From my personal perspective, the American dream is like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which means people's life goals vary from each other when they stay at different levels. People came from different families, different societies that make them unique, and the degrees of difficulty in realizing their "American dream" are various too. Moreover, even if people have the same life goal, the same desire, they cannot spend the same effort to achieve their goals because they have different backgrounds and experiences. It could only be equal for everyone to realize their "American dream" if people live in an ideal world where everything happened under a most favorable circumstance; however, the fact is opposite.
In the book "The Great Gatsby," Daisy and Myrtle have the same "American dream" which is to marry a rich man and enjoy life. They both are quite materialistic and self-interested women. In chapter 4, the description of Daisy and Tom's wedding is a good demonstration. "In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago, with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before. He came down with a hundred people in four private cars and hired a whole floor of the Muhlbach Hotel, and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars." In chapter 2, the description of Myrtle, when she saw Tom, can also show her desire to marry a rich man too. "She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye." She does not pay any attention to her husband because he is very poor.
This book clearly shows that American dream cannot be achieved equally as everyone is unique. Daisy can fulfill her American dream because she is old money and she can marry to Tom while Myrtle cannot because she has low social status. When Daisy was young, she loved Gatsby without thinking about the difference in social standing between her and Gatsby. Before her wedding, Daisy received a letter from Gatsby and nearly wanted to escape the marriage. However, she changed her mind at last, which can illustrate two things. Firstly, as old money, Daisy must follow the tradition and gave up who she really loved. Secondly, as a woman, Daisy knows what she wants, an extravagant life with abundant materials. The description of her wedding can show how rich Tom is and the countless wealth and luxury goods Tom can bring to her. She becomes more and more mature when she is getting elder, and she realizes the effect of blood which comes from old money. Daisy can follow the tradition naturally and find her happiness when owning so much. She even knows that her husband is cheating on her, but she does not want to leave him because of the vast amount of money Tom owns and his high social status.
On the contrary, it is impossible for Myrtle to achieve her American dream, although as the mistress of Tom, she has tried her best to learn how to act as old money. For example, "Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment," which shows that her personality and behavior have changed because of the money. She treats her husband like a ghost because he is quite weak and poor, and she is looking forward to being loved by Tom, a wealthy man forever. However, when she said Daisy's name, she was beaten by Tom because she is in low social class and does not have the right to say Daisy's name. The fact that Tom lets her be his mistress is because it is convenient to get rid of a poor person. Thus her American dream will never become true.
According to the video"How economic inequality harms societies" by Richard Wilkinson, it is clear that in the real world people still do not entirely have the equality when they are in different societies. The quality of life, the level of education, the quality of environment all influence people's opportunity to arrive their life goals. Therefore, people should make awareness of the fact that it is still a little unequal in the real world and we should make our effort to make the "American dream" equal for everyone to achieve in the future.
In the book "The Great Gatsby," Daisy and Myrtle have the same "American dream" which is to marry a rich man and enjoy life. They both are quite materialistic and self-interested women. In chapter 4, the description of Daisy and Tom's wedding is a good demonstration. "In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago, with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before. He came down with a hundred people in four private cars and hired a whole floor of the Muhlbach Hotel, and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars." In chapter 2, the description of Myrtle, when she saw Tom, can also show her desire to marry a rich man too. "She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye." She does not pay any attention to her husband because he is very poor.
This book clearly shows that American dream cannot be achieved equally as everyone is unique. Daisy can fulfill her American dream because she is old money and she can marry to Tom while Myrtle cannot because she has low social status. When Daisy was young, she loved Gatsby without thinking about the difference in social standing between her and Gatsby. Before her wedding, Daisy received a letter from Gatsby and nearly wanted to escape the marriage. However, she changed her mind at last, which can illustrate two things. Firstly, as old money, Daisy must follow the tradition and gave up who she really loved. Secondly, as a woman, Daisy knows what she wants, an extravagant life with abundant materials. The description of her wedding can show how rich Tom is and the countless wealth and luxury goods Tom can bring to her. She becomes more and more mature when she is getting elder, and she realizes the effect of blood which comes from old money. Daisy can follow the tradition naturally and find her happiness when owning so much. She even knows that her husband is cheating on her, but she does not want to leave him because of the vast amount of money Tom owns and his high social status.
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| Daisy in the party |
On the contrary, it is impossible for Myrtle to achieve her American dream, although as the mistress of Tom, she has tried her best to learn how to act as old money. For example, "Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment," which shows that her personality and behavior have changed because of the money. She treats her husband like a ghost because he is quite weak and poor, and she is looking forward to being loved by Tom, a wealthy man forever. However, when she said Daisy's name, she was beaten by Tom because she is in low social class and does not have the right to say Daisy's name. The fact that Tom lets her be his mistress is because it is convenient to get rid of a poor person. Thus her American dream will never become true.
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| The scene when Myrtle sees Tom |
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ReplyDeleteHello Grace, this is Mercury.
ReplyDeleteI love the use of Maslow's hierarchy of needs in paragraph 1, it makes your idea convincing. Also, the example of comparing Daisy and Myrtle is very detail and logical. And you added two pictures within your paragraphs, it makes me easier to read.
You did a lot of summary in order to illustrate that Daisy and Myrtle have the same "American Dream". However, I think the most important point of your opinion is that the experience and background make people can not spend same effect in order to achieve their goals. Although you analysis that how Myrtle tired hard to ingratiate Tom, you do not pay much attention on how background and experience make Daisy and Myrtle different. In this case, I advise that you should develop this part so that your idea will be more convincing.
Above all, your idea is impressed and worth to learn. It makes me think deeper about the American Dream. Thanks for your writing. Have a good day! :D