Myrtle- Security. Even though Myrtle’s husband was poor she was secure in being his wife and having a place to live. Her security with George was proven as he was “one of these worn-out men: when he wasn't working he sat on a chair in the doorway and stared at the people and the cars that passed along the road. When any one spoke to him he invariably laughed in an agreeable, colorless way. He was his wife's man and not his own.” (Fitzgerald, 31) In Inside Job, the market is described as one of betting, where people are willing to lose it all to make a dollar and their way up to higher society. Zuckerberg himself invested heavily into facebook with his parents limited money in the hopes that he could make something out of his now multi-billion dollar company. All of these scenarios point towards 2 routes, failure or success. In life, one must risk losing it all in order to benefit. Security is risked in order to become even more successful or reach a successful point. 

Jordan- Cheating. In order to obtain a goal, occasionally one must cheat the system. Jordan herself “was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body.” (Fitzgerald, 58) Jordan was a cheat in golf and in life to obtain her ultimate dream of being wealthy and successful. In real life, as displayed in the movie Inside Job, the wall street bankers were willing to cheat the system and make bets in order to make quick cash whilst risking peoples savings and the security of the bank. By cheating they got their money, but crashed the global economy. Zuckerberg was willing to cheat other people out of their savings for Facebook in order to let other investors raise more money for the company. Ultimately, all three examples prove people are willing to be low and cheat to get what they want, which is a sign of low morality but in some cases necessary for success. 

Jordan- Morality. Jordan Baker is willing to break up her relationship with Nick due to marrying someone more wealthy. Her comment to Nick “You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while,” (Fitzgerald, 168) proves that though she was hurt, she was willing to risk her morals and end things with Nick for a more wealthy man. Inside Job highlights the immorality of wall street bankers who desired more money than they could ever spend and cheated millions of americans out of homes and crashed an entire economy. Zuckerberg was willing to tarnish his reputation as an honest entrepreneur by cutting friends out of deals and not paying members of facebook their deserved money for the company. Ultimately, dreams make people sacrifice some aspects of their morality and desire something better than they already have.

For many people integrity is the cost of pursuing their dream. Daisy for example, claimed to love Gatsby, but when he needed her most, when he was dead and left with only a legacy that could possibly be saved, she hid the truth to protect herself. And even worse, returned to Tom, whom she no longer loved. And all for her precious dream of wealth and comfort and societal approval. Daisy was the reason both Myrtle and Gatsby lost their lives, and she let the world believe that the man she claimed to love was at fault for both of those deaths. “She had gone away... and taken her baggage” and secrets with her (134 Fitzgerald). Similarly in Inside Job, it can be seen that the bank owners who were clearly at fault for the recession in 2008 refused to take blame both while they were swindling before the recession and after as they faced trials. Instead of running away as Daisy did though, they switched sides and became government officials who could make their situation disappear, an even more cowardice act than Daisy’s. In the article titled Lest We Forget: Why We Had a Financial Crisis, those who did try to object the injustices of banks right before the recession were shot down by those in higher authorities. The goal for many bankers at this time was short-term profit and they wouldn't let any ethical issue hold them back as they reached for greater wealth. Honesty, for the weak, is easily compromised when a goal seems within reach and for those like Daisy, it had to go. 

Daisy, in the Great Gatsby, had a dream of living a lavish life oblivious to all of her own issues. In order to obtain this dream she had to be indifferent to how her actions affect others. She created a rather complicated and tangled situation with Myrtle and George and Gatsby and left it all behind, in order to retreat to her “money [and] vast carelessness... [while letting] other people clean up [her] mess” (Fitzgerald, 146). Likewise, In Inside Job it is clear that the bankers during 2008 left their mess to others to clean up in order to keep all the money they made and not go to jail. They left no sensitivity to be spared for those they cheated money out of as they spent all their time worrying about themselves. They acted with great insensitivity initially as well when coming up with their schemes. In the article Good Society, it is clear that Americans too are concerned solely with their dream, the American dream. In order to rise in class you must ignore the betterment of others and focus on getting yourself to the top which is ultimately the downfall of our nation. Sensitivity to many is what is holding them back from their own personal growth and can easily be sacrificed when oneself must come first. 

Nick: Trust is the cost to pursuing a dream. Nick claims that he is “one of the few honestly people that I have ever known.” (Fitzgerald 59). However, throughout the book Nick repeadtly omits the truth he knows. Some examples include when Nick doesn’t reveal that he knows about Tom’s affair, when he doesn’t reveal that he knew Daisy was driving the car, and at the scene of the crime when he didn’t tell the police all the information he knew. In the Inside Job, corporations and people of high stature knew about the faulty loans, but lied to their clients about the reliability of them. In the end, this deceitful action caused numerous amounts of citizens to lose all their hard earned money. In the reading companion over Facebook/Zuckerbergs greed, Facebook “snuck in a change to the agreement” and was not upfront about the change to users. All three of these examples an omission of information that ultimately had a negative effect on their businesses/lives/customers. Readers question Nick’s trustworthiness while reading about his hypocritical actions. Corperations and their greedy leaders lost the trust of millions. Facebook lost the trust of their users as well through their lies. 

