Blog #25: The Great Gatsby!

The American Dream

America has always been valued as the land of opportunities; wealth and prosperity with the virtuous idea that the hard working is rewarded. Philosopher James Adams states "The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” However, during the 1920’s the upper class started to interpret the “American Dream” incorrectly, causing people to become obsessed with money and materialism. The “American Dream”, become the pursuit of material prosperity; were happiness determined where you live and material “wealth” represented love. People didn’t work any more to become successful but to get fancier cars, bigger homes, and live a luxuries life. The attractive exterior filled them inside with moral corruption. The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald is a strong example criticizing the corruption of the “American Dream”. Myrtle Wilson is desperately looking for away to improve her life and have better “opportunities,” Daisy Buchanan is in love with money, and material luxury “wealth”. Jay Gatsby dedicated his life for the “pursuit of happiness”. With the economical growth, the immoral society of the twenties ultimately brought corruption to the American Dream of achieving prosperity.

Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan's secret lover, represents the desperate immoral values of women in the city of ashes. The city of ashes is described by the narrator Nick Caraway as "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air" On the top of her house, there is a old billboard with the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg who represents God, staring down at the moral decay of the 1920’s. Her American dream is to leave the ghetto and live in a better place. Unfortunately for her, she thinks Tom is her opportunity to escape poverty. Tom is a racist, sexist that treats her, with no respect, the same way she values her self. Even though Tom treats like nothing, abuses her, breaking her nose, she prefers him then her husband who can’t give her anything else but his love. “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman...I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe… He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out...I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried...all afternoon.” Tom gave her hope to have a better life, but also caused her death when she ran to a car thinking it was his. America didn’t give her the equal opportunity everyone should be given but also she was not looking for a normal life but one filled with luxuries.

Daisy Buchanan, is another victim of the materialist world, she perfectly fits the stereotype of a rich girl during that time, carless, flirtatious, and pushed around. Daisy is obsessed with her self and material wealth she doesn’t really care about anyone if it doesn’t involve her. Even to her own infant daughter, she never showed any affection or real care. “All right...I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” She said this to Nick the first time her daughter was introduced. Daisy was not so much as a fool, she was just a corrupted product of the rich society she was born to, and she couldn’t value intelligence in women “I KNOW. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything…Sophisticated - God, I'm sophisticated.” Her American dream was over wealth and prosperity. She was confused and felt empty inside she couldn’t understand what was missing in her perfect life. When she had the opportunity of being free to decide what she wanted in life she acted like a little girl. With no confidence and strength to say what she really wanted like a stupid lamb thinking she is in love with a masochistic lion. She chooses Tom. Gatsby was there to give her money, love and care; but the words love and care were new in her materialist vocabulary. She never really said I love Gatsby or anyone. “It makes me sad because I've never seen such - such beautiful shirts before.” Daisy said this in her first time when she visit Gatsby house. Tom did make her feel obligated to show affection because he did either. With the death of Gatsby and Myrtle Nick realized that “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made….” Her American dream was corrupted the day she was born. Her artificial wealthy society made her feel empty in side and she taught that what made her feel better was popularity and more money.

At the bottom of the social ladder, Gatsby with one dream in mind becomes incredibly wealthy. Nick describes him as a “rowing a boat against the current” that was what made him The Great Gatsby. Gatsby became corrupted because his main goal was to have Daisy who represented money. He completely leaves his passed and starts a new life. In short years he makes a fortune of bootlegging, because it was the only thing that society was offering him to improve his life. Gatsby was different from other characters because he worked hard to get were he was at. He was also the only one that realized that the American Dream is only a dream “Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock....his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him." At the end of the book Gatsby feels betrayed and used; he spended all his life working for an unreachable dream. Before he died Nick shouted, “They’re a rotten crowed…you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” Gatsby made many illegal things, but because he stayed true to his emotions, not like the rest of the rotten crowed Nick taught he was great. His dream didn’t come true even though he worked really hard to get it.

In conclusions The Great Gatsby, described the 1920’s as an era of decayed moral values and strongly criticizes the corruption of the American Dream It’s portrayed in many character Myrtle wanted a better life and opportunities, Daisy wanted more wealth and Gatsby was looking for the pursuit of happiness. None of them where happy with what they had, F. Scott made their dreams look so close but they were unrealistic. The American dream is cover by the words opportunities; wealth and prosperity making people feel that they need that dream. But the truth is that The American Dream is based on material consumption "the more you have the more you are worth" but in the way to this "success" it is really easy to loss your moral values.