This is a paper describing American society, proving that Americans are revengeful.

An American once said, "Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge." This American, by the name of Paul Gauquin, truly captures a common characteristic shared by many of us. The people of our country always seem to need to take a retaliatory measure towards any acts against them. The saying "two wrongs don't make a right" does not apply to our society, which clearly supports the fact that Americans are revengeful.

One way this characteristic can be proven true is through American Literature. In the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character George Wilson perfectly illustrates the utmost example of being revengeful. In the novel George is determined to find the owner of a car that has recently killed his wife Myrtle whom he also believes to be myrtle's lover. He turns to Tom Buchanan to find out whom the car belongs to.

United States

Leonardo DiCaprio at the Body of Lies film premier...

The cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby...

After he is told the car belongs to Jay Gatsby, George goes to his house where he finds him in the pool. He then shoots Gatsby killing him instantly, and fulfilling his vengeance. Because George Wilson is in so much pain from the death of his wife, he feels that he needs to justify his loss by getting even. This idea of getting even is not something George himself posses, but rather many Americans as well. Revenge is mainly based on the reality that Americans feel that everything must be equal, which can come to the point where getting even, or getting revenge is the only solution to our idea of equality. Although the time period of the novel takes place in the 1920's, the act of revenge in our society doesn't only exist in our past.

Still today, people feel they need to seek revenge.