Gatsby Wealth Analysis

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby was born into a life of poverty and as he grew up he became more aware of the possibility of a better life. He created fantasies that he was too good for his modest life and that his parents weren’t his own. When he met Daisy, a pretty upper class girl, his life revolved around her and he became obsessed with her carefree lifestyle. Gatsby’s desire to become good enough for Daisy and her parents is what motivates him to become a wealthy, immoral person who is perceived as being sophisticated.

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

Throughout of the duration of The Great Gatsby, we notice that a large handful of characters in the novel has been corrupted by greed. F. Scott Fitzgerald had portrayed a unique way of showing how money can control people and the society around them. When reading the novel one can come to the conclusion that money, popularity, and having a good reputation had control over Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, and even Nick.

An example of this is Jay Gatsby himself and the way he makes his money. Due to the influences of Dan Cody, Jay Gatsby becomes obsessed with money and chases after it for his entire life. This necessity for the fame and riches of money leads Gatsby into the world of illegal bootlegging, where, “he and Wolfsheim brought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter”(133). This illustration of the negative impacts of money in the 1920s shows how pursuing something, such as wealth, can lead one into a life of criminal activity and corruption. It can even affect someone like Gatsby, who during his early years is just a young man with a dream, but who turns later into a criminal who has made millions through illegal business dealings. Another instance of the negative impacts of money is manifested through Fitzgerald’s depiction of Tom and Daisy. At first, Nick, the narrator, portrays Daisy as someone who is kind and always helpful. But, at the end of the novel, when Nick exposes Tom ratted Jay and Daisy followed suit, Nick said they, “ were careless people… they smashed up things or creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…”(179). This quote about the Buchanans explains how both Tom and Daisy are essentially careless people. Fitzgerald uses them to portray the stereotype that those who have a lot of wealth are careless and not sympathetic towards others. The Buchanans think their wealth is able to shield them from the harms and problems of society, so they are egotistical and never gain an understanding of what it is like to not be rich. Fitzgerald's development of the plotline in this way highlights the negative impacts of money on

Gatsby, while raised poor, dreamed of wealth as he grew up. When talking to Nick at the funeral, Gatsby’s father, explained to him that though he was poor, he always knew he had the potential of being something great. He said, “Jimmy always liked it better down east...He had a big future before him...he had a lot of brain power”(Fitzgerald, 168). There is no doubt that Gatsby was dedicated. He was seldom able to let go of a goal he set out to reach. Moreover, as

In the book “The Great Gatsby” wealth affects the lives of many characters in the book, examples of these characters are; Daisy,Tom, and Gatsby. All these characters either had a dream to become wealthy, bribed people, or just cared about money, not love.Because of their obsession with wealth this led to many problems with other characters, showing the bad traits of others, and overall showing how wealth can almost always have a negative effect on a person.

Furthermore, Wealth can make someone feel determined. Gatsby was determined to get Daisy, and the only way to get Daisy was to become wealthy. To represent Gatsby’s interception of becoming wealthy, this quote symbolizes his determination and beginning to a happier life; “To Young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world” (100). This quote accurately describes Gatsby’s desires for wealth and his material items. The yacht, which belonged to Dan Cody, was the embodiment of wealth and fortune Gatsby was not familiar with. He lived a low life of poverty, and this was his goal that he wanted to reach. Dan took Gatsby with him and adopted him in a way, which gave Gatsby his start to fortune. Once Gatsby gained all of his fortune, he practically had all of the beauty and glamour in the world. Nevertheless, it always comes back to his lack of true beauty and love. He could never regain Daisy, his true love, and the beauty that he could never purchase.

