Jay Gatsby's Failure in The Great Gatsby A society naturally divides into various social groups over time. Members of lower statuses consistently believe that their problems will be solved if they gain enough wealth to reach the upper class. Many interpret the American dream as moving to a high social status and, once you reach that point, no longer having to worry about money. However, the American Dream involves more than just an individual's social and economic standing. The dream implies achieving a balance between an individual's spiritual strength and physical strength. Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, fails to achieve his ultimate dream of love for Daisy as he chooses to pursue it by engaging in a high-class lifestyle. Gatsby realizes that high-class life requires wealth to become a priority; wealth becomes his superficial goal, overshadowing his pursuit of love. It establishes his need to acquire wealth, which allows him to be with Daisy. The social elite of Gatsby's time sacrifice morality to gain wealth. Tom Buchanan, a man from an "enormously wealthy" family, seems to Nick to have lost all sense of kindness (Fitzgerald 10). Nick describes Tom's physical attributes as a metaphor for his true character when he points out that Tom had a "hard mouth and arrogant manner...arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face...always leaning forward aggressively... .a cruel body..[h]he speaks with a voice…in addition to the impression of irritability it conveyed” (Fitzgerald 11). The wealth that Tom has inherited causes him to become arrogant and condescending towards others, losing his morals. Rather than becoming immoral through wealth as Tom did, Gatsby turns to criminal activity as his only path to becoming rich. His need for money had become so great that "he was in the drug business" (Fitzgerald 95). Furthermore, he lies to Nick about his past to hide his criminal activity. Gatsby claims to others that he inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers that "[t]his parents were inept and unsuccessful farmers" (Fitzgerald 104). Gatsby enters a world where money takes precedence over moral integrity. Materialism has already overshadowed part of his spiritual side. The search for true love is doomed to failure in the presence of immorality. Once wealth takes priority over integrity, members of the upper social class focus on immediate indulgences, rather than long-term life pleasures such as love..