They both started from the bottom and dreaming of being wealthy. Gatsby and Myrtle were both unsatisfied of their poorness and statuses in society. Their dreams grew stronger as Tom comes into their lives which make them more determined on achieving it. Myrtle tried to achieve her American Dream by having an affair with Tom and Gatsby tried to achieve it by illegal bootlegging business. These were shortcuts they took to reach their goals of being wealthy.
The Great Gatsby – Money, Love and Aspiration "The acquisition of money and love are both part of the same dream, the will to return to the quintessential unity that exists only at birth and at death." (Roger Lewis). To what extent is money, love and aspiration presented as separate in The Great Gatsby? As Gatsby is caught up in his dream that he can achieve everything, both money and love, his high aspirations become shattered as he tries to achieve the impossible. Gatsby dedicates himself to achieving both money and love; he becomes overwhelmed with the desire for money, and is confident to win over the girl of his dreams.
He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. The author argues that the common, and false, perception of the American Dream is that wealth, happiness, and a trouble-free life go hand-in-hand. However, through diction, foreshadowing, and irony, Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth, power, and love. From the very beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald creates the illusion in Gatsby’s mind that wealth automatically generates happiness. When Fitzgerald envisions, “however glorious might be his future… he was at present a penniless young man without a past…” (149).
However the pursuit of the American dream touched some individuals to the extreme, causing them to become hell-bent on achieving their goals no matter what. The industrial boom also instilled jingoistic perception of identity into the hearts of Americans, causing them to view themselves as superior to others. With an incredible ambition along with the perception of superiority, corrupt politics and business were somehow justified all for the sake of succeeding, and thus the American Gangster was born. Not just the literal gangsters such as Al Capone, but anyone who involved themselves with illegal activity in order to profit, such as political machine William “Boss” Tweed. Tweed took advantage of immigrant’s vulnerable survival in the new world by helping them with basic necessities in exchange for harassed political or financial support (The American Pageant).
They formed the opinion that the superior races were hard working individuals that survive and flourish within the society. They were wealthy and had the ability to make intellectually superior decision and had the know-how to distribute wealth wisely. Yet on the opposite, it was believed that the inferior races that could not manage money well, were incapable of making sound business decisions and were in general lacking the social acceptance. They felt that by this reasoning, the inferior races would benefit from the superior race’s
In the 1920’s, one of the most evident factors of the decline of the American Dream is due to materialism. Fitzgerald conveys that this was the time where the original ideas of the American Dream; hope, and discovering was being substitute into a materialistic version. Nevertheless, if you “seen everything, and done everything,” the author suggests materialism can blur the way we think and live our daily life. Fitzgerald presents a major flaw that is seen in all ‘old money;’ viewing people as objects. The ‘old money’ are people who had their wealth for generations and has the higher status than the ‘new money,’ who are people that recently earned their fortune.
One way in which the theme of power is displayed is through wealth, one way in which this is shown is when Claudio asks Don Pedro at the very end of the exposition “how much is she worth?” This suggests that Hero may not be worth the effort of Claudio because wealth was the one thing that made a marriage or a relationship worthwhile because in those times without money, you were powerless and weak. Although the way that Claudio talks about Hero makes it seem that he would settle down regardless of the place that Hero stood in society; this suggests that Claudio has truly fallen in love with Hero and as it is said there is nothing more powerful than true love, this also reinforces the symbolism and idealism of true love and the power that this has over people’s lives causing them to act without regard for others just to get their objective which in this case is Hero. Throughout the Great Gatsby Wealth is displayed as leading to power, one example of this is a few pages into chapter one where Gatsby is explaining about Daisy and her life. ”Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven – a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax.” This suggests that to Tom; Daisy is just an object and can be easily
Jordan Baker- Friend of Daisy and Nick. She had a thing with Nick. She is a professional golfer and compulsive liar.  Meyer Wolfsheim- The shady business partner of Gatsby. Themes: -Reality of the American dream -Often ends in failure -Difficult/impossible to reach them -Questions whether the American dream has a worthy objective; 20th century dream is tied up with money -Should be commensurate with man's capacity to wonder -Collision of reality and illusion/dreams -American class system -The past is inescapable; it can't be recreated -Jazz age -Carelessness -Admirable qualities of Gatsby -Loyalty -Colossal vitality of his dreams -Romantic readiness to the possibilities of life -Extraordinary gift for hope -Seductive power of wealth and security -Money is not a guarantee of happiness Literary Features:
On the outside, The Great Gatsby seems to be a story about a twisted love affair and nothing else. In reality, though, Fitzgerald is subliminally showing the many changes happening during the 1920s socially, and how it affected the idea of the “American Dream.” In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the strives for wealth and status, which defined the American Dream during the roaring 20s, and which continues to be defined as a desire for wealth, success, and status today. The Great Gatsby was written soon after World War II. After World War II, there was a great economic boom which left many people suddenly rich, people referred to as “new money.” There quickly came to be a distinct difference between the “new money” group of people and people who were previously wealthy. What used to be “the pursuit of happiness” turned into a pursuit of money and greed.
“ In the affluent professional school, work is creative activity carried out independently. The students are continually asked to express and apply ideas and concepts”. (Anyon 179) It's against the American principle to belong to a social class. Americans have a really hard time talking about the class system, because they really don't want to admit that the class system exists. The Declaration of Independence asserts that “all men are created equal.” Has that ideal ever been realized in the United States?