How Is The Great Gatsby Unattainable

In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott. Fitzgerald, he portrays the American Dream by the wealthy throughout the story. The range of characters and their wealth varies throughout. The class changes between different characters can vary from the lower class, Myrtle and George Wilson, to middle class, Nick Carraway, to the wealthy elite. The wealthy, although being split into new and old money, shows signs of the American Dream. The Great Gatsby provokes ideas of the American Dream being attainable due to the wealth and power surge that Gatsby experiences, but ultimately the American Dream is unattainable because of its emphasis of class and wealth over true happiness.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald provokes ideas of

Scott Fitzgerald proves that the American Dream cannot be attained is by showing the difference in lifestyles between characters. George and Myrtle Wilson are two characters who live in The Valley of Ashes who are not nearly wealthy enough to keep company with the Buchanans or Jay Gatsby himself. Every time anyone living in either the West Egg or East Egg, the wealthiest neighborhoods, wants to venture to the city they must pass through The Valley of Ashes. In the center area between both of the eggs sits The Valley of Ashes a town where “ashes grow like wheat” full of smog and “grotesque gardens. (Fitzgerald, 23). Compared to East and West eggs the Valley of Ashes comes nowhere close to the luxury of life the members of the eggs experienced daily. Although George Wilson had not met Gatsby, there was a not very good connection formed after Tom explained that it was Gatsby who hit Myrtle Wilson. As Nick was rushing home after hearing devastating news he spots the aftermath of prior events. Once Nick quickly arrives at Gatsby’s mansion he first viewed “Gatsby toward the house” and as he continued exploring he found “Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass” (Fitzgerald, 162). This visual representation of the events that occurred before Nick arrived shows how even though Gatsby wasn’t the one who hit Myrtle Wilson he had to pay the ultimate price of death. Although Gatsby finally achieved his goal of meeting up with Daisy again after five long years, he had to pay the price for Daisy’s mistake that he specifically tried to