In stories, minor characters are often highlighted to display or represent a certain idea. The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows the rich and their antics. Most are carefree and only care about themselves and their status. The novel focuses on Jay Gatsby, a mysterious extravagant and wealthy man who throws splashy parties and lives in luxury in hopes of winning his love, Daisy. Gatsby builds his life from nothing, as the son of poor western farmers, then transforms himself into a New York millionaire. Only to be destroyed when Daisy kills her husband's mistress and Gatsby takes responsibility; ultimately leading to his murder. No one other than a party animal nicknamed Owl Eyes and Gatsby's resident Klipspringer attends his funeral. All of Gatsby's business partners and the thousands of people who came to his parties didn't care enough to come to his funeral. Gatsby spent all his time focusing on a dream that he didn't make connections and socialize with people who cared about him, but with his parties. The American Dream lifestyle arguably became the one thing people were looking for. Through the character of Owl Eyes, Fitzgerald shows the rise and fall of the American dream and the consequences that follow. Fitzgerald uses Owl Eyes to build upon the glory of the American dream, the reader is able to see the possessions and theater that comes with it. come with it. The reader first sees Owl Eyes in Gatsby's library; he is amazed by the fact that Gatsby's books are real. “Absolutely real – I have pages and everything. I thought it would be a nice durable cardboard. In fact, they are absolutely real. (45) This shows that Gatsby is like an act. Owl Eyes thought that Gatsby was just deluding everything... middle of paper... leading to isolation. Owl Eyes takes the reader through the different stages of chasing the dream. We first see the theatrics put on to impress people and build a character for the hopeful person to play. Next, Owl Eyes demonstrates the consequences of living your entire life chasing a dream with the wrong people. Finally, the reader sees the downfall that the American dream can bring on a person. Leaving them alone and with nothing to show. Gatsby was chasing his dream of Daisy and being with her he was so focused on achieving that dream that he never stopped to see that he was dealing with people who didn't care about Gatsby and didn't care than themselves. If Gatsby wasn't so determined to convince Daisy and realized that ultimately she would only act to protect herself, perhaps the outcome of the story would be completely different..