Similarities Between George Wilson And The Great Gatsby

Once, the American Dream was a strong possibility and something that all Americans strived for; now it seems to be a lost dream that is only discussed when studying literature. The character of James Gatz, alternatively known as Jay Gatsby, is a prime example of the American Dream and could be considered an exact definition of what the American Dream represents. He starts out with his innocent dream of wanting to be worthy enough of Daisy’s love; but in doing so becomes involved in some illegal activities in order to achieve what Daisy requires of someone she loves, wealth. Gatsby goes from a young military officer, who is extremely poor and has essentially no money and works his way up to become an extremely rich man, living in a mansion and able to throw the most extravagant of parties. Gatsby achieves his fortunes, but not without losing all
connection to his past and hollowing out his own personality to only a shell of what he was previously. There are many examples of the American Dream inside of The Great Gatsby, both corrupt and uncorrupted, that show that any dream, despite original intentions has the ability to be corrupted by greed and selfishness. Gatsby starts out the novel with his uncorrupted American Dream, which is trying to regain Daisy’s love. He knows that he needs to be extremely wealthy in order to have approval to marry Daisy and the main reason he wants to become wealthy are to be able to be with Daisy. Despite the fact that Gatsby’s dream started out with pure intentions, the novel shows through the behavior of Gatsby that his dream becomes corrupt as he becomes wealthier and gains influence. Throughout the novel, it repeatedly shows that despite Gatsby achieving his American Dream, he loses his personality and disconnects from his own past. Toward the end of the novel when Jay Gatsby’s father is introduced, he himself does not know much about his own son, saying, “He come out to see me two years ago and bought me the house I live in now. Of course we was broke up when he runs off from home but I see now there was a reason for it… And ever since he made a success he was very generous with me”(Fitzgerald 181). Undeterred by the fact that Daisy is already married to another man, Gatsby wants to steal her away. Gatsby may have started his version of the American dream with the pure hope of being with Daisy, but his vision became corrupt when he started to use illegal methods in order to achieve his wealth in order to be with Gatsby. The opposite view of this is George Wilson, who throughout the novel, runs his gas station trying to achieve his own American dream through honest methods and is obviously struggling.
George Wilson is honest and hard working, trying to achieve the American dream through owning his own business. Though Wilson and Gatsby have similar backgrounds, they have dramatically different resulting careers and lifestyles. Gatsby is extremely wealthy while achieving wealth through dishonest and illegal methods, while Wilson runs his own business, attempting, to be honest, yet struggling to have his business continue to run, proved by Wilson saying, “When are you going to sell me that car?”( Fitzgerald 29). He is trying alternative ways of earning more money because his shop is most likely struggling to stay above water while living in a town so devoid of money. Wilson is repeatedly shown throughout the chapter to be considered much less than Tom, simply by living in the valley of ashes; as the valley could foreshadow the Great Depression, showing that Wilson is already experiencing the struggles yet to come to the rest of the
country. The opposing side to this argument is that an American dream is still achievable as Gatsby was able to come from a poor family, and start with essentially no money and become a successful and wealthy man. In spite of the fact that this is thought to be true, Gatsby uses highly illegal methods of the time to make his fortunes such as bootlegging and other forms that Gatsby will not discuss and is quick to be apprehensive, saying “I think he hardly knew what he was saying, for when I asked him what business he was in he answered ‘That’s my affair,’”(Fitzgerald 95). Gatsby is not proud of what he did, its’ only purpose was to gain wealth so that could be with Daisy as it brought himself no pleasure. Another argument that could come out of that statement is that Gatsby’s sole reason for wanting wealth is to be with Daisy and consequently that is the main reason for his desire, but it is not the only reason Gatsby desires wealth. Gatsby grew up in a poor family, so, accordingly, he would dream of being wildly rich as any child in his situation would. As he gained more and more wealth, he most likely found that he may have been achieving a childhood goal, when Gatsby’s father shows Nick his schedule from his youth stating that he wanted to save money (Fitzgerald 181). In the world today, the American dream is becoming more difficult to achieve as the world becomes more competitive and more complex. This is a principle instituted by the classic novel of The Great Gatsby, showing that achieving the American dream may be possible, it is not through the honest methods that were previously employed by past generations, but through illegal trade and business as Mr. Gatsby did. The world is no longer a simple place where one’s dream is respected and nurtured, but a harsh world where it is required to have a strong dream and a will to achieve that dream. Shown by Gatsby lacking what was required to accomplish his American dream and reclaim his relationship and love he once had with Daisy. In the end, Gatsby’s incessant need of both wealth, and Daisy’s love lead to his own downfall causing not only his dream but also his life come to an abrupt end.