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Addison Menger
AP Language and Composition
Mrs . Weathersbee
9 February 2015
Corruption of the American Dream
Based in the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the corruption of
the American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic
or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. By having money,
a car, a big house, nice clothes and a happy family symbolizes the American Dream ( The
Pursuit of the American Dream ) . The American Dream had become more of a materialistic
concept than an idealistic one. People wanted a big house, a nice car, and expensive clothes
rather than an enjoyable life with a happy family. With this mistaken view of the American
Dream, the characters in The Great Gatsby experienced the corrupt American Dream. Jay
Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson are materialistic and therefore became someone
theyre not.
The American Dream arose during the creation of America. During the Manifest Destiny,
people in the east traveled to the west because of the promises in the New World, the original
American Dream. As seen in The Great Gatsby people move from the west to the east for
materialistic reasons, or rather the corrupt American Dream. America was divided into the West
Egg and the East Egg in Fitzgeralds novel the West Egg being the poorer people and the East
Egg being the more wealthy. ... the West is usually associated with traditional values like raising
a family and providing for them Everything concerning the lives of the people living in East
Egg is connected with money and material possessions, the purpose of which is to ensure the

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easiness of their lives ( The American Dream in the Great Gatsby ). There was movement from
the West Egg to the East Egg because the east was portrayed as the better way of living. The
narrator, Nick Carraway, is a prime example of someone moving from West Egg to East Egg for
a better life, or what he was convinced was a better life. The people in his life there were
influenced by the corrupt American Dream his neighbor, Jay Gatsby and his cousin, Daisy
Buchanan.
Jay Gatsby was lured into the corrupt American Dream he thought the only way to be
happy was to have money and nice things . Gatsby grew up on a farm in North Dakota in a low
income family. Gatsby first tried to realize the American Dream after he met Daisy Fay. He was
attracted to her wealth and beauty. She, however, was not swept away by him because of his
social class standing and small financial income. After returning from war, Gatsby saw his
opportunity to obtain wealth by bootlegging to further capture Daisys attention, who was now
married. Gatsby used his bootlegging money to buy a house across the bay from Daisy and her
husband, Tom. He threw extravagant parties in hopes Daisy would notice him and then fall in
love with him. Gatsby didnt have those parties for his entertainment and for socializing, but
solely for Daisy. Gatsby truly believed that he can buy Daisys love with wealth ( Rise and
Fall of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby ) . He would not be happy until Daisy left her
husband for him. Although many people attended Gatsbys parties, they too only used them for
attention. People in this time period saw accomplishing the American Dream as being considered
in the wealthy class.
The corruption of Gatsbys dream came when Daisy didnt leave her husband for him.
The dream backfired when Gatsby tried to take blame for Daisy hitting and killing Myrtle with a
car. Gatsby wanted to protect Daisy from any consequences of this murder. George Wilson,

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Myrtles husband, therefore, murdered Gatsby for killing his wife. Gatsby was so focused on
protecting Daisy to secure her love for him, he did whatever it took even if that meant putting his
own life in danger. Gatsby truly loved Daisy which is why he covered for her, accepting blame
for the hit and run accident, resulting in Myrtles death.
Leading up to this incident, Myrtle Wilson tried to achieve the corrupt American Dream
as well. She wanted a wealthy husband. When Myrtle married George, she quickly became
unhappy after she found out George couldnt even afford a suit for the wedding. She wanted a
man who could pay for his own things, especially on their special day. She was already falling
into the materialistic world. It didnt matter if George loved Myrtle and cared for her, she wanted
material things, not feelings out of their relationship. With this materialistic mindset, Myrtle
found herself being attracted to Tom Buchanan. He was wealthy and had a better social status
than George. This led to an affair, which put both Myrtles and Toms marriages at risk. Myrtle
saw an opportunity to improve her social status and took it. She was not concerned with what
George or Daisy would think of this affair. She wanted the corrupt American Dream and focused
on being in the highest social class and obtaining expensive things.
It is believed that Myrtle was run over by Daisy because of the affair she had with
Daisys husband. This goes to show that pursuing the materialistic American Dream can be
disastrous. Daisy had every right to dislike Myrtle, for she was not part of hers or Toms high
social class and she was the woman Tom was cheating on her with. Myrtle only wanted to be
considered an elite but was killed in trying to achieve that status. No dream, especially one that
revolves around being materialistic is worth the possibility of destruction. Myrtles affair with
Tom was not out of love, but out of becoming an elite.

