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How does fitzgerald illustrate the difference between the wealthy and the poor great gatsby
Money and morals/ethics in the great gatsby
How does fitzgerald illustrate the difference between the wealthy and the poor great gatsby
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During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich. The first character who represents the shallowness of the wealthy is Myrtle Wilson, even though she is not wealthy at all. She seeks to escape her own class and stoops to the low point of betraying her trusting husband who loves her more than anything. Her attempt to break into the higher class that Tom belongs to is doomed to fail. Even though she does take on Tom's way of living during their affair, she only becomes more vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She scorns people from her own class and loses all sense of morality. Myrtle never finds a place in Tom's higher social division, and what reveals her impertinence most is that she thought she would succeed in the first place, giving up all her morals for the wealthy. Undoubtedly, Tom and Daisy Buchanan exceedingly demonstrate the wealthy class's lack of integrity. Their lives are filled with material comforts and luxuries and completely empty of true purpose. Daisy's lament is especially indicative of this: 'What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that? And the next thirty years?'; Daisy also exhibits her shallowness when she is too restless to wait for her 'love', Gatsby, to return from he war, and she marries Tom. Her most drastic immoral action is committed when she runs over Myrtle and does not even bother to stop and help a person that is 'below' her. Daisy's husband, Tom shows his ridiculous morality in different ways. One way is his search for power, which is shown most through his affair with Myrtle and his possessiveness. He evidently feels further domination and masculinity when he has her, a woman of lower class, as his mistress. Secondly, Tom Buchanan is shallow enough to think that everything and everyone he has in his life are part of his property. This increases his 'power' and makes him feel as if he is truly successful. This couple, Tom and Daisy certainly contain serious corruptness due to their shallowness and self-indulgence.
Our story unravels early on in The Great Gatsby, Nick's very wealthy cousin, Daisy, simply has it all: she is beautiful and graceful; her bank account is large; she's traveled and knows people no matter where she goes. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, is without a doubt very lucky to be with her; but there's a ripple in this perfect couple: he's cheating on her. Not only is Tom cheating on her, but he's cheating on her with someone of a far lesser class; which makes the reader question why he's with her in the first place. Daisy had a very good reputation among the elite; she had never done anything that would have embarrassed her. "They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely perfect reputation" (82). This illustrates how well put together Daisy is, he has used her, and continues to use her not only for her wealth, but also for her firm social standing. She could, literally, make or break Tom depending merely on whether or not she stayed with him; of course he'd remain with her, she defined his social standing.
Tom then expressed that he “hate(s) that word hulking” (12), but Daisy repeats the word “hulking” (12) right back to him to show her pure disrespect for him. This just radiates her carelessness as she publicly announces her irritation with Tom. Tom allows her to be disrespectful as he continues to still do so much for her. Because of this Daisy believes girls can just be “little fools” (17) and do whatever they want. She believes this because Tom does everything for her and she knows he has the money to do anything for her. Through her displeasure with her marriages, she has an affair. While Tom and Myrtle have their secret affair, Daisy is having a secret affair too. Daisy has an affair with Jay Gatsby. She allows her corruption of wealth to cause her to feel superior over others, and therefore she is drawn to Jay Gatsby’s riches. If her rich husband is not loving her, then how could she not allow another rich man to love her? Later in the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Daisy’s driving to show her carelessness and superiority. As they are coming back from New York, Daisy Buchanan is driving Gatsby’s car as she speeds and swerves all over
Characters in books can reveal the author feeling toward the world. In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald suggested the moral decline of the period in America history through the interpersonal relationships among his characters. The book indicates the worthlessness of materialism, the futile quest of Myrtle and Gatsby, and how America's moral values had diminished. Despite his newly acquired fortune, Gatsby's monitory means could not afford his only true wish, therefore he cannot buy everything which is important to Daisy. (Fitzgerald, -page 42) What you wish for is not always what you want or not all that glitters is gold.
In the Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, many had pursued the American dream of material wealth and others could not. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are a married couple that seem to have everything they could possibly want and need. They had pursued the American dream of material wealth. Their lives were full of every materialistic object that one could imagine of, however they were very unhappy and seek to change their way of living. Tom drifts off to "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(Fitzgerald 10) and he begins to read "deep books with long words in them"(17) just so that he could have a topic conversation with others. Tom is married to Daisy Buchanan; however he has an apartment in New York and has an affair with Myrtle Wilson there. Daisy Buchanan is one who is empty on the inside, and she demonstrates herself to the world as if she is oblivious to her husband’s affair with Myrtle. Daisy has no drive, ambition or desires that she wants to complete in her life; she is a characterless person, with a beating heart...
According to the dictionary, the definition of dissatisfaction is the quality or state of being unhappy or discontent. Dissatisfaction is a disease that theoretically knows no prejudices, has no cure, and almost everyone has it. This is a global epidemic, that can destroy a man in the time it takes to snap your fingers. Physically most people will be alright but discontent will rot you to the core on the inside. Unfortunately, not being content seems to be a very common part of society today and in the past. The theme of not be satiated by life is especially seen in the famous novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. All the characters in this novel seemingly have achieved the american dream but they are all unhappy and never get what they really want in the end. Also, no character is satisfied with their marriage, with love, and with life in general. They are all unhappy with their lives and they destroy the lives of others in order to satisfy themselves. The Great Gatsby teaches us that even being wealthy and powerful, people can still be dissatisfied and will do anything in order to be happy. Therefore, despite believing that we have it all, dissatisfaction still plagues the human spirit.
