Death of a Dream in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay

Gatsby and the Death of a Dream In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald creates the roaring twenties by showing the division of society. The Buchanans live on one side, East Egg, and Jay Gatsby lives on the other side, West Egg. The Buchanans belong to the socialites, yet their lives have no meaning. Gatsby tries to chase the American Dream, yet his idea is tarnished. He throws parties to try and fit in with the socialites. Gatsbys pursuit of the American Dream is doomed because he tries to buy his way into a society that will never accept him. Gatsby gets his idea of how to achieve the American Dream from Benjamin Franklins autobiography (Franklin 332) In Chapter nine, Mr. Wolfshiem shows Nick an old book of†¦show more content†¦Gatsby does not understand the traditions of East Egg society and therefore he does not realize that he cannot impress Daisy simply with shirts. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are a part of East Egg society. East Eggers have inherited their wealth and dwell on the traditions of high class society. They did not work for their money so they do not appreciate it the way West Eggers do. Like the West Eggers, East Eggers have not obtained the American Dream either. Tom is rich and has a beautiful wife and on the outside it looks like he has the perfect life. The only problem is that he cheats on his wife with Myrtle Wilson. Myrtles husband, George, loves her, but she is a money chaser. She says, I thought he was a gentleman . . . but he wasnt fit to lick my shoe . . . he borrowed somebodys best suit to get married in . . . (Fitzgerald 39) She couldnt appreciate the fact that George was working hard to provide for her. She just wanted money and found it in a relationship with a married man. Here Fitzgerald shows the other side of the American Dream. Myrtle has the love but not the money, and Gatsby has the money but not the love . This soap opera could have been worked out if Tom had divorced Daisy and married Myrtle, and then Daisy could marry Gatsby. George would have been left there to die of his guilt, but everything cannot be perfect.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Great Gatsby862 Words   |  4 Pages F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby / Gatsbys Desire for Daisy exploring why Gatsby had such an obsessive desire for Daisy. The writer purports that Gatsby began by pursuing an ideal, not the real woman. In fact, he could not recognize the type of person she had become since they last saw each other. Gatsby lives in a dream world and Daisy is part of that dream. As the novel progresses, however, Gatsbys feelings change. 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