How Did F Scott Fitzgerald Use Materialism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald created a masterpiece with a multitude of themes that are prevalent throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby. The one that shines brighter than the rest is that money and materialism leads to Corruption. Fitzgerald uses many symbols to connect this major theme with the overall tone and characters of the story. Without money the story wouldn’t have started back when Gatsby met Daisy. Without materialism Gatsby wouldn’t have been able to throw the parties to attract Daisy. This major theme is prevalent throughout every chapter of the book.

Fitzgerald superbly describes the era due to the fact that he himself lived a life of grandeur, he married his wife Zelda Sayre in 1920 and had a “raucous honeymoon in New York City’s famous Biltmore Hotel” (F. Scott Fitzgerald: An American Icon). Soon after the wedding, they rose significantly on the social scene of New York. Fitzgerald originated from St. Paul’s, Minnesota, he attended Princeton University and was a great writer from an early age, he enlisted in the Navy during The Great War. Five years into his highly dysfunctional marriage he conceived one of America’s most significant works of literature. The splendid story Fitzgerald composed closely mirrored his own life, it is because of this that he was able to accurately depict the feelings and behavior of an era. Many sought pleasure through the form of materialism and happily indulged in the vices of mankind, Fitzgerald beautifully captures this all whilst enduring personal hardships of his own. He lived the life of a sensualist, just like the characters he wrote about in his magnum opus. Fitzgerald’s participation in setting the atmosphere of the decade and embodying the Roaring Twenties is the gift that he has bestowed to American literature, without it there wouldn’t be a text that can as precisely sum up some of America’s greatest years. Another major literary figure in the 1920s, though they had their differences, was a close friend of Fitzgerald nonetheless.

The roaring twenties is a time cemented in American history because of the ideas of prosperity that permeated daily life. World War One was complete, and citizens were excited at the new world superpower they had become. Electricity filled urban homes and new commodities, like the radio, made waves. Overall, happiness filled the masses and brought most to ever-increasing levels of hope for the future. This prosperity-aligned culture is famously tied to one book in particular- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Written in the 1920s, Fitzgerald’s tale of glamour and money culture creates a dramatic perspective of the American Dream through the use of pessimist Nick Carraway. While the idea of The American Dream, and the appreciation thereof,

The USA in the 1920s is remembered as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, an age of new life, of hedonism and opportunity following the horrors the Great War. The decade is synonymous with wealth, materialism and unprecedented freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides an insight into the exciting and prosperous lives of the American people as they embark on the limitless potential of the American Dream and therefore it conveys a picture of 1920s American society. With

The world is full of powerful forces that control people from all corners of the globe, but one of the most powerful and far-reaching force is money. Money is something that controls multiple people's lives and their decisions, sometimes people revolve their lives around money. Just like in the real world, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, money is a large concept in the book and is a motivator for multiple characters. The Great Gatsby is about Nick as he follows the story of Jay Gatsby and his quest to gain money and uses theses riches to win over his past lover, Daisy. Gatsby is not the only character that uses money to get his way or is materialistic, as multiple

" We are living in a material world." This famous line in one of Madonna's songs entitled "Material Girl" will never outgrow itself. Ever since the beginnings of monetary means, the main focus of living is getting more money and to be as successful as possible. This became a huge issue during the 1920's. In this era, people made money from the stock market, illegal bootlegging and so forth. With these people hitting the jackpot, this then created a new rank called `new money'. This rank, however, never overpowered `old money' the most wealthiest, well-known and respected class. The possession of material wealth however, can't bring true happiness. Love is an important factor in this equation; when you don't have love, it is hard to say

As massive as Chicago is, opportunity is frequent. But as massive as Chicago is, nothing can be perfect. Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago” helps one reading the poem understand what living in a big city like Chicago is like, equally exciting as frightening. “Chicago” is a poem that captures what the legendary city stands for, a polarizing residence that embodies what makes society both incredible and disappointing. Take the line “They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.”

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" is one of the most influential and famous phrases in the United State’s Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence encapsulates the original conception of the American Dream – the notion that every individual, regardless of their social upbringing, could have the opportunity to reach their full potential and live a comfortable lifestyle. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby takes place during the early 1920s--a time period that demonstrates the pursuit of happiness, opportunity, freedom, equality and finally the American Dream. Myrtle Wilson, a significant character in The Great Gatsby, tries to pursue

Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a peek into the society of the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald establishes two classes of

     America has been labeled "The land of opportunity," a place where it is possible to accomplish anything and everything. This state of mind is known as "The American Dream." The American Dream provides a sense of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. This dream, however, originates from a desire for spiritual and material improvement. Unfortunately, the acquisition of material has been tied together with happiness in America. Although "The American Dream" can be thought of as a positive motivation, it often causes people to strive for material perfection, rather than a spiritual one. This has

During the roaring twenties, the United States was a blemished nation. Crime and corruption were at an all-time high, the bootlegging business was booming, and throughout all this, people were euphoric. This time period during the nineteenth and twentieth century was captured by numerous artists, writers, musicians, and entertainers in their attempts to break from traditional values in what is known as modernism. A modernist is in simple terms a rebel. One who dislikes normal conventions and hopes to rewrite and renew societal morals. These artists were rebels with a cause and fought to expose themselves to society. Fitzgerald is an iconic figure in modernism because he skews the perception of reality, rejects the stereotypical traditions, and exposes people’s struggles as the American Dream fades away and proves a nightmare.

Approximately 30.5% of people in the United States are arachnophobic (7 Arachnophobia Statistics). With that, most people dislike spiders from a young age for their eerie, hairy, and nightmarish bodies. Although, there is another side, spiders also create webs to catch their prey, but these death contraptions are very fragile and it takes a very meticulous and careful spider to correctly design one. These different beliefs are each shown in the two poems “A Spider Holds a Silver Ball” by Emily Dickinson, and “Design” by Robert Frost. Dickinson shows a majestic web, made by an equally majestic spider, whereas Frost portrays an evil spider, using his web only to kill and consume his prey. The use of imagery and tone in“A Spider Holds a Silver Ball” by Emily Dickinson, and “Design” by Robert Frost clearly shows the contrasting portrayal of spiders by each spider.

“Money Changes Everything” by Cyndi Lauper illustrates the way people center their desires on material things such as money. The speaker in the song leaves the poor man, solely because he does not have money, for the affluent one: “I’m leaving you tonight…There was one thing we weren’t really thinking of and that’s money” (Lauper 1, 6-7). Like Cyndi Lauper, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the way people often center their desires on material things such as money in The Great Gatsby. Daisy falls in love with Gatsby, who is a poor man at the time, and when Gatsby leaves for the war, Daisy marries Tom Buchanan, who is a rich man, because he is “old money,” meaning he will always have the money and status to support Daisy. When Gatsby returns

To live with myself and others, we all need basic respect and courtesy. Then we also have to make the effort to understand others. The meaning of ethics: “moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.” So in order to live genuinely and treat others sincerely, we first have to ensure that our moral values are on the right path by checking with the teachers. In school, we were taught to not cheat and hurt others and so on. We have to be cautious to toe the line and not be a bully. By living life according to our right ethics carefully, we are able to get along with like-minded people. It is like whatever Mill has said before regarding Enlightened Happiness and how to