Who Is Responsible For Gatsby's Downfall

The American Dream was the freedom and opportunity to succeed and make a better life for yourself. In the words of the Declaration of Independence, ''Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' Though The American Dream was once an honourable goal, the wicked deeds people use it for has made it a literal dream. In the words of writer, actor, comedian, and social critic George Carlin “That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, many characters contribute to the fall of Gatsby, including Gatsby himself. However, the main suspects are Tom and Daisy. Though George is responsible for the action leading to murder, Tom and Daisy are the real murderers

In the end, Tom and Daisy are both careless people that make mistakes and then blame the outcome on others or fall back on their riches to save them.

Many of the actions and decisions Daisy makes contributes to the fall of Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan is the typical girl a man would want to be with in the 1920’s. She has the attitude, the riches, the looks, and the perfect husband too top it off. Sadly, underneath she is a shallow and conceited person, that destroys Gatsby’s dream for the future. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby to come back from the war. However when he did not come directly home from the war, she got tired of waiting, and moved on with her life. She married Tom and had a little girl, Pammy. But when he returned, she tried to get back with him, she ‘trailed him along’. This causes a lot of conflict between Tom and Gatsby, since Daisy would not leave Tom for Gatsby. A quote from Bloom's major

Tom is the opposite of his wife. he was a tall hulking man with a deranged demeanour. He was all brawn and no brain, though he desperately tried to be both. He also loved to be in control and due to that no one really liked him. So when Gatsby came along, and Daisy expressed her love for him, Tom was not too pleased. He blames Gatsby for the loss of both his lovers, in a short time. He could only save one of his beloved women. It later became clear to him who he should save when he said, “Self-control!/ I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out …. Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.” (130) After their argument Tom got confirmation of the affair between Daisy and Gatsby. In the quote he compares the association of old money with new money, of the east coming together with the west, to the connection between Daisy and Gatsby, to that of intermarriage between blacks and whites. He displays his disapproval of Daisy being in love with Gatsby (which is ironic, as his own lover has no money). Ultimately, Tom is extremely grateful that he was friends with George, as George comes to him first, after Myrtle’s