While The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald may appear at first glance to be nothing more than a simple story, it is indeed far more complex. The novel is a societal comment made by Fitgerald on the true nature of the American Dream. Through Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Wilson, and Gatsby himself, the author illustrates the emptiness that comes in place of this so called "American Dream".
             First of all, there is Wilson. Wilson has worked hard to attain the life that he has. He owns his own garage, to all external appearances, his marriage appears to be a happy one. However, the situation is not as he thinks. Wilson's wife, Myrtle is not content with the simple life that she feels her husband forces her to lead, and begins to have an affair with Tom Buchanan, not due to any sort of real attraction but because he is a symbol of the life that she feels her husband has failed to give her. The "American Dream" that Wilson thinks he is living out proves to be an empty lie when he discovers the escapades of Myrtle and Tom, and the realization actually drives him to madness.
             At first glance, Tom Buchanan and his wife Daisy appear to be the embodiment of all that is good about the American Dream. The couple are wealthy beyond belief, young, physically attractive, and have a two year old daughter. They own a house in a fashionable district, and from all outward appearances, lead a full life. In reality however, the opposite is true. Tom constantly cheats on his wife, going on what he calls "sprees". The couple "drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together". (p. 10), moving around perpetually without any solid base or social circle. Tom and Daisy have attained the American Dream, but found it hollow. In an attempt to assuage this hollowness, they move perpetually from place to place in a search for something new to amuse and distract them from their empty lives.
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