtle's sister, Catherine, goes on to explain how neither Tom nor Myrtle can stand the person they're married to. Catherine says, “If I was

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669 Words | 3 Pages

The author also symbolizes this in the book itself as Myrtle's desire for Tom resulted in her literal demise. Myrtle crosses the street trying to talk to Tom, after breaking things off with George. Myrtle's intentions are clear as she has already wanted to marry Tom. This was Myrtle's attempt to try and sway Tom into being with her. Tom is the pick because he's wealthy and has a more confident personality.

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2003 Words | 9 Pages

When Tom Buchanan has an affair with Myrtle, he leads her astray for her to believe that he loves her, even though he does not, resulting in her death. When Daisy does not show up to Gatsby’s funeral, she proves to her cousin that she is nothing but childish. Based on the outcomes of the careless actions of these

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1558 Words | 7 Pages

The American dream states that any individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, and/or religion simply by working hard. The 1920’s were a time of corruption and demise of moral values in society. The first World War had passed, and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as advanced technology and innovative inventions. The novel The Great Gatsby exploits the theme of the American Dream as it takes place in a corrupt period in history. Although the American Dream seemed more attainable than ever in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby demonstrates how materialism and the demise of moral values in society leads to the corruption and impossibility of the American Dream.

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720 Words | 3 Pages

Finally, these women proved to be fairly similar in their particular role in life to achieve happiness. Myrtle desired to live the same life that Daisy did: she wanted a life full of money. Myrtle lived her dreams in the small apartment that Tom kept for them in New York. When Myrtle changed her dresses, at the same time she was also changing her ‘fake’ characters. In some way, she achieved her goal, she ‘reached her dream’ for an afternoon, a better lifestyle, a life like Daisy 's. There was a big difference between Daisy and Myrtle but one thing was common, their unhappiness.

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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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