The Role Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

The historical American Dream “believes in the goodness of nature and man” (The True Heir of the AD pg 97). As time has progressed, the American Dream has evolved into the image of “business success” (Willy Loman and the American Dream pg 133). The American Dream attributes materialism to one’s worth and success, but in reality the American Dream is only a clouded illusion which can drive one into despair and eventually death. Jay Gatsby, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, along with Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, strive to attain the unrealistic fantasies of materialistic wealth and success, in order to feel a sense of self-actualization. Because these men have created such high expectations for what

they wish to achieve in their lives, the gradual intensifying suffering not only causes psychological issues but also heartache due to their defeat of what they believe the American Dream to be.
The interpretation of the American Dream, and the expectations it entails, is not only formed by one self, but from other cultural influences and assumptions. Certain aspects of Gatsby’s early life contribute to his outlook on success. Following the death of Gatsby, the reader learns from his father, Henry Gatz, that as a child Gatsby had a journal with a list of self improvements that made him “bound to get ahead” later on in his life (Fitzgerald 182). Nearly every moment of Gatsby’s day was planned, proving that from the very beginning Gatsby was very passionate about finding success in his life. As a young, poor adult Gatsby meets a wealthy man, Dan Cody, who introduces Gatsby to the fortunes of his millionaire lifestyle. From this point on, Gatsby believes in order to be successful, one must have money. Gatsby hangs a portrait of Cody in his bedroom, signifying how important Cody is to Gatsby, but also proving to be one of the deepest rooted reasonings for Gatsby’s obsession with living such a lavish lifestyle (106). The way Gatsby grows up and the people he meets along the way not only impacts his views on the accomplishment of the American Dream, but also creates the pressure he feels to exceed the normal views of how one should live their life.
The dedication, hopeful, money seeking characteristics Gatsby acquires when he grows up appear within his determination when he is striving to win the heart of the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby meets Daisy in Louisville when he is a young, poor adult, striving for success. He soon falls in love with her and as Gatsby kisses Daisy for the first time, “she [blossoms] like a flower” and the “incarnation [is] complete” (117). This moment is the climax in Gatsby’s young adulthood. The kiss suggests a spiritual shift from that of a dream, to a reality. Gatsby strives to be wealthy, and with the help of Daisy and her social connections, he can succeed amongst the high class members of society. Daisy is the key to Gatsby’s success, making the vision of his future possible. From the beginning of Gatsby’s life he creates himself into what he believes his father would want in a son, what Dan Cody would want in a man, and Daisy would want in a husband.
Like Gatsby, Willy is exposed to certain instances in his young life that contribute to his delusional possibilities of the American Dream.

The underlying cause of Willy’s conflict goes back to the “passion for success” and “the [desire] to be loved and understood” (An Introduction to Death of A Salesman pg 97). Willy relies on his older brother Ben to be a role model in place of the lack of instruction from his estranged father. Ben represents material success which Willy is envious of. Willy has frequent flashbacks of his brother Ben, who is now deceased, which are a constant reminder that Willy is not as financially accomplished as Ben. Willy encourages his sons to listen to their uncle in one of his flashbacks when Ben explains how he “walked into the jungle at seventeen” and then “walked out at twenty-one” and “by God [he] was rich” (DOS Act 1). Willy believes that Ben’s success gives a good name to his family’s value. It also shows how Willy is envious of Ben’s success and wants nothing more than to obtain the same worth. Ben’s success is proof of Willy’s desire to become just as prosperous as his brother, which is not likely with the resources he has, making him unlikely to obtain what he envisions as the American Dream. Linda, Willy’s wife, represents the unconditional love that Willy never receives as a child. The sense of caudaling protects Willy from learning the reality of the American Dream, only causing him to further invest in his already delusional vision of

what the ideal of success and happiness is. In order to be loved by his wife, Willy feels he needs to be successful in order to make her happy. Willy becomes so obsessed with materialistic success that he forgets about his own sanity and ends up failing because of it. Many factors influence the universal goal of Americans for both Gatsby and Willy.
Neither Gatsby nor Willy can obtain happiness due to their unattainable expectations of their dreams for success, ultimately leading to the defeat of both characters. Even though Gatsby is a great definition of the American Dream, due to his lavish lifestyle, he fails because the “illusions seem more real than the reality itself” (The True Heir of the AD pg 98). Although being separated because of Gatsby’s participation in World War I, both Gatsby and Daisy promise to find their way back to each other. Gatsby believes even after five years of separation that “[he] is going to [be able to] fix everything [to] the way it was before” as long as he can create a stable lifestyle for Daisy (Gatsby 110?). The only thing Gatsby believes can really make him happy is the expectation he has of Daisy, which she cannot live up to. It is evident Gatsby’s motives are only to recreate the love Daisy and him share years before. To Gatsby, “[Daisy] is the green light” in his life that “signals him into the heart of his ultimate vision” (The True Heir of the American Dream pg 100). The glimpse of the green light from across the water separating the homes of Gatsby and Daisy, five years later, implies there is still hope for the two of them to be together. Gatsby continuously creates high expectations of Daisy which shatter when he finally comes face to face with her. The woman who he always thought he would spend the rest of his life with is now married and a mother. Daisy does not agree to take Gatsby’s hand and live happily ever after with him like he expects, but instead remains with her husband Tom because she does not want to tear apart her family. Gatsby’s obsession of his future with Daisy is only a sense of false hope because of Daisy’s incapability to fulfill Gatsby’s expectations he dreams of. Therefore, when Gatsby creates expectations of the American Dream, he sets up the downfall of his own character.
Willy’s character is defeated by his own expectations of the American Dream based on multiple instances that occur throughout his life.

Willy is “dominated by success” which as expected is “instilled [into] his [own] sons” (An Intro to Death of a Salesman pg 99). Willy’s sons, Happy Loman, who works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store, and Biff Loman, who works as rancher out West, are let downs in Willy’s eyes due to his own definition of success. Willy harps on his boys about being financially stable because he believes it will lead to a happy life as it did for his role model brother, Ben. Willy’s sons’ low levels of success are proof that they are raised from a bad foundation, most likely due to the non existent father figure in Willy’s life. Although Willy expects the most out of his sons, he struggles to uphold his own

expectations.
Willy’s mental state along with the way his wife, Linda, handles his mental state lead to his own defeat. The reader becomes accustomed to Willy’s frequent flashbacks which end up intertwining into his present conversations, causing all sorts of confusion. Although he is never diagnosed with any sort of mental disease, one could assume based on the highs and lows of his personality characteristics, something's very wrong. Even though his wife knows he is suicidal and irrational, she does nothing but try and protect him from the judgement of others along with the judgement he may have towards himself. Linda’s caudaling towards Willy only blankets him from finding out the reality of the American Dream, leading to his suicide because nothing ever satisfies his expectations. Willy’s expectations of the American Dream cause defeat and what he believes to be the solution to his problems, death.
The defeat of the American Dream, based on the expectations both Gatsby and Willy uphold, affect both characters. Because Gatsby sets such high expectations of the American Dream based on his role model, Dan Cody, he is badly hurt when rejected by his true love, Daisy. The success of Willy’s brother, the unsuccess of Willy’s two boys, the firing from his own job, and the protection from reality by his wife, Linda, push Willy to his breaking point. Willy can no longer handle what seems to be the pressure of society but in reality are only his own expectations, leading him to commit suicide. Both Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman form unrealistic expectations of the American Dream, ultimately leading to defeat.