American Dream
by: Zora Katherine Sherman
Tom Buchanan
Tom Buchanan is describe as a "big hulking brute of a man", and Nick also says "I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game." Meaning that Tom Buchanan peaked in college, he was an athlete that has money and that is all he really had going for him. Tom was married to Daisy a "golden girl", and had a daughter with Daisy named Pammy. Tom sees Daisy as a possession, she is a beautiful possession, and he would like to flaunt her. Tom never talks or even acknowledges Pammy his daughter, so she is little importance to him. Daisy and Tom are not good parents, Pammy is mentioned twice in the whole book, and once was just to show her off.
American Dream
What is the American Dream? The definition of the American Dream is "The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. I believe the American Dream is still alive. If you work hard enough for something opportunities will present themselves to you.
Tom Buchanan's American Dream
Tom Buchanan was born into riches, and power, but he is not satisfied even with that. Tom has never had to work a day in his life so he does things to keep him entertained, such as cheat on his wife Daisy with another married woman. Tom has no regard for others and he "retreats back into his money" after the consequences of his choices come out.
My American Dream
I do not have lavish ideas for my future, I will be content with whatever is thrown my way. I do not even know if I want to go to college. (I love learning, but learning for a grade is not for me.) My ideal life would be getting married to someone who could support me financially, living within our means by becoming mostly self reliant (hippy Zora finally comes out), and having a lot of kids (they're going to have amazing names).
The Great Gatsby
Daisy
Tom's wife whom he views as just another beautiful possession to add to his wealth. Daisy's American dream was to be rich. Since she was a woman in the 1920's she did not have many rights so the only way to be rich is to marry money.
Pammy
We don't have a picture of Pammy because she was mentioned so little in the books it's not even worth putting her in any of the movies. Pammy is the daughter of Tom and Daisy who they are too careless to actually give any real thought about her.
Gatsby
Tom thinks Gatsby is below him just because he had to work for his money instead of be born into it. Gatsby's American Dream is to have Daisy Buchanan and to forget the last five years of their life apart.
Theme
A theme of the Great Gatsby is that rich people are selfish. East Egg is old money, meaning their families have always been rich, while the people of West Egg are people who just came upon their fortune during the economic prosperity after World War I. The people of East Egg look down upon the people of West Egg because the people of West Egg have not been rich for a long time. When Gatsby had the Buchanan's over for his party Daisy and Tom did not have any fun and weren't a fan of the company they were in. All the wealthy people in the Great Gatsby look down on the Valley of Ashes because it is drab and boring. Big corporations dumped industrial ashes (1920's was not long after the industrial revolution so you have a lot of big urban industries) which made the Valley of Ashes an unappealing place. What F. Scott Fitzgerald is trying to get at in The Great Gatsby is that money can not buy happiness, and it makes you careless. Gatsby got rich for Daisy, but she still did not leave Tom. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and they retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess that they made." This quote shows that they're reckless and selfish and their money only helped make them that way. Just like the people of East Egg didn't like the people of West Egg because they acted different since they had the mannerisms of someone who came of a lower standing (that's how they knew Gatsby wasn't an Oxford man he didn't act like he always had money) readers do not like Tom and Daisy because they are horrible people with no compassion for other people.