The hollowness and beauty of the American Dream are symbolized by wealth and materialism, and these are the overriding themes of The Great Gatsby. Although the wealth of Jay Gatsby and his lavish parties are symbols of his success, these conceal the hollowness of his life. The pursuit of materialism is what destroys Gatsby. While never fully accepted, his “colossal affair” of a house is his own attempt at buying his way into the higher class. Daisy is also involved with money. She is a trophy in The Great Gatsby, and Gatsby is after her in an attempt to show himself successful. In her classic line, “I hope she’ll be a fool because that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool,” she proposes embracing her privileged life and its unimportance. Daisy is given more substance by Jillian Cantor in Beautiful Little Fools, where she is portrayed as a woman who feels trapped by the limits of her wealth and privilege. While Cantor’s Daisy is more aware of herself, she has to keep up her social standing. In both novels, Myrtle Wilson is the representative of the desperate desire to move the social step forward. Her endeavor to bring money through adultery with Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is catastrophic. Cantor takes Myrtle’s motives even deeper, and it is discovered that she is not just a victim but a woman who wishes for money to make her happy, only to realize that her quest is the cause of devastation. The two novels condemn the American Dream by revealing how, as alluring as it sounds, materialism is a cause of solitude and unmet desires. Myrtle and Daisy are trapped by the wealth they covet, and Gatsby’s wealth does not purchase him love.