Examples Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

In life everyone strives to get rich, but is having an abundance of money always good? Sometimes people use money for personal benefits, sometimes it's for the benefit of others, but at times people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the idea of wealth is seen throughout. Jay Gatsby, who lives next door to Nick Carraway; the Narrator of the story, wants to be with his dream girl Daisy. Gatsby is wealthy and throws parties to impress Daisy. Daisy however, is married to another man Tom Buchanan. Throughout the story the people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby F.Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to convey, wealth causes people to assert

​Nick Caraway moves from Minnesota to the West Egg neighborhood on Long Island to pursue a career in the bond industry. He lives in a tiny house wedged between large, expansive mansions. His neighbor, Jay Gatsby, is a well todo man with a mysterious past. Everyone in town knows Mr. Gatsby for his huge wild parties, but no one is quite sure where he has acquired his wealth. Across from Gatsby’s mansion, Nick’s cousin Daisy lives with her husband Tom Buchanan. Daisy and Tom have a complex relationship where neither of them are happy, but they will not separate even though both have been unfaithful. Tom has a mistress in the city whom is not unbeknownst to Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy have a romantic history from when Gatsby was in the army. This is the motivation behind Gatsby’s desire to acquire all his wealth. Gatsby throws his parties in an attempt to get Daisy’s attention, but Daisy is completely unaware that he is her neighbor until Nick brings them together. Though Nick is not a considerably wealthy man himself, his relationship to the Buchanans, and now Gatsby, are enough to keep him relevant in the social circles of East Egg and West Egg. Nick’s connection to Daisy also makes him highly attractive to Gatsby as all he wants is some form of an interaction with Daisy and involving himself with Nick is an easy way for Gatsby to make his way into Daisy’s life again. Money is power in the Great Gatsby, as it influences everyone’s status, aspirations,

Wealth is the average picture of the good life. Many in this world stride to become wealthy and live a luxurious life. Being wealthy determines a certain lifestyle considering the way you live and even where you live. If you were to look up wealth in a dictionary it would say wealth is an abundance of money. Gatsby the main character of the book The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald just so happens to be living the wealthy lifestyle. In the book it shows many different types of lifestyles during this era. Another character that goes by the name Tom Buchanon lives on a large property. They describe his home as “more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion…” (Fitzgerald 6). Which at this time is rare to own. His house is large and elegant he had a large inheritance of money that he used for the “look” of his family. Then to see the other side of the world there was a place called the “valley of ashes” that has no wealth at all this is where Wilson and Myrtle lived. It was explained as “....a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys….” (Fitzgerald 23). This is how Fitzgerald describes the poor side of town. The valley of ashes is the dirty and poor industrial zone back then. There were many ties between the different groups back then of West Egg and East Egg.

One of the most prominent themes or messages in the book The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald has to do with the meaningless aspiration for the superlative social class and wealth. This heavy theme is displayed by three ideas including, behavior of entitlement, tangible wealth, and the thirst for acceptance among the prominent.

Is your life revolved around how much money you have, what you can buy, or what you look like? In The Great Gatsby, the lives of the characters are revolved around the importance of money and the materials they own. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are two very important people that let their money control their lives, such as Daisy marrying Tom solely for is money so that she will be provided for her entire life. Gatsby is a prime example of all the wrong reasons of wanting to accomplish the American dream. He wanted to impress Daisy, so he lied and cheated his way to the top in order to prove to her that he was worth it, and now that he has money, he allowed it to take control of him and his true purpose. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald allows the

The theme of money is not only an important issue in the Great Gatsby but it also plays a big part in some of the character’s motivation. Many of the wealthy characters seem to share the belief that money has the ability to bring happiness, yet they each have different views on what happiness is. Some of the characters think happiness is being protected, for some it is human connection that they desire, some just think money will improve their overall quality of life.