Gatsby realizes that life of the high-class demands wealth to become priority; wealth becomes his superficial goal overshadowing his quest for love. He establishes his necessity to acquire wealth, which allows him to be with Daisy. The social elite of Gatsby?s time sacrifice morality in order to attain wealth. Tom Buchanan, a man from an enormously wealthy family, ?seems to Nick to have lost all sense of being kind.?(Lehan, pg.60) Nick describes Tom?s physical attributes as a metaphor for his true character when remarking that Tom had a ?hard mouth and a supercilious manner?arrogant eyes has established dominance over his face?always leaning aggressively forward?a cruel body?his speaking voice?added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed? (Lehan, p.61)

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

Because of his family’s money, Tom has always had the ability to control his life, which caused him to become a control freak. We see this when he talks of “profound” books that claim the white race is superior to all other races and if they do not watch out, the “other races will have control of things,” (Fitzgerald 13). The way he speaks of the other races is as if they are mentally and physically unable to contribute to society. Additionally, Tom Buchanan is such a hypocrite when it comes to Daisy having a relationship with Gatsby. He says shortly after meeting Gatsby, “I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy. By God, I may be old fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me,” (Fitzgerald 103). Despite being the one who runs around meeting sketchy girls all the time, having a full on affair with Myrtle, Tom does not like the idea of Daisy being with anyone else because it means that he has lost control of her. Thus, in his desire for control which came about because of his privileged upbringing, Tom is extremely hypocritical, which shows the corrupt nature of wealth. Both Tom and Daisy exist in the Great Gatsby as examples of the corrupting nature of money, which is exemplified through the whole

Daisy’s obsession with wealth also created dilemmas for other people. The first person she created problems for was Gatsby. She led him on to think that she would be with him. Gatsby had hope that he would end up with Daisy. He dedicated his life to winning her over and creating wealth. He went so far out of his way

In The Great Gatsby, wealth can be distinguished from class; it is possible to achieve great wealth without being accepted into the élite class, as evidenced by Jay Gatsby’s experience. Jay Gatsby was part of the new rich, the millionaires that popped up over night in the 1920s. His money could not buy him into the society of old money, the aristocratic money. The life of ease and luxury that Tom and others enjoy is contrasted sharply with the stranglehold of poverty containing Myrtle and George Wilson or the life from which Jay Gatsby emerges. Wealth is what separates Gatsby from his love, as he notes of Daisy that "her voice is full of money."(Fitzgerald 127).

Whilst Gatsby was very materialistic and amassed his fortune through dubious means just to impress Daisy, he represents

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, money plays a large role in the character’s lives. Money is used to change their appearances throughout the novel. All the characters use their money in a different way. Gatsby attempts to use his money to win back his one true love, Daisy. Myrtle Wilson uses money she does not have to change her appearance towards others. But others are used to having wealth, and they are experienced in the ways of being rich. These people include Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The narrator, Nick Caraway, moves east searching for wealth, but never achieves that goal. The entire novel is filled with wealth and riches, but is money to be seen as a

In his mind, wealth was the only measure of status and as such he would strive for wealth and wealth alone. With this single-minded approach, the charming Gatsby met Daisy, he was attracted to the status she possessed and the money she wielded. He, with his experiences with Dan Cody, had already had a taste of what could be achieved with wealth, and like a bloodhound after a scent he would follow it to whatever end. To obtain a fortune, he realized he would have to invoke a relationship with the Buchanan girl. After attempting to manipulate her into loving him, he surprised himself by falling in love with her. Quickly, his goals changed, from money to love. Now he knew he would have to achieve his first goal in order to have any hopes of the second. Though it is possible to argue that love outshone money in Gatsby’s mind, when he stated, “Her voice is full of money,”(Fitzgerald, 120), it becomes apparent that the two thoughts are intercorrelated in his mind. In truth his flaw was passion, he could not be without a goal, and he would go to the deepest depths to achieve success. Though, in itself this is not a quality to be frowned upon, when mixed with the desire to achieve a goal by any means possible, it creates a dangerous man. Gatsby is a clear example of this. To suffice his needs he was willing to become a criminal to secure his capital and in the long run marry Daisy. People