Unfortunately, there will always be a class system. People are constantly judged based on the material possessions they possess or are simply judged outwardly. Society has come to accept being ranked and aiming for first place. No matter where you go, people seem to form classes or cliques, begging the question of why we feel the need to constantly classify ourselves by society's standards. Novels are good representations of these rankings because then you can look at this silly idea from the outside looking in. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines class distinction in the 1920s and how it influences a person's ascension to higher social classes in order to achieve the American Dream. In The Great Gatsby, one setting we are introduced to is the Valley of Ashes, which is located between East and West Egg. There you will find Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan's lover, along with her husband George, owner of the gas station where Nick first meets them. There is a great representation of the American Dream in Myrtle. Myrtle has a very strong personality and knows what she wants from life. He strives to be part of the upper classes like Tom and Daisy, but he is unattainable. He pursues the “American dream” to the point of obsession. The first thing she does when Tom brings her to their home in the city is to change clothes, as well as buy the town gossip magazine (Fitzgerald 31). Myrtle wants to be Daisy, she wants that station in life. She changes her clothes to try to fit that mold because she is greedy and dissatisfied with her life. On the other hand, her husband, George, is very happy with where he is in life. He is very naive in thinking that Myrtle is faithful and happy. When Nick asks what Wilson... middle of paper......y numerous times, but fails to come to terms with the past with its multitude of hopes, which symbolizes his tragic flaw. The American dream cannot be achieved, it is the symbol of the impossibility of the 1920s. There was so much dissatisfaction, unhappiness and hopelessness in most cases, except Gatsby, that the American dream was just a dream; no one could understand it as a reality. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Collier Books, 1992. Print.King, Noel. “In theaters and with 'The Great Gatsby,' it's high class or class warfare.” Market. Market, May 9, 2013. Web. February 25, 2014. Powers, Liza T. “Epic Grandeur and Gatsby.” Epic grandeur and Gatsby. Np, nd Web. 26 February 2013. Roberts, Jonathan, and Monica Wheelock. “The Not-So-Roaring 20s.” Pre-depression depression. Np, November 18, 2008. Web. February 26. 2014.