Gatsby

            The idea of materialism was held fast by many other characters other then Gatsby. Myrtle Wilson lives with her husband who is stuck in the lower-middle class. She has an affair with Tom which gets her acquainted with the materialistic view of those that Tom is affiliated with. These views draw her in to the social elite, a class in which she was not able to obtain without the affair with Tom. Tom was, in a sense, her materialistic item that gave her power. Myrtle was eventually driven to her death by the true aspect of the socially inclined. .
             Gatsby represents the double edged sword in the novel. In one aspect his is the heroic underdog of the story, and in the other he is the villainous character. Gatsby came from a poverty stricken life and earned his wealth. This was showing that everybody can live the American vision if they work hard enough. He was the villainous person in the fact that he did it for Daisy only. The parties that held were put on to attract Daisy, showing how the on thing in live that he solely cared for was Daisy. Plus the fact that Gatsby is trying to break up a marriage to pursue the so called love of his life shows the cruelty in him.
             The connection between Tom's mention of Stoddard's book The Rise of the Colored Empire and the sight of affluent African-Americans is as follows. During that time period the Harlem Renaissance was just starting. So it is just ironic how he mentioned that we had to "keep down" the African-Americans when they were just rising up.