The Great Gatsby, a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, follows a cast of characters living in the town of East and West Egg on the wealthy Long Island in the summer of 1922. Each character, despite being part of the same plot, has different priorities and agendas, each character working to achieve what they think will benefit them the most. As the plot of The Great Gatsby thickens, the characters constantly show their discontent with the American dream they are living, always expressing their greed for something more. Three particular culprits of this mortal sin are Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby himself. The characters' motivations stem from a mixture of boredom, need and desire for the American dream, and simple human selfish desire. Tom is perhaps the most vain and inhuman of the characters, he craves more and more of the forbidden fruit, he never feels full sharing. Even when his wife finds out about it, Tom still goes back to his cuckolding ways. At the beginning of the book, when Daisy explains how unhappy her life really is, she describes the feeling she felt after the birth of her first daughter by saying, “Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up from the ether with a feeling of total abandonment...” (31). At that moment readers are finally aware of the ugly, greedy truth that is Tom, philandering for his purely personal pleasures, while his wife gives birth to their child. Approaching the tragedy of the book later, Tom displays another act of submission. -human behavior, nonchalantly ignoring his business, “And on top of that I love Daisy too. Every now and then I go partying and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I always love her.”(201). Tom in a way... middle of paper... might love another man. During the last trip to New York Gatsby expresses his discontent with the fact that Daisy loves two men, saying: “Daisy, it's all over now,” he said sincerely. “It doesn't matter anymore. Just tell him the truth – that you never loved him – and it will all be swept away forever.”” (202). Gatsby asked too much of Daisy, his longing to realize his disappointment was too overwhelming for Daisy, who retreated into herself, afraid of one man, disgusted by the other. These characters, however different they are on the morality scale, all share the sinful trait of greed. Everyone asks and takes too much, ruining what was good in their life. Understanding your mistakes offers its helpful readers a lesson, not to expect too much from the things we are offered. The characters struggle with their desires, each of them gives in to their own passions.