Murdering the Dreamer

In my paper I will be comparing the spirits and aspirations of Myrtle and Gatsby and discussing how they epitomize the corruption of the American Dream. Fitzgerald strategically killed off the three characters that thirsted for a life outside the realm of possibility and fantasized about better days. This proves that societal class systems and raw, unrestricted dreaming do not fall hand in hand. He or she who desires to become someone they are not, live a life they do not have, will wilt and die out. American society was manipulated by the solidification of institutions and old wealth. Not even the acquisition of new money granted one a glorified future: it was all about status. Those who belonged to the “secret society” of which Tom and Daisy were such prominent members were guaranteed a glossy, important life. Gatsby’s aspirations were so large that he manufactured a luxurious existence for himself, but it all disintegrated.
The loss of the American dream led to the falseness of relationships. People became attracted to the “advertisement of the man,” but never dissected the story of the man himself. Of all the hundreds that flocked to Gatsby’s parties over the summer, only a select handful knew the real reason why he threw them and the wounded heart bleeding underneath his costly clothes. Daisy was won over by the mystery and lure of Gatsby’s new life as a wealthy man, not by a true, simple proclamation of love.
In the American 1920s, money coated everything. If you didn’t build a life around it, you weren’t a survivor. The three characters that died were the ones that were motivated by genuine love, by wholesome dreams. There lives hadn’t been gilded from the start. Dreaming became a hazard, a life risk. The more Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson attempted to grasp their dreams, the closer they inched to a tragic demise. Once they felt their love and desire within a fingers reach, they died. The danger lied in the fact that they were stepping on the toes of the wealthy and prosperous. Anything threatening a societal member’s place meant redemption. Gatsby and Myrtle could never have gotten away with overthrowing Tom and Daisy’s rank, burning the thrones they sat on.