The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

On the other hand Tom’s passion, when let loose, has even more of a pernicious effect. His belligerent emotion is quick to take a violent turn, as he slaps and injures his mistress, Myrtle, when she playfully teases him. “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai - Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). This portion of the book shows the reader that wild enthusiasm isn’t always a good thing. That these characters disregarded anyone else's feelings, and only did what convenient at the time. These characters are great examples of why you need to think of the consequences before you act.

Toms actions and behavior portray him as abusive and unloyal. Tom lives a life that makes him known as unloyal. It was no secret that he had a mistress. “ The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known (Fitzgerald, 24). Tom having a mistress shows that he is unloyal. The quote shows that he is known for being a cheater. The way Tom acts also shows him to be abusive

He likes Daisy not for true love but rather for a possession-type relationship. He cheats on her and is proud of it. When with Daisy, he rarely acts romantic because he is always preoccupied with his greed. He doesn't strive for her love because he knows his wealth will keep her with him. He has a very realistic approach on life. He sees things as they are. This allows Tom to stay happy and rarely be disappointed.

Tom’s greed for sex life is also shown when he cheated with Myrtle but still desired to have Daisy. Tom states, “And what is more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off in a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart, I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 251). This shows that Tom’s greed is so high that he has brainwashed himself into thinking that he is justified in what is going on. His inheritance from generations above puts him in old money meaning he never learned how to work for his own.

“University, report that frequent liars tend to be manipulative and Machiavellian, not to mention overly concerned with the impression they make on others” (Source K). The quote describes an aspect of Tom’s personality. He is very concerned about his wealth and status we come to find out. It is also made known of his affair with Myrtle and how little he views his indiscretion compared to Daisy’s relationship with Gatsby. “’Exaggerators tend to be more confident and have higher goals for achievement,’ explains Richard Gramzow, a psychologist at the University of Southampton in England and one of the study's coauthors” (Source K). Like the quote says it is inferred from the reading that Tom is a very confident and exaggerant person. Tom is also noted to use his lies and make himself superior over the women in his life, we see this with both Daisy and Myrtle. In his altercation with Myrtle Nick describes the event, “Making a short defiant movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Source A). He also fibs to Myrtle about the reason to which he cannot leave his wife. The lie is told by Catherine saying, “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s Catholic and they don’t believe in divorce” (Source A). The person decieted the most by Tom would be Daisy Buchanan. During dinner with Jordan we overhear an argument over mysterious phone calls at dinner which we

"Sometime toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had the right to mention Daisy's name. 'Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!,' shouted Mrs. Wilson. 'I'll say it when ever I want to! Daisy!

“And what's more, I love Daisy…and in my heart I love her all the time.” This quote shows that Tom felt no shame in what he did and takes advantage of Daisy's love for Tom. Tom relates to people in the real world that don't feel shame after cheating on their spouse. Many people see it as if it is alright to cheat on someone and don't think about the decision they've made.

And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in awhile I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." (Chapter 7, Page 251) Despite this quote of Tom spilling his guts out about Daisy and her year for another man, he still results to relieving his anger by partaking in his own affair, with

Gatsby serves as a major representation of the American Dream in the 1920’s. Through his pursuit of money, he has fell short of his dreams and is left with a feeling of emptiness and defeat rather than a feeling of achievement through rekindling his relationship with Daisy, which was Gatsbys initial hope and dream at the start of the book. Gatsbys dream of being with Daisy has led him down a path of chasing wealth and also getting involved in bootlegging and other illegal

The American dream is an ideology, a vision that’s form varies from individual to individual, based upon one’s own experiences. Although the one thing that remains constant in every single definition is that this ideology, just as the name states, is only a dream. It is meant to merely drive people to unlock their hidden potential and become their best self, for the sole purpose of living one’s out one’s own definition of success. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is Jay Gatsby’s inspiration and his opportunity, however, as the book progresses it becomes more evident that not all people share the same opportunity.

This quote explains how easily influence Daisy was by money and material items. Furthermore in the novel the reader finds out, through Jordan’s story, Tom has a history of cheating from their honeymoon upon their current present, “The girl who was with him got into the papers too because her arm was broken-she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel.” (Fitzgerald, 82). The fact that Daisy knew of her husband accounts and did not do anything downgrades her as a woman, who during that time could have left him. After five years not seeing one another, Daisy is reunited with Gatsby.

In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald g uses characters as a way to display how one's personality and motivations are portrayed as illusions but mistaken for a reality. The characters in the novel are all on the pursuit to happiness and use copious ways of attempting to achieve that. Throughout the novel, Tom Buchanan and his wife Daisy, portray to have a beautiful relationship and life. Everyone in the town aspire to have all that wealth they obtain, while making others believe they are able to maintain it.

Tom takes advantage of this situation and manipulates Daisy to completely depend on him. Daisy has spent her whole life being used to someone telling her what to do, and her relationship with Tom is no different. Even right after they got married, “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstract expression until she saw him coming in the door” (77). Daisy relies solely on Tom and is “uneasy” without him around. Her dependence on Tom reflects not only his hyper masculinity, but how little he cares about Daisy. Despite this, he knows Daisy will never leave him, and pushes their marriage to the brink by having multiple affairs.

In the Great Gatsby, Tom and Gatsby are more alike than they appear to be. However, they likewise have contrasts. As the story progresses, the readers learn more about the two characters and discover that in contrast to Tom’s shallow and arrogant personality, Gatsby is more pleasant and has very good qualities. One of the similarity is that Tom and Gatsby are both very wealthy but Gatsby was engaged in criminal activity to earn his fortune. The major similarity between the two would be that both of them yearn for daisy but neither of them truly love her.

The obvious of course is that they are both in love with a beautiful woman named Daisy. Even though they have similar interests i think that they are still very different from each other for instance their money. Gatsby is rich but Tom is wealthy, this was symbolised