paramount positions in their milieu. Daisy and Gatsby take a more prosaic and practicable approach to their affair. They meet at parties and invite each other as dinner guests. Daisy, Tom and Mrs. Wilson all being married people, partook in this picayune, garish, and flippant lifestyle and ended up causing their loved ones pain and anguish. But because of this time period, the 1920s, in which "new' and unprecedented ideas were the norm, people hurtled from the old traditional ways and etched themselves a place in society by getting involved in iridescent lifestyles. Women's rights acquired an austere and cognizant determination and would not settle for complacency. In addition, people seemed engrossed with the desire for money and the spending of that money. For the first time in novels the term "divorce" appears. Divorce claims the biggest cause for the degradation of the American Dream. Previously marriages rarely ended in divorce, problems were worked out and the only way to exit from a marriage was death. Yet in The Great Gatsby, Catherine dramatically points out "I don't see why they don't get a divorce and marry each other." Not only does the idea of divorce get acknowledged but gets treated like a frivolous matter. As long as people retain a strong family background, breaking these traditional bonds becomes nearly impossible.In recapitulation, the primary theme of the Great Gatsby was the degradation of the American Dream. Dirty money, divorce, and moral calamity came along as a side effect to the Industrial Revolution. Eventhough some of these issues have ameliorated over the past fifty years, others continue to plague society and the American Dream still remains tarnished....
