The Great Gatsby: Old Money Vs. New Essay

Gatsby’s stubbornness to rekindle his past love causes his to spiral out of control. He would constantly try to put his needs aside in order to fulfill hers. Gatsby is blind to the fact that Daisy does not have the same feelings towards him. Daisy was only going with Gatsby in order to get back at Tom for having multiple affairs. Gatsby is still not in the same social circle because Daisy is a part of West Egg, which is old money; inherited money, while Gatsby is a part of East Egg, which is new money. This naivety from Gatsby causes him to be blatantly unaware of everything that is happening around him. “Gatsby, just like the brand new monstrosity he inhabits, is ‘flashy’: he wears pink suits, gaudy shirts, and drives an extravagant Rolls Royce. Despite all of their obvious wealth, the nouveau riche are imposters—cheap materialistic imitations of the American Dream. They can never possess the Buchanans's old-wealth taste, epitomized by their "cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay" (4). On Long Island, aristocratic grace and elegance cannot be purchased, only inherited. Try as they may, the inhabitants of West Egg will never be able to acquire true opulence. Daisy Buchanan's white roadster and "spotless" flowing gowns,

Once Nick Carraway, the narrator, moves into a small home in West Egg, he soon comprehends that East Egg and West Egg are completely different. Carraway realizes the East Egg is where the upscale residents live and West Egg is more economically disadvantaged as he explains, “I lived at West Egg, the--well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them” (Fitzgerald 5). East Egg residences extremely wealthy people whose wealth has been passed down the line for years, while West Egg houses the hard-working people who build up their wealth. Furthermore, Thomas C. Fowler defines that living in a wealthy, luxurious geographical environment can reconstruct a character into a conceited personality explaining, “Literary geography is typically about humans inhabiting spaces, and at the same time the spaces inhabiting humans” (174). This theory is correct because the residences’ in East Egg are spoiled, selfish people finding themselves in a wealthy and treasured lifestyle.

Time remains a universal continuation of the past into the present and bears a strong hold on the future. The destruction of satisfaction in history withholds the contentment of the future with an impeding sense of unalterable guilt. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates “the past is forever in the present” through numerous literary and narrative techniques, suggesting that memories serve as crucial components in the development of individuals.

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story about a wealthy man named Gatsby. Gatsby lives a luxuriant life in West Egg of New York. Gatsby’s wealth has an unknown secret because nobody seems to know where his wealth emerged from. Despite of having so much fortune, Gatsby’s true American dream has not been achieved. In the great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald develops Gatsby as a failed American dream to show the impossibility of the American dream in the 1920’s.

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby’s hold of the past and his pursuance of his own American Dream ends in certain death. Throughout the story, Gatsby believes that his passion can sway Daisy to leave Tom. These events lead him to relentlessly chase wealth in order to gain social status that is worthy of Daisy. However, the story does not end according to Gatsby’s ideals. Fitzgerald utilizes symbolism to demonstrate Gatsby’s tragic flaw, his chasing of a dream that is already dead.

New money was looked down upon by people who had old money and is shown through that description of these two places. The first person that Nick describes is Tom Buchanan, “Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (7).He also describes Gatsby a little while later when he is coming over to Nick’s because his long lost love (Daisy), who is Tom’s wife, is coming over for tea. “Gatsby, in a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie, hurried in. He was pale, and there were dark signs of sleeplessness beneath his eyes” (84). Nick’s description of Tom automatically makes the reader feel like they don’t like him. He’s arrogant and by his description doesn’t seem very nice. This is the difference between the new rich and the old rich. Tom doesn’t show it off in clothing or material things but more in his attitude, he thinks he’s better than everyone and dominant. Gatsby, on the other hand, doesn’t have that kind of attitude. Rather he wears things to show off his wealth. He is wearing gold and silver to display that he is wealthy. The author uses imagery to help the reader understand the two worlds Nick is dealing with.

