Importance of Money in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Inherited money is held in much higher esteem than earned money in Savannah, Georgia. This is a theme seen throughout Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt's non-fictional account of life in Savannah. Characters such as Jim Williams, who worked for their money and brought themselves up the social ladder, are seen as being beneath those who inherited their money, such as Lee Adler. The old wealth tend to look down on anyone who wasn't born with their money. Their views of just about everything, including laws and punishments, differ depending on whether the person in question is of wealth due to blood or sweat.

At each stratum of society, there is the misconception of correlating money and character. Jim’s mother risked her life and that of her only son to get her ‘dues.’ “[I]’m an honest woman,” she proclaims and intends to prove this proclamation by taking only what is owed (Stevenson 17). It is astonishing how her perception of value is skewed. She sits counting money in the face of imminent danger. She values money over the safety of herself and her son. It is when danger is at the door that Jim is able to pull her back from the brink of death and disaster.

There are two types of people, those who are consumed by money and those that have a decaying amount. Both of those types of people crave more and more, both reside in either of the two contrasting peninsulas, East Egg and West Egg. The two headlands have numerous amounts of variance with each other in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrative is set during the 1920’s in New York City, as well as Long Island, and the two peninsulas dubbed “East Egg” and “West Egg.” There is a striking contrast between the two regions, however, not as many similarities. East Egg represents people who are vulgar and crude, who are also the social elite and old money, while West Egg represents good social values and new money. Nonetheless, both areas are equally dissatisfied with their life, always wanting more and more.

“Money is a mechanism for control,” a quote by American author David Korten that thoroughly describes how the many characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby used their wealth to stabilize the control of their lives. This wealth played an important role during its time, the early 20th century, by making a point of dividing certain social classes, putting the false belief that money brings one an absolute happiness, and aiding in the rise and fall of people’s legacy.

Also, as governor, Bennett may have helped to look after the Johnson’s “legal and economic interests” as well. By acquiring his estate, it enabled Johnson to have a constant source of income and therefore help the local community with it’s economy similarly. This relationship between he and the community came to help him when later his estate nearly burned down entirely. The court of Northampton treated him very well in helping them get through the disaster. He was treated just as any white man in Johnson’s position would have been. This example alone shows how merely owning property and giving back to the local community was a priority in establishing respect among people of the Northampton area; his skin color did not matter.

In, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the characters in the story are shown to have enormous wealth and live in the areas of East and West Egg. Jay Gatsby lives in West Egg, while the Buchanan 's live in East Egg. Although both are rich beyond belief, (the Buchanan 's from old money. Gatsby from new money), both Gatsby and Tom Buchanan reach for more and more from life. This appetite to gain and gain could and did have tremendous repercussions. Not only repercussions to their reputations, but also repercussions to their life with loved ones. By examining Gatsby and Tom in, "The Great Gatsby," and their inability to be content with what they have, one can determine how being unappreciative can lead to consequences such as death, love lost and soiling of reputation

Jay Gatsby is a self-made man, he turned himself from a farm boy to one of the richest men in America at the time and bought himself a beautiful mansion on West Egg, Long Island with the other new millionaires. In contrast to the newly rich, there are those who have inherited their wealth from family before them such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan. These people were lucky to be born into their lives and reside on East Egg along with other family’s with “old money”. Readers come to easily

Wealth has often consumed the lives people in the past, corrupting them and causing people to make bad decisions due to this greed. Wealth and greed will continue to take over others’ lives for as long as the human race still exists. The desire for wealth and greed as shown in the The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald by some characters’ intense obsession with money, lavish lifestyles, and their sense of entitlement, ultimately putting other characters in harm’s way.

Throughout the movie, life in the 1920s is portrayed as a moral wasteland. Specifically the lives of the “Old Money” and “New Money” wealthy individuals are the ones creating this moral wasteland. However, being

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

white men were enemies and that he had to stick to his own blood. He was used to his

One of the major topics explored in The Great Gatsby is the sociology of wealth, specifically, how the newly minted millionaires of the 1920s differ from and relate to the old aristocracy of the country’s richest families. In the novel, West Egg and its denizens represent the newly rich, while East Egg and its denizens, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old aristocracy. Fitzgerald portrays the newly rich as being vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. Gatsby, for example, lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce,

“I have no race prejudice,” he would say, “but we people of mixed blood are ground between the upper and the nether millstone. Our fate lies between absorption by the white race and extinction in the black. The one doesn’t want us yet, but may take us in time. The other would welcome us but it would be for us a backward step" (467).

Being famous and having money is every kid’s dream. Throwing money around like it grows there is an endless amount is everyone's dream. As many may be the solution to numerous issues, it does not solve the problems of the heart. Since many people do not understand this concept, it is the worst pain, the aching of the heart. This lesson is what Jay Gatsby should learn, how his whole life he thought he could win over a girl with all his money and expensive shirts. In The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, diction displays how money cannot buy happiness and is not the solution of the heart.

As human beings, what takes priority in life? Is it money? Money often drives people’s behavior. People don’t realize that it’s not necessary to be wealthy to enjoy life and live happily. Many of the characters portrayed in The Great Gatsby, displayed their desire for money throughout the book. Each character had a different outlook on money, but they each had something in common, they all wanted to acquire more. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the characters’ and community’s obsession, perception, and attitude toward money was prevalent.