Corrupting the American Dream in The Great Gatsby” by F....

In the novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby† by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author establishes materialism and wealth as a corruption to the American dream. The American dream embodies the idea of self-sufficient, honest and intelligent individual with a happy successful life. It is also the idea of the pursuit of happiness but Daisy Buchanan a wealthy aristocrat goes after the empty pursuit of pleasure, portraying her character as a disillusionment of the American dream and how much it lost its good values. The wealthy are blinded by all their money, such as the Buchanan’s who forget the real idea of the American dream leading them to having no morals or values. The money gives them the ability to walk all over others, careless of whom they hurt and†¦show more content†¦(145) Through this passage the author implies that Daisy is completely careless of what had occurred, establishing Daisy as a shallow and self-centered individual with no empathy for others. Also later towards the end of the novel, before Gatsby dies he finally sees Daisy for who she really is, He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is. (161) On the surface, Daisy maintained this illusion of innocence and honesty, however her behavior is corrupt and selfish. Her wealth gave her ability to walk all over others; she used others like objects until she no longer needed them. After Gatsby’s death she hadn’t even â€Å"sent a message or a flower† (174) she didn’t even pay her respects and immediately retreated back in her money and life with Tom. She did not value Gatsby, In Nick’s eyes she smashed up other peoples lives and left the destruction behind for someone else to fix completely careless of the consequences. The shallow people living in the East Egg such as Daisy represent corruption of American dream through materialism and wealth power. 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