F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writings are usually centralized around the theme of failing at the American Dream. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the American Dream is defined as “an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity.” Throughout his novels, Fitzgerald repeatedly writes on how the American Dream is corrupted by the obsession of wealth, power, and the romantic conquest of women. Author John Callahan comments that “Fitzgerald embodied in his tissues and nervous system the fluid polarities of American experience: success and failure, illusion and disillusion, dream and nightmare” (374). So many people in today’s world are under the illusion that the…show more content… The accession of Tom saying Gatsby never went to Oxford based on his style proves “new money” lacks that sophisticated “old money” knowledge. After the wealthy, then there is Nick, who hangs with the rich because of his name although he lives where the “new money” resides due to he only has status and not the money. He only has connections which gives him the ability to surround himself with wealthy peers. Nick gives an insight on how humble he is when he says, “My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of the neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires—all for eighty dollars a month” (Fitzgerald 5). In Nick’s own eyes he is the odd one in the city because his wealth will never match those surrounding him. The low class that never made it to “new money” reside in the Valley of Ashes. A disgusting wasteland crawling with poverty and ashes shroud the town, just emphasizing on how dirty it is. These sad dreamers have settled in this city and this is also where Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, lives with her husband. She is stuck in a working class with her husband, Mr. Wilson, in a tiny garage where he repairs vehicles. It is clear to see the differences in each social class and how each falls into their own category. They are what define an American in this novel and how they are to be treated based off of these
