Myrtle Wilson unceasingly pursues an increase in social standing; as a result George Wilson loses his sanity. Her interactions always center on either power or material wealth. She “walks through her husband as if he were a ghost”(30); this constitutes an attempt to distance herself from her husband’s poor social standing. She implores that she wants “to get one of those dogs”(31), since this would increase her material wealth. Her relentless reckless pursuit of social ascension leads to poor decision making, which leads to her death. She “rushed out at … a car”(151), since she believed it was Tom. A misconception with such grave results is emblematic of the impact the reckless pursuit of ideals has. She was so intensely focused on social