In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many characters live in an illusory world and only some can see beyond that. In the novel, West Egg and its inhabitants represent the nouveau riche, while East Egg represents the old aristocracy. Gatsby searching for the past, Daisy is obsessed with material things, Myrtle wants Tom to escape his poverty, George believes TJ Eckleburg is God and Tom believes he is untouchable due to his power and wealth are all examples of the struggle between illusion and reality. in the novel and Nick, the only character aware of reality, witnesses the fall of all the characters around him into their illusions. Jay Gatsby's illusion is the grandest of all. Gatsby as a character incapable of seeing reality. "You can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" (120) He focuses so much on trying to get what he had in the past that he can't face the reality that he just can't have Daisy and focus on what's impossible . While looking at the green light, he grabs it as if it were Daisy, his hopes and dreams. When Gatsby meets Daisy, he tells her that he comes from a wealthy family to convince her that he is worthy of her love and attention and attempts to buy Daisy with his money. Additionally, Jay Gatsby's real name is James Gatz, changing his name to start a new life and escape his past. Gatsby makes sure that everything revolves around his dreams, but he doesn't realize that his dreams are destroying him. Daisy Buchanan is a superficial and vain character who lives in an illusory world. Daisy marries Tom solely because of his money. Daisy is in love with material objects. She uses her money to escape reality, and when she needs to, she hides behind her money, said Jonathan Yardley, who favored middle of paper ...... e himself in the novel based about all the American dreams and corruptions going on at the time that surrounded him. Gatsby served as an exaggerated version of him and the characters (excluding Nick) as desperate, corrupt Americans and Nick as the world's only remaining moral struggling to survive and watch others destroy themselves to achieve their dreams . Works Cited Jonathan Yardley (2007, January 2). "'Gatsby': The Greatest of All". The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100958.html Lee Siegel (September 30, 2011). The Book of Illusions. A smarter life. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/09/great-gats by Kathryn Schulz (May 6, 2013). Why I despise The Great Gatsby. Vulture. Retrieved from http://www.vulture.com/2013/05/schulz-on-the-great-gatsby.html