Throughout history many societies have had upper, middle, and lower classes. The classes formed separate communities of diverse living and never crossed social barriers. In the book, The Great Gatsby, instead of streets and communities separating each class there was a sound. On West Egg, the rich received their money not from inheritance but from what they accomplished by themselves. They worked hard for their money and received no financial support from their families. These people gained in one of two ways; either they worked for it or relied on illegal means for survival. On the other hand, or island, East Egg natives represent the class of society that receive money from their

Daisy and Tom live on East Egg along with other families that have inherited their massive wealth. They live a very calm and elegant lifestyle compared to the newly rich that live on West Egg. Gatsby lives on West Egg and his lifestyle is very different from that of Daisy and Tom. Gatsby lives extravagantly, always throwing large and outrageous parties and buying unnecessary things such as the incredible mansion Gatsby lives in. Fitzgerald also, uses Daisy and Tom to exemplify the flaws in the moral values of those who have inherited their wealth. For example, Tom seems almost proud of his infidelity to Daisy. He even goes out of his way to take Nick to meet Myrtle, his mistress, and spend time with her. There is one instance where Tom forces Nick to stay at a party with Myrtle even though Nick is uncomfortable with the situation. Nick says “Hold on. I have to leave you here.”(28) To which Tom responds “No you don’t, Myrtle will be hurt if you don’t come up to the apartment. Wont you Myrtle?”(28) Later in the chapter Fitzgerald also shows the violent side of Tom, when he smacks Myrtle across the face and breaks her nose. “Making a short movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.”(37) Clearly through Tom’s actions Fitzgerald is trying to demonstrate the hypocrisy of men of the upper class. When a person is part of the upper class it is logical to think that they would conduct themselves in a proper manor, which Tom does

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,

Isn't that just as their home is described? (Even the word home seems too warm a descriptor to use surrounding the Buchanans). A lawn, lush and manicured (especially in the summer), that begins at the beach and is spotted with ornamentation and molded into areas for leisure may have visual appeal but is in no way organic or natural. Their house: Georgian; classical, but the many windows only reflect the golden sunshine of the outdoors. They are not transparent and the implication is that there is nothing behind them of substance to see anyway, if they were. As we come to know, within the Buchanan's house (or within the Buchanans themselves) there is no substantive warmth, love or familial relationships which one might expect to see evidence of upon peering through the windows of a home. In describing their estate, Fitzgerald alerts the reader early on seamlessly, subtly, completely incorporated within the plot and structure, to the true character of the Buchanans. Additionally, the house is a symbol of the Buchanan's social standing. Its location in East Egg (the more fashionable and "old monied" side of the bay) and the fact that even for East Egg it is expansive and impressive speaks to the high social standing Tom and Daisy Buchanan

During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result

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

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.

First, the community’s attitude toward money and obsession with money was prominent. Throughout the book, “One of the main themes of The Great Gatsby is the attitude of its characters- . . . -toward money” (Gross 149). The book highlighted the amount of money each character had and their social status in the community because of their wealth or lack of wealth. Many characters and the entire community dreamed of becoming rich to make themselves worthy of higher social statuses. Palladino once said, “The idea was that anyone could become a millionaire regardless of one's background” (Palladino 31). The community’s interest in wealth and what was believed about money was depicted many times. For example, “Most of these fellas will cheat you every time. All they think of is money. . . ” (Fitzgerald 31). This quote shows that many people were focused on the amount of money they could

There are several social classes referenced in The Great Gatsby. There is a distinction between the wealthy who live in West Egg, and those who live in East Egg. People who were born into wealth reside in East Egg, while people who were born into a lower class but were able to become rich by their own means reside in West Egg. While the “old” money and the “new” money are similar in terms of wealth alone, they are completely separate classes. People from old money often dislike those from new money and see new money as beneath them because they had only acquired their money recently. Tom, Daisy, and Jordan are part of the old money class, while Gatsby and Nick are new money. Meanwhile, Myrtle and Wilson are part of the lower class. The rift between the ideals of the different classes is evident through the observation of the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, as well as the relationship between Tom and Myrtle.