What Is The Theme Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

“‘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.

Fitzgerald displays Gatsby as man who came from nothing, with an unrelenting passion to obtain material success, or the 1920’s American Dream. Radical transformation was one of Mr. Gatsby’s most outstanding characteristics, taking his desire to change from the once impoverished man to the point of changing his name. Certainly Gatsby possesses admirable traits, as his will power is once again displayed through the longing for his lost love, Daisy. The misconceptions of the time period are illustrated as Fitzgerald displays that Gatsby’s underlying desire for money is to win over Daisy through impressing her with his wealth. Within Adam Cohen’s piece “Jay Gatsby Is a Man for Our Times”, Cohen discusses the worthiness of Gatsby’s goal: “The callow Daisy, whose voice is ‘full of money,’ may not be a worthy goal. But Gatsby’s longing for her, and his willingness to sell his soul to pursue her, are the purest thing in this sordid tale.” Essentially, Fitzgerald demonstrates that Gatsby, nor his relentless will to succeed, are not the issue. It is the time period, along with the misconceptions of a dream, which corrupt the character. Gatsby’s wealth is obtained through unethical ways, like many others who followed the path of easy money. The corruption of bonds does bring Gatsby the wealth he had always longed for, along with extravagant and lavish parties at his mansion. Consequently, we learn that reaching the goal of obtaining wealth ultimately does not lead to

The 1920’s was an interesting time where social and political ideas were changing; women gained the right to vote, the jazz age created a large popularity in music and dancing, but most importantly, wealth became a new way to express one’s class in a society as people moved from rural areas to cities. The Great Gatsby is a significant example that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in order to show how one’s wealth can affect the people they meet and the way people treat each other. Along with wealth, this book is about love, both from the past and from the present, that soon twists into a tragedy when Gatsby was killed while protecting the other, all in the name of love. Everything Gatsby did was to impress or protect Daisy because he was deeply

Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is set in America of the 1920’s, a predominantly materialistic society revolving around wealth and status above all else. Fitzgerald depicts this obsession with money and luxury through complicated relationships full of trouble, infidelity and sorrow. The relationships Fitzgerald portrays all symbolize the materialism and hedonism of the age; each relationship is doomed to a certain extent based on the social class of each character.

The “Roaring 20’s” was a time period where material and wealth mattered even more to people. Greed consumed people and the thrill of the time devoured people as well. Parties occurred daily and wealthy members of society appeared out of nowhere. The American Dream, of what once was a dream of self, became corrupted. The opportunity to be oneself became the opportunity to become rich and powerful. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies the corruption of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, an upper-class member of society, allows the thrill of the American Dream to take over his life and determine his actions, in his extravagant plan of winning back his old love, Daisy. This corruption of the American Dream destroys not only his ideals and inevitably, his life but also sabotages Daisy as well. Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby’s versions of the American Dream are a true example of the hold and destruction that the American Dream had on people. Fitzgerald’s way of incorporating the American Dream reflects the truth behind the dream and shows the damage that it did to millions of people during the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby is a criticism of the American Dream and how monetary greed and excess destroy the characters’ attempts to find true happiness.

The Great Gatsby takes place in the heat of the nineteen-twenties where countries, especially the United States, were economically booming after having recovered from World War One. This novel tells the tales of the fabulously rich while acknowledging, in part, the poor, working class who live during this time. In his work, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters and their actions in an unexpected fashion. He does not illustrate the triumphs of the twenties in a positive light, but, instead, mocks societal views by portraying them as full of: greed, falseness, and carelessness.

Nick states that, in some ways, this story is of the West even though it has taken place entirely on the East Coast. Nick, Jordan, Tom, and Daisy are all from west, and Nick believes that the reactions of each, book character,himself included, to living the fast-paced, lurid lifestyle of the East has shaped his or her behavior.  Nick thinks of America not just as a nation but as a geographical entity, land with distinct regions embodying contrasting sets of values. The Midwest, Nick believes, seems dreary and unremarkable compared to the excitement of the East. But the East is merely a glittering surface, it lacks the moral center of the Midwest.  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, is truly a story of the west as it illustrates how  West Egg fails to lead to the achievement of The American Dream, which in the book was dreamt greatly by Gatsby, and subsequently shows how this world’s materialism is ruining it entirely.

Many novels have attempted to divulge the inner depths of the era known as the Roaring Twenties, but few have had such a profound look into the wild time like F. Scott Fitzgerald. As can be seen, the characters within The Great Gatsby brought their own demise upon themselves by allowing themselves to be swept away by the passions and desires. The tale of the man known as Gatsby has shown its readers how corruption, overindulgence and extravagance can wreak havoc upon an individual’s morals and values. The world should take heed of these vices and the dangers that follow them, before they begin their own destruction.

" 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

All the money in the world can be spent on feeling like one means something in society, but with all that money, love and happiness still cannot be bought. Society has taught people that love equates with expensive gifts and gaiety rests in mansions, but these things are all material objects. Materialism develops when the weight of possessions is greater than spiritual values, such as love, kindness, and character. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the main character, Jay Gatsby, buys a mansion across the lake from his previous lover to attract her with his lavish parties and riches hoping to make her fall in love with him again. Gatsby’s possessions

“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

The Great Gatsby’s parties were always filled to the brim with members of the upper class. The people were beautiful, established, and accustomed to excess. From the outside, the United States appeared to be just as prosperous as the partygoers. However, this was far from the truth. The lower class struggled with in America in the same way the upper class struggled with morality. F. Scott Fitzgerald captures both ideas with his novel; he shows us specific examples of people distracted from ideals by the influence of money.

The Roaring Twenties was a time of human desire, whether that be a desire for acceptance, a desire for money, or a desire to step outside the veil of familiarity. During this time Americans got their first taste of consumerism. Naturally, this newfound economy lead many people to a life of materialism, filling their lives with whatever they felt would please them. The Great Gatsby provides an insight to human desires and reveals to readers how materialism truly affected the Roaring Twenties.

New ideas took shape as the United States departed from WWI, coined as the “war to end all wars,” to a new decade of the 1920’s. The American people was endured this war, but have grown tired of the reforms as well as the results of progressivism. This war was to have brought peace and prosperity, yet these promises were broken to Europe. Materialism amongst the middle class has overcome the movement of idealism in the US, inciting both men and women to enjoy this prosperity of the country. After the war, Americans were tired of and these people wanted to enjoy the flourishing lifestyle that came about afterwards.

The 1920’s were roaring. Throughout this time period, wealth in the United States doubled, leaving room for growth in an economic forum. This caused many Americans to move into the uncharted territory of the city, and make the transition into a prosperous and foreign “consumer society” (History.com). In addition, the traits of greed and materialism are ubiquitous in The Great Gatsby, as well as in the flashy 1920’s. These two characteristics give one confidence, but as demonstrated in the novel, it brings nothing but short-term satisfaction. After that, feelings of desperation to childish behaviors can accompany it. These two features have the power to seem favorable, as they serve as a temporary distraction, bringing an