Great Gatsby and American Drea

F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, the Great Gatsby, contains a strong theme involving the American Dream. It reveals in the end, the downfall of those who try to achieve this dream, largely at the hands of those who have already obtained it. For James Gatsby, this dream is to obtain happiness through wealth and power. Happiness rests within the reaquirement of his lost love Daisy, who is now married to a man named Tom Buchanan, living …

…to take his wife and leave for a fresh start. When Wilson learns that it was Gatsby's car which hit his wife, he kills James, followed shortly by himself. This is the ultimate example of how those who have already obtained the American Dream keep those seeking the dream from it. Daisy and Tom, who have both already reached it, directly and indirectly murder Myrtle, Wilson and Gatsby, who are both striving to achieve it.