Examples Of Declaration Of Independence In The Great Gatsby

1517 Words4 Pages

The Declaration of Independence states that “all man are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”. In The Great Gatsby you can see what happened during the 1920s. The values have changed, instead of striving for equality, they just want to get as rich as they could get. The American Dream is defined as someone starting in the low economic or social level, and working hard to get on a higher level towards wealth. By having money, prosperity, happiness and a family symbolizes the American dream. This dream also represents that a person, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in life by his or her own work. The Great Gatsby is the pursuit of the …show more content…

For instance, the love and chase for Daisy has taken over his whole life. “She never loved you, do you hear?” he cried. “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me!”(Chapter 7). Gatsby has to live up to the American dream to accomplish what he truly dreams for, which is Daisy. At the same time Gatsby is what some would say the dream represents. Gatsby started low in the social stratification, he soon worked his way up and got his name out by holding extravagant parties that he never participate in. The desire for something sometimes causes people to be someone they are not and this usually does not result in a positive outcome. We as the readers know Gatsby was a young military officer stationed in the South during World War I but it was still unknown how Gatsby really earned his money. Rumors would get passed around that he was a bootlegger, he was a killer. Thus leaving us to believe he was just a mysterious millionaire with shady business connections. Gatsby has thrown himself over the edge ultimately leaving him obsessed with Daisy Buchanan. Daisy seems to only use Gatsby for entertainment, to break the boredom of her life with Tom Buchanan. Towards the end Gatsby took the blame for the accident that killed Myrtle …show more content…

Myrtle is selfish, shallow and greedy. She is willing to degrade herself for the chase of materialistic dream of money and power. Her desire for a lavish life causes her to step outside her marriage with George Wilson because he does not have the financial capabilities to satisfy her shallow needs. Myrtle has an affair with Tom Buchanan because he fulfills that financial aspect she thrives for. Myrtle becomes a bigger fool while seeing Tom because he physically abuses her and Tom knows she won’t leave because she wants to be a part in his social stratification. “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name."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” (Chapter 2). Tom showers Myrtle with lies that he will leave Daisy and marry her but that never happens. Myrtle decision to stay in her affair with Tom harms her marriage with George Wilson, which unfortunately this leads to her tragic death. Due to Myrtle foolishness to accept the loss of her unrealistic dreams, Myrtle puts herself in a life or death situation, where she is struck by a car. Unknown to Myrtle, the driver of the car

Open Document