Obviously, that little business had to have been bootlegging or something else illegal. Fortunately, Nick refuses his offer. Many other people during this time would have taken it though. So not only had the American Dream been corrupted by greed, but also by the fact that people would go to any extent to be wealthy. In this book, Jay Gatsby is a perfect of example of such a person during this time. Gatsby also abuses the wealth that he has. Instead of using his money to help lead a life of happiness, Gatsby buys a big house, expensive things, and throws multiple parties. Yet he doesn't do these things because he is happy with any of it, but because he wants desperately to impress Daisy. This is where the problem of pleasure comes in. Nothing would please Gatsby more than to have Daisy again. So he goes through all the trouble to become wealthy and famous just so she might notice him again. Gatsby could be using his wealth to achieve more realistic, noble goals in life. But instead, he focuses on pleasure, which corrupts the American Dream even more. In the end, his wealth does not get him happiness. Daisy ends up choosing Tom over Gatsby. Both are wealthy men, and in the 1920's, a wealthy husband was what most women wanted. But when Daisy was faced with the decision to choose between Gatsby and Tom, she had to look deeper. She realized that all the horrible things Tom was saying about Gatsby were actually true. The way he got his money and the lies about his past all true. And all of these bad things about Gatsby came about because of his greed for wealth and pleasure, both of which are two big factors leading to the failure of the American Dream. Within the American Dream it is important to have a meaningful life, yet Gatsby's accomplishments in life were not held in high regard by others. When people thought of Jay Gatsby, they did not think of a wonderful, successful man. Instead, they would find themselves negatively judging his success.