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Where one stands in the social classes and the amount of money one has seems to be how
they classify themselves and others. Tom and Daisy are seen to be successful because they are
upper class with money and nice things. Gatsby isnt seen as being successful because hes
missing one part to his American Dream: Daisy. His main purpose to win her over is to show that
he is capable of having a beautiful, wealthy woman.
Contrary to the classifications created by the East Egg, Nick is not drawn into it. He
originated from the West Egg, so those classifications arent overlooked. He still represents the
old, traditional values which lost all of their meaning in the age when the size of ones bank
account and the number of cars a person owned became the principal things according to which
success in life was measured ( The American Dream in the Great Gatsby ) . Nick pursued the
original American Dream as opposed to his cousin Daisy.
Daisy may have loved Jay Gatsby when they first met, 5 years prior to the novel if she
hadnt been aware of where he came from. She was not attracted to him because of his
background and fell for a man more like her, a man of a higher class and more wealth. Gatsby
was rejected for Tom Buchanan. Although Tom had all the materialistic aspects of a corrupt
American Dream husband, he does not treat Daisy as he should. Tom betrays Daisy and cheats
on her with Myrtle Wilson. He went through their marriage not really caring about Daisy. Daisy
fell for Tom because of what he had, not for who he was. Her ideal American Dream was
corrupt she was only in the marriage because she was materialistic. With Gatsby, Daisy could
have had love and money, but since her corrupt dream pushed her towards someone more elite,
her heart was broken.
Whether pursuing the materialistic, corrupt American Dream through wealth or social
status, failure was most likely going to be the result. Fitzgerald proves that " ... the failure of the

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American Dream is inevitable in a sense that nothing can be as perfect as one could imagine"
( Rise and Fall of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby ) . Everyone can have unrealistic
dreams, but when trying to successfully achieve them, unimaginable things can happen. The
American Dream had a negative connotation in The Great Gatsby . The characters focused on the
popularity and the big houses and the nice cars. They didnt pursue a healthy marriage with a
healthy family and a place to live. Gatsby, Daisy, and Myrtle experienced this corrupt dream.
Gatsby spent 5 years of his life chasing after Daisy, buying a big house and throwing parties to
show he was wealthy. He loved Daisy and wanted her to leave Tom for him. His dream was
ended when Gatsby was murdered by George Wilson for murdering his wife, although it was
Daisy who killed Myrtle. Gatsby wanted what he couldnt have. Daisy married Tom for money
and what she thought was love. Tom didnt care or love Daisy enough, because he had an affair.
Daisy thought she was achieving the American Dream by marrying someone as high in his social
status as Tom, but was faced with reality when she found herself in an unhappy marriage. Myrtle
sought the corrupt American Dream and had an affair with a married man, Tom. She put her
marriage at risk because George was not wealthy. She wanted a man who was wealthy because
thats what the American Dream was about in the 1920s.
Although money, mansions, and nice cars can make one happy, that feeling was only
temporary. Material things do not create happiness, its the feelings and relationships with others
that do. The American Dream took a turn when it became more of who could be the richest or
who could throw the biggest party rather than who could have a healthy, self sufficient family
with a safe and comfortable home. Pursuing the corrupt American Dream was the popular thing
to do and therefore was wanted by everyone. The East Egg based success on the amount of
wealth, while the West Egg based it off of being able to provide for your family.

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Works Cited
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