I like how parts of Blood Meridian highlight and break apart the American Dream

The Kid leaves home after feeling abused and neglected by his father, and travels out West for a better life. He gets into violence in various places, but manages to make a friend, Toadvine. Later, he tries to achieve prosperity through being a part of Captain White's filibusters, until they are all nearly massacred by Native Americans in Mexico. Then, when he's at rock bottom, he has no family around, and in jail in Chihuahua city, he reunites with Toadvine and the two of them become part of the scalp-hunting Glanton gang, getting freed from prison as a result. After going through immoral and brutal work, the Kid really starts to prosper, he has joined a fitting group of people, and upon doing work for the Chihuahua city government, he is celebrated by the public, is washed, gets fancy clothes, and is treated to a delicious feast by the governor. He is finally being rewarded for his violent nature. It's all well and good, until it all falls apart when the Glanton gang becomes reckless. Anyway, the kid attempts to find prosperity at point of the book, but he continuously encounters violence along with it. It's an interesting examination of how brutal people can be when achieving the American Dream, like, gangsters for instance, and the overall illusion of it. The Kid continuously engaged in violence throughout his life, and it got him nowhere in the end. It reminds me of The Great Gatsby; I heard that also breaks apart the American Dream.