Batchelor (2014) states that “[d]uring the 1920’s, many Americans began to equate self-worth with material possessions,” (p. 41) evident in The Great Gatsby by the behavior of the rich characters, large and luxurious mansions, colorful shirts and expensive cars etc., all are important to show the class of the people of Americans. The hysterical quest for wealth is displayed in the characters of Jay Gatsby. He represents the “new money”, self-made millionaires and opportunists and changes his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby originally coming from a working class family, and effectively shrouds his experience for quite a while. He utilizes his cash to toss excessive gatherings, with the motivation behind drawing to Daisy's advantage. The

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one… just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1). Society is made up of two social levels of wealth, either you’re rich or poor. Not everyone is blessed to grow up in a rich family, people have fought their way through economics downfalls to reach the level of success they have now. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby we are introduced to a group of wealthy individuals living during the 1920s. What divides them apart is where they live, which is either in the West or East Egg. The cities are divided by social status and ideas, but help the reader understand the importance wealth took during 1922.

Gatsby’s was just looking to take what he could get (Fitzgerald 149) with Daisy but ended up falling in love with her. When he returned from the war he knew that he needed to have money if he was ever going to be with Daisy again. So Gatsby became a bootlegger and created the house and life that he had imagined for him and Daisy. She loved the extravagant life that he had built for himself but it still wasn’t enough for her to leave her life with Tom. Daisy knew that she could never be with a bootlegger, and ended up fleeing town with Tom, without even saying goodbye. Daisy cares more about what others think of her than about how she feels.

In 1959 much of the United States, including Chicago, was segregated, meaning that racial segregation persisted in education, employment, and housing even though segregation that was established by law was unconstitutional. Walter one of the main characters in A Raisin in the sun is obsessed with being wealthy like the white men. Just as Walter does, In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby has a similar problem obsessing over money, he has anything you could dream of, from cars to mansions and even parties nearly every day. They both have a dream of being wealthy but for different reasons. Walters’s reason is so fulfill his dream of supporting his family and having money like a white man. Walter must put aside his dreams of being wealthy to see the

To many a lavish lifestyle is like living a dream, but it is truly a mask covering reality. This causes us to question if those who live in lavishness are truly happy. In The Great Gatsby money is an important factor because the lives of all the characters revolve around it. Daisy and Tom’s relationship revolves around money. For example Daisy marries Tom for money because she wants to live the lavish lifestyle. Yet, in reality money never really makes Daisy happy. Gatsby also lives the life of luxury. He throws parties weekly to try to find love but he is unsuccessful. Which causes Gatsby to be unhappy. As seen in the lives of Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby the luxury life may seem like a dream but it’s a way to cover up unhappiness.

The Power of Wealth The well-known saying "health is wealth" gives a substantial understanding to our life as health was once viewed as the most valuable aspect for each person. In the life today, wealth is viewed as more significantly than health. What is wealth? Wealth is primarily the underlying difference that separates a person from their true self.

The common theme of “The American Dream being frequently corrupted by the desire of wealth” continues to physically and mentally blind the counterparts in The Great Gatsby evidently shown in multiple literary devices. Jay Gatsby, the feature of this book, was clearly strongly elaborated on with his overwhelming mansion of revenue. In the scheme of chapter six, using the technique of a flashback, Gatsby disclosed his past. His shallow commentary lead Nick to recall this epiphanal line about his new companion, “He has changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career (91.)” After explaining his role in Dan Cody’s life, Nick realized how Gatsby’s lifestyle drastically changed from living in a North Dakota

Gatsby “rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy” (sparknotes). However, he reached this haughty goal by engaging in organized crime, including “distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities” (sparknotes). When Daisy and Gatsby first met he was “instantly smitten with her wealth, her beauty, and her youthful innocence” (sparknotes). Gatsby lied about his past in order to convince Daisy that he was good enough for her and when they fell in love, Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby. Later on, although, the pressure from her parents and the promise of a wealthy lifestyle convinced her to marry Tom.

During the 1920’s, when The Great Gatsby’s setting took place, was a different time. Where there were different views on certain subjects such as wealth. Compared to today’s society where history has changed people’s opinions and views on wealth. Not to mention, the responsibilities and social pressures of the wealthy back in the 20’s and in our current society that impacts the perception of affluence. There is also the wealth inequality that was in the 20’s and is still here to this day, that influences the impact of wealth.