Tom - Arrogance/Ignorance. Tom represents the American Dream by ultimately representing it as a myth. Most people perceive the American dream as a “rags-to-riches” tale of hard work and effort can get you anywhere you want to go. However, Tom has always had mass amounts of wealth, regardless of hard work since he was born into it and his high position in society. This is opposite of that of George and equal to the highly hated and arrogant CEOs that were responsible for the economic crisis described in the Inside Job. As if it wasn’t clear enough throughout the book that Tom was a terrible human being, he says, “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” (Fitzgerald 7). This shows the blatant racism that Tom has and shows that he patronizes the black race (and probably other races) in favor of his own (white). This is similar to the discrimination of wealth among the US as the race with the highest average wealth are the whites and the lowest are the blacks.

Tom - Royalty. While there is no apparent royalty/government introduced in the Great Gatsby, Tom is definitely the highest class character in the book. Among the others on the East Egg, Tom has a great respect and class in society and he shows little to no respect to those below him. Just like how Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs claim to not be motivated by money, rather power, Tom is the exact same way. Just like how the CEOs in the Inside Job were able to escape with most of their riches intact, Tom was able to simply move with Daisy to another place and forget all that has happened in the past. Just like how there is a huge gap between the upper one percent and lower 99 percent of society, Tom shows no sympathy for those who are way below him in the slumps of the Valley of Ashes and continues to merrily live his spoiled life. Tom also likes to flaunt his wealth,  with one example being him bringing "a string of polo ponies for Lake Forest", which is an obvious flaunting of wealth.

George - Average. It is apparent throughout the book that George isn’t nearly as wealthy as those in the Eggs or those living in New York. However, he does have his own business and income, so he is better off than many of the impoverished people/slaves of those working for the Valley of Ashes. He cares for his wife, Myrtle, who walks all over him and his love is clear when we see Nick narrate George saying “‘Oh sure’, agrees Wilson hurriedly”(Fitzgerald 2), which is likely just one of the many times he has given his direct attention to her. Just like how the lesser earning American citizens in the Inside Job were the ones that were getting “scammed” by the banks, George’s wife had an affair with Tom (CEO) that majorly affected him and was a major factor in him taking his life. 

George - Struggling. While George has his own car business, it is clear that it is a very struggling business. Unlike Tom and Daisy, he wasn’t born into wealth and has had to work very hard to even get by. His struggles with life got so bad, he decided to kill the man that “killed” his wife then decide to take his own. In the article “Economic Equality: When is Enough Enough”, he talks about the ratio between a “McDonald’s employee [who] must work the equivalent of 930 years to match the salary that the CEO makes in a single year”. This difference in the amount of wealth between Gatsby and George relates back to this principle of the lower class earning a mere fraction of those in the upper. George is also one of the early character seen mentions and speaking of God, one of which is when he is talking to Myrtle and tells her that she “can’t fool God”, and that “God sees everything” (Fitzgerald 8). This ties back into the deteriorating of TJ Eckleburg's billboard and how it’s struggling to even stay relevant and upright.

Throughout the book, Jay Gatsby continues to win his high school sweetheart, Daisy, back. He doesn’t reveal his true past to the readers or to Nick until he seeks Nicks help for setting a tea party at Nicks house by inviting Daisy as well. “If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby. "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock." (Fitzgerald 121), this quote shows that the only reason he moved to West Egg with a huge mansion was to impress Daisy and show off how rich he has become. He threw big parties every night and almost everyone knew about him. 

Jay Gatsby- Mysterious. 
At the beginning of the book almost all the way to the middle, no one knew the real story of Gatsby, where he came from or who actually was. Nick was curious in knowing about Gatsby. In the car ride to Manhattan, Gatsby lies about his past saying that he was born in a rich family. Later on when he needs Nick help to get closer to Daisy, his past is revealed. 

Jordan Baker- Dishonest. 
She is a competitive golfer and is described as a beautiful women with boyish characteristics. Nick describes her as "incurably dishonest", as she cheated in her first golf tournament.
 
Jordan Baker- Carless 
She has a bold character and is revealed to be a very careless person. As her conversation with Nick while they were driving in chapter 3, describes how Jordan doesn't desire to be a safe driver and states that others should be cautious in order to avoid accidents. She also doesn't like to take responsibility for her actions.