Draft 1 - Gatsby

The Great Gatsby depicts the theme of the American dream perfectly because the characters have have the perfect life, have many oppurtunities for things, and are wealthy.

• In The Great Gatsby, they make it seem that their lives are perfect, on the exterior to everyone else. But in reality they're many relationships that are troubled and affairs. Tom was having an affair with Myrtle that everyone knew about, but no one said anything about it because they didn't want to start an arguement and show others their problems. "She was only extemporizing but a stirring warmth flowed from her as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words." (Fitzgerald, 19)


• All of the main characters in the book were wealthy. Tom, Daisy and Nick had old wealth from their family names and Gatsby had new wealth. Gatsby used his wealth to impress Daisy so he could get her back. Tom and Daisy are horrible people and when things go bad or not the way they want to go, they fall back on their money and take a trip or move, just to get away. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." (Fitzgerald, 183).


• Living the American dream means that one has many oppurtunties for different things and achieving one's goals. Gatsby was a man that lived by strict rules, and at the end his father said that he was gonna be successful. "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something." (Fitzgerald, 182). Gatsby's first dream was to be successful and make lots of money but all that changed when he met Daisy, then all he wanted was to have her, which was his downfall and the reason why he lost both his success and Daisy.

• Gatsby threw his chances of happiness away when he starting lying to his friends in order to take Daisy back from Tom. Because he tried so hard to keep her in his life, he made the mistake of taking the blame for her and that was the reason Wilson went for him, and shot him. If Gatsby would have been more truthful and would let go of the past, he would have had a much more successful life and he wouldn't have been murdered like he was.