ipl-logo

What Is The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

660 Words3 Pages

The Great Gatsby is a novel that follows a cast of characters living in the town of West Egg. The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in the 1925s. The setting of the story was taken place in the 1920s. The life style then was completely different then to the current day. The group of people that the story is showing us is about, how they are all trying to reach a goal. This goal is the American Dream. The story shows how each charter desperately tries to follow this dream and what they are willing to do to achieve this dream. The american dream was the goal that everyone wanted to achieve back in the 1920s. The dream is simple, to work ones way up from whatever class ones in to the highest class. This means socially …show more content…

Tom would invest in their business and pay Myrtle for being his mistress. Myrtle was not in the upper circle with the rich people instead she was an average poor American women. Myrtle was married to her husband named George. George had no idea about the affair that was going on with Myrtle and Tom. George only thought Tom was investing in their business. Myrtle so desperately wanted to be part of the upper circle, she thought by selling herself to Tom, she would be able to achieve her goal. Myrtle was in love with the rich lifestyle. Even though she was married to George, she loved the idea of being rich more. “The only crazy I was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (Fitzgerald 35). Myrtle fully regrets marrying George. She has no feeling towards George. Being with Tom is about escaping from her poor life with George. It was a way for Myrtle to get and a taste of the american dream world. There was no other way for Myrtle to have access to this high class circle. “He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in,” (Fitzgerald 35). When Myrtle found out that George borrowed someones suit for the wedding she was disappointed and displease. With her reaction of George borrowing a suit shows how Myrtle is

Show More
Related

Myrtle Wilson: Looking For Superiority

162 Words | 1 Pages

Myrtle Wilson is looking for superiority. To begin, Myrtle is described as a “woman in the middle thirties and faintly stout,but she carried her flesh sensuously as some women can.” By reading this quote one can tell that Myrtle is an aggressively attractive woman. She 's the wife of George Wilson, who is a lower-middle class man. In order for Myrtle to achieve superiority, she needs to attract Tom as he’s the gateway to her superiority and gaining of socioeconomic status.

Read More

How Does Jordan Baker Criticize In The Great Gatsby

1472 Words | 6 Pages

George Wilson is Myrtle’s ideal husband in that he is oblivious to her affairs and focused on his garage business. His unawareness allows Myrtle to take advantage of him, and escape reality through her affair with Tom Buchanan. When Tom visits the Wilson home, both Myrtle and him deceive George into believing Tom’s intentions include business inquiries. Nick describes Myrtle to be “walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” as she tells George to “‘get some chairs … so somebody can sit down”’ (26).

Read More

How Does Myrtle Use Love In The Great Gatsby

1498 Words | 6 Pages

During chapter 2, when Nick arrives at Myrtle and Tom’s apartment, Myrtle discusses about her regrets about marrying George and says “I knew I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it”(Fitzgerald 35). It really shows where Myrtle’s heart is for George. She just looks for money in man. It’s ironic though, while she uses her love to deceive George, her love is also deceiving her because Tom claims that “Daisy catholic and don’t believe in a divorce”(Fitzgerald 33).

Read More

How Does Myrtle Use Money In The Great Gatsby

1682 Words | 7 Pages

Myrtle chooses who she can love by considering the factor of whom could give her the most comfortable life, which she decides is no longer her husband George. At the party that Tom and his mistress Myrtle host, Myrtle and her friend Catherine discuss the history of Myrtle and her husband, “‘The only crazy I was was when I married him…I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me [Myrtle] about it…’” (Fitzgerald 35). Myrtle is offended and embarrassed that the man she wanted to marry had to borrow somebody else’s clothes for their wedding day, it felt as if she would not be provided for as well as she assumed.

Read More

Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby

1920 Words | 8 Pages

Myrtle downright ignores her own husband, “walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” and approaching Tom with a smile on her face (Fitzgerald 25-26). Though Myrtle and her husband have been married for a long time, Myrtle never got the money and status she wanted. As soon as she met Tom, all she could see was the money that surrounded him. In fact, she even changed her clothes around Tom, “attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room” (Fitzgerald 30). Myrtle often tries to come off richer than she is, proven by her various outfit changes in a small party where she wants to “prove herself a woman of Daisy's status through a melange of color, fashion, and commodities” (Goldsmith).

Read More

The Great Gatsby Marxist Lens Essay

959 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Independence Of Women In The Great Gatsby

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

Read More

Socioeconomic Status And Power In The Great Gatsby Essay

792 Words | 4 Pages

While talking about her relationship with her husband, Myrtle says, “The only crazy I was when I married [Wilson]” (Fitzgerald 35). Though Myrtle is talking about her husband, Wilson, her comment also reveals an important dynamic of the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. Myrtle reveals that she regrets marrying her husband because he had little money. This regret shows itself through the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. Tom, a wealthier man, holds a greater status and power than Wilson, a poorer man.

Read More

Death In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

835 Words | 4 Pages

Myrtle is married to George Wilson but is unfaithful in her marriage and has an affair with Tom Buchanan. She believes she is not truly happy in her marriage with George, which causes her to need an affair. “A moment later, she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting — before he could move from his door, the business was over” (Fitzgerald 137).

Read More

What Are The Female Characters In The Great Gatsby

1063 Words | 5 Pages

’”(17). Myrtle is not attractive and regrets her decision to marry Wilson because she finds out that he is really of a lower class. Her affair with Tom is a chance for her to live like she was in the wealthy world and become obsessed with materialistic

Read More

The Great Gatsby Research Paper

1075 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

Love And Desire In The Great Gatsby

1890 Words | 8 Pages

Myrtle was a “gold-digger”, but she also believed that he would genuinely love her and pick her over Daisy, even though Tom gave no indication of doing so. Like Daisy, breathed out wealth, Myrtle had breathed out vitality and sensuality, hoping for Tom to chose her as his love and for him to give her riches and luxury. As for Daisy, much like Myrtle, was also chasing both money and love, at different points in her life. Daisy, initially wanted love, and she displayed that, by first waiting for Gatsby and then once again when she was newly married with Tom. Over time, like with Myrtle, this dream of love evolved to of riches further on in her life.

Read More

Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby

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.

Read More

Money And Power In The Great Gatsby Analysis

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.

Read More

Summary Of Isabel Allende's The House Of Spirits

380 Words | 2 Pages

The book “The House of Spirits”, by Isabel Allende, is the story of the Trueba family and the chaos happening during the story. The patriarch was Esteban Trueba is narrating the story from his wife’s point of view, from the journals she kept of everything around her before her death. Esteban's wife was named Clara, she had special abilities that let her predict the future and communicate with spirits, she is quiet and caring and is the only one who calms her husband down. Esteban is a hot headed man who runs for senator and has specific paths for his family, which they do not follow. The trueba children are Blanca, Nicolas, and Jaime they all deceive their father by not following his views and opinions.

Read More

More about What Is The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

Related Topics

Open Document