Morgan Heard

Period 3
Mrs. Trebtoske
Author Genre

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tells a story of achieving the American Dream with the
concept of old and new money. Fitzgerald uses the perspective of Nick and the ideals of wealth to prove
that many characters put wealth before their conscience.
Most of the conscience in this story comes from Nick who is our eyes into this story. Kimberly
Hearne states that we are divided by our ambitions and are willing to oppress others to achieve our
individual goals, even though our nation's founding principles seem to suggest that we would--or should-want to do otherwise. This goes with my idea that we are willing to not listen to our conscience to get
what we want out of the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses Nicks insight to criticize the thought of the
American Dream and show how our perceptions of what we think we want is something we will never
have. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is the character that thinks he has achieved the American Dream and
just needs Daisy to complete the American Dream. Old money starts to show its importance when Gatsby
asks Daisy to leave Tom because its known old money is forever and new money is vulnerable and hard
to maintain. Money and following the American Dream can change the way you act and use your
conscience and Fitzgerald criticizes this because the American Dream isnt real. We all think that its
better to be born into wealth and thats what makes Toms personality but a sense of the fundamental
decencies is parceled out unequally at birth(Fitzgerald, 6). Fitzgerald uses Myrtle and Gatsby as people
who want to live the American Dream and live like Tom and Daisy but fail miserably because the
American Dream wasnt meant for people in their situations. Hearne says as one rises another falls

meaning, when while Gatsby rose trying to win over Daisy, Myrtle was killed and when Wilson finally
rose and defended himself, Gatsby was killed.
Fitzgerald puts his beliefs about the American Dream through Nicks perception. In the
beginning, Nick states that his father told him that all the people in this world havent had the advantages
that youve had(Fitzgerald, 1). Nick is a character that has some money but isnt old or new money. I
think he still was respected because he was born into money and went to Harvard with Tom. I lived at
West Egg which was in the middle of the East Egg and the Valley of Ashes and was also where Gatsby
lived. Tom and Daisy may have been born into old money, making them respectable, "they're a rotten
crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "Youre worth the whole damn bunch put together"(Fitzgerald, 162).
After Gatsbys death, Nick thinks the East has been distorted beyond my eyes' power of correction"
(Giles) This book was has a distorted perspective; theres Nicks emotions with the East, West egg and
The Valley of Ashes, Toms ideas of Gatsby and Gatsbys feelings of Daisy.
Toms conscience steered him into a path that people like you and I would find wrong; knowing
he was having an affair, beating Myrtle and persuading Wilson to essentially murder Gatsby. Tom has
always been the cocky, strong and close minded person in this story and always knew he was superior.
Old money changes the way people like Daisy and Tom view whats right and wrong because they had no
objections to having an affair on each other and blaming Gatsby for the murder of Myrtle. Fitzgerald
purposely mirrors incidents like how Tom's adultery with Myrtle Wilson mirrors Daisy's affair
with Gatsby(Giles, Online). Many characters in The Great Gatsby were quick to believe anything Tom
said because he had old money which made him extremely credible, and lives in East Egg with all the
other old money people. Oh, Ill stay in the East, dont you worry. Id be a God Damn fool to live
anywhere else(Fitzgerald, 15). Though he is acquaintances with Wilson and messes around with his
wife, Myrtle, who is from the Valley of Ashes, he constantly degrades and criticizes them Wilson? He
thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. Hes so dumb he doesnt know hes alive(Fitzgerald, 30).

Tom also wasnt afraid to beat on Myrtle, making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose
with his open hand (Fitzgerald, 40). Tom knows that he can treat these people this way because they
wouldnt dare stand up to him because hes superior. What Fitzgerald is trying to say is that living the
American Dream, earning all this money wont make the society look at you any different. New money
doesnt give you the same power or respect like old money can. Either you come into the world with
wealth or trying to achieve the American Dream will make you miserable and will kill you. Daisy that is
keeping them away however it is Tom thats never going to leave Daisy because Myrtle does not go with
the American Dream. Myrtle is not the type of person who could build herself up to get to the American
Dream and Tom knows that. The concepts of building yourself up goes with the saying of kill or be
killed, bring others down or be killed by the American Dream.
People like Tom get away with many things; having a mistress, persuading Wilson to kill Gatsby
and beating Myrtle. Fitzgerald makes this point important because in our society many celebrities get
special treatment and get forgiven for many things that common people would not. We as a society need
to change the way we perceive people and not putting them on a pedestal.

Work Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. N.p.: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1925.
Giles, Paul. "A Good Gatsby." Commonweal. 12 Jul. 2013: 12+. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Hearne, Kimberly. "Fitzgerald's Rendering of a Dream." Explicator (Vol. 68, No. 3). Jul-Sep 2010: 189194. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.