In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many of the characters live in an illusory world and only some can see beyond it. In the novel, West Egg and its residents represent the nouveau riche, while East Egg represents the old aristocracy. Gatsby searching for the past, Daisy being obsessed with material things, Myrtle wanting Tom to escape his poverty, George believing TJ Eckleburg is God, and Tom believing he is untouchable because of 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 all the characters around him fall into their delusions. Jay Gatsby's illusion is the greatest of all. Gatsby as a character who cannot see reality. "Can't you repeat the past? Because of course you can!"(120) He focuses so hard on trying to get what he had in the past that he can't face the reality that he simply can't have Daisy and focus on what is impossible. As he looks at the green light, he reaches for it as if it were Daisy and 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. Furthermore, 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 only marries Tom for his money. Daisy is in love with material objects. He uses his money to escape from reality, and when he needs it he hides behind the money declared by Jonathan Yardley, who preferred t...... half of the paper ...... and himself in the novel based on all the American dreams and corruptions going on at the time surrounded him. Gatsby depicted an exaggerated version of himself and the characters (excluding Nick) as the desperate, corrupt Americans and Nick as the only moral left in the world struggling to survive and watch others destroy themselves for 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 (2011, September 30). The Book of Illusion. Smarter life. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/09/great-gatsby Kathryn Schulz (2013, May 6). Because I despise The Great Gatsby. Vulture. Retrieved from http://www.vulture.com/2013/05/schulz-on-the-great-gatsby.html