What Is The Great Gatsby Materialism

“‘I’m glad it’s a girl and I hope she’ll be a fool - that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool’”. This is a very vivid quote written by F. Scott Fitzgerald that helps identify one of the many themes in his book The Great Gatsby. This specific quote speaks of the topic I will be addressing which is money and materialism. This theme takes shape and form in many different ways and through different people throughout the book, and is shown through Fitzgerald’s characters Myrtle, Daisy, and Tom.

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.

Materialistic possessions became the center of popularity in the 1920’s, life became all about who could get the most Women and throw the biggest party. These materialistic items were used to acquire other non materialistic things such as love and social status. These goals were often unattainable, specifically for three characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's’, The Great Gatsby. Love and social status were the unattainable dreams of Myrtle, the status driven cheater; Wilson, the shooter; and Gatsby; the Daisy craving self-made millionaire.

Everybody strives to earn it, those little green things in your wallet. Green is associated with good and happiness; above all, things of desire. Nevertheless, it doesn’t truly make you happy with your life and most importantly, yourself. In the fictitious novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the characters who have money at their disposal are constantly looking for something else to fulfill their longing to have a meaningful life. Despite it’s problem-solving reputation, money isn’t what it’s chalked up to be, the characters with excessive money aren’t sincerely happy with their lives. Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Baker and never satisfied with their m0ney. Fitzgerald’s characters never seem to connect their feeling of never being satisfied with their infinitesimal amount of happiness.

The Great Gatsby begins by stating ”In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.” (Fitzgerald, 7). Feelings of sympathy are constantly experienced throughout literature, since certain works are very emotional and relatable; the lives of characters within the stories are similar to those of readers. Pity and understanding is an important aspect in literature in order for work to be memorable and fully understood. Many aspects of the novel are relatable, but there is one character that inspires the most powerful and empathetic emotions; Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a hard-working, influential character who strives to achieve his dream; being with his lover, Daisy. The most sympathetic and relatable of the three protagonists studied is Jay Gatsby because unlike others, he strives to achieve his dreams, lies about himself, and he began life as a less privileged, average person who made a difference. Gatsby is different from other protagonists in the way that he is more relatable and sympathetic. Macbeth and Willy, (two other tragic hero protagonists from different stories) also had dreams they strove to achieve, but undeniably followed them in ways that were not the best; they want to gain for selfish reasons, as they wish to gain for themselves instead of others. Gatsby however, wishes to gain for himself and Daisy; a trait many share as people tend to wish the best for loved ones. Gatsby’s life revolves around the hope that he will be with Daisy someday, creating an ambition in him to impress her, since he “bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.”(). Gatsby’s life story revolves around the person he truly loves, and everything he has done was for her. Sometimes, nothing is considered too much for someone a person loves. People tend to have an ambition in life; a dream they wish to carry out. These dreams may influence one's entire life, causing them to act a certain way, demonstrated by Gatsby. On a basic level, Gatsby can be sympathized with due to being a dreamer; his

" 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

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.

“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

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many concepts to exemplify certain themes throughout his book, The Great Gatsby, but none more so than the idea of materialism to exemplify the isolation that is felt by many of the characters within the novel. Fitzgerald employs the philosophy of materialism to define the sense of remoteness and estrangement that encompasses many of the characters in this story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald constantly alludes to 1920’s American life. The story mainly addresses the loss of the American dream and the rise of materialism. East and West Egg correlate with how the east is plagued by lack of morals while the midwest and new-rich still have integrity. Nick, the narrator, comes from old-wealth but the midwest has taught him morals which is why he despises the East. With the 18th amendment came the rise of acquiring money illegally, hence Gatsby’s wealth.

In a materialistic society, one measures the worthiness of its members according to their wealth. For many Americans across many generations, material possessions have determined social status and overall value to society. This rating system has been the subject of blistering critique from early on in human society when money was deemed “the root of all evil”, to the 1920’s when F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a criticism of materialism in his book The Great Gatsby. Americans today still try to acquire the lavish trappings of the wealthy. Although equating money to happiness is no longer socially acceptable by most people, the want for more materials and tendencies to depend on alcohol in times of trouble that Fitzgerald critiqued is still valid today.

The Great Gatsby is an amazing novel that is well known all around the world from its creative realistic ideas that connect to society produced by the writer of the novel F. Scott Fitzgerald. The ideas create a sense of realism by expressing the things that us as humans focus on in society such as wealth demonstrated through the idea of materialism, where people just think of worth and are distracted from the bigger picture, which makes me feel deeply concerned for our society. Another idea that is represented in the novel is the decline in the American dream which is extremely significant in USA, but also well known around the world in terms of achieving all that you desire.

In the Great Gatsby, characters often have opposing thoughts and feelings of one another, and once these characters gained more wealth, their original beliefs were amplified. Fitzgerald asserts that the American Dream has become materialistic, which is symbolically represented by both Tom and Gatsby’s achievement of the American Dream leaving them without feelings of satisfaction. (Possible thesis change to suggestion #3 from #1) With all of his wealth, property, and parties, it is clear that Gatsby has achieved the American Dream. However, Gatsby considers himself surrounded by strangers in his parties while “trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me”(Fitzgerald p67).

     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

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of The Great Gatsby, he creates an artificial world where each character’s sole purpose in life is money, and the essence of desire is wealth. It is clear within the text that the characters feel as if they are totally limited by the amount of money they make, therefore, their view of being satisfied and achieving in life is depicted against their financial status. Poverty limits decision and action. The novel is set in the 1920’s when the newly founded ‘American Dream’ was being strived for, the idea that if one worked hard, they would ‘reap’ the rewards, no matter their