One such character proves to be Daisy. Although she had fallen in love with Gatsby when she first met him, when he was at war she quickly wanted something to shape her life. Because of the wealth and lifestyle involved, she chose Tom Buchanan as her husband. Later, we see that Daisy still loves Gatsby, and cheats on Tom because of this. This act shows that she is disloyal and shallow. Daisy believes that she can go on with life however she wants and not have to worry about those she affects. She was the driver of the car and killed Myrtle, yet she let Gatsby die because of his love for her. Daisy abused Gatsby’s emotions, and then left the area with Tom to get away from the destruction they caused. These are ways in which Daisy proved to be a superficial character.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Daisy Miller by Henry James, most of the characters are under illusions during the majority of the plot. The plots are carried out with the characters living under these illusions, which are mainly overcome by the ends of the stories. The disillusionment of most of the characters completely diminishes the foundation in which the plots were built upon, leading to the downfall of some of the main characters and the altering of the other characters.
Tom Buchanan is a man from the upper class of society that believes he is better than everyone and is described by Nick as a man with “Two shining arrogant eyes had established of always leaning aggressively forward.” (Fitzgerald 11) . He is a man with no morals and has an affair with a mistress named Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is part of the lower class and her morals are just as low as Tom. Myrtle attempts to use Tom to move up in society. Myrtle puts on her best dress and tries to entertain the guests when she goes out with Tom. Myrtle attempts to entertain the guest by acting like a superior because she thinks she will sound fancier. This only makes her seem more foolish and seem like the low class person she truly is. Tom sees Myrtle as an inferior human being and treats her with disrespect. Myrtle knows about Tom’s wife Daisy and uses her name to tease him. With no remorse “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald 41) when Myrtle disrespected Tom by repeating Daisy’s name. Myrtle is an easy target for Tom and finds satisfaction in feeling superior to Myrtle. Myrtle knows she's not as
Though Myrtle Wilson makes an attempt to escape her own class and pursue happiness with the rich, she ends up gaining nothing and eventually dies. She is basically a victim of the group she wanted to join. Myrtle tries to become like Tom by having an affair with him and taking on his way of living, but in doing so she becomes unsatisfied with her life. Her constant clothing changes show that she is unhappy with her life, she changes personalities every time she changes her dress: "with the influence of the dress her whole personality had also undergone a change.
Throughout The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the carelessness of the upper class in many ways. The wealthy characters seem to think that they’re too good for the poor and only cared about themselves. They throw elegant parties at their castle like mansions that only other rich people are invited to. It also seems as if the more money you have, the less loyal and trustworthy you are. People in the upper class were very careless with their money and their actions, and F. Scott Fitzgerald showed that in a lot of different ways.
Myrtle longs to be with Tom because he was rich and noticed her.Tom gives her the desired lifestyle which she longed to be part of. “My dear,” she cried. “I’m going to give you this dress as soon as I’m done with it. I’ve got to get another one tomorrow” (Fitzgerald 36). Tom bought her material goods which gave her feelings of happiness and love. Wilson did not have wealth and social status to offer Myrtle and so she found a man who could give her what she wanted. Tom’s money did not bring her happiness but led her to believe he cared for her which was not true. Myrtle seemed to adopt the lifestyle of Tom because the casual spending made her happy and gave an illusion of the perfect life. Myrtle’s greed for Tom’s wealth and perceived happiness which ultimately causes her death. Tom’s wealth that supported her proved to be empty as he left her for Daisy. Myrtle stayed with Tom because of his money but that is why she was killed in the end. Money did not give her the happy life she wanted. Tom’s money made her believe she was loved but that was empty
Daisy only cares about money and the material objects that she possesses, when her and Gatsby take a tour of the house she says “ there such beautiful shirts,It makes me sad because I've never seen such beautiful shirts before.”(92)This is a clear example of how she appreciates what Gatsby has to offer rather than the fact the he was kind and caring enough to set up everything just so she would like it. The marriage between her and Tom, like the American dream is corrupted by Tom having an affair with Myrtle. This would make leaving Tom for Gatsby an Obvious choice but because of her desire for status and material objects in the end she cannot do it. Tom is part of the “Old money” and has inherited everything he has, and this is why the American dream has become to unattainable, not everyone has been able to inherit a fortune, “ the only thing respectable about you old sport is your money and I have just as much so that makes us equal” but Tom argues that even though Gatsby possesses wealth they are not equal due to where the wealth came from, Tom having inherited his fortune and Gatsby having earned it even through illegal means, both of these men are rich but have not done it honestly which is shows the corruption of the American
Tom Buchanan is described as having a strong and repugnant presence. He was a star athlete at Yale and is restless after his glory days of playing there, “…had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax” (page 10). He is arrogant and seems to believe that he can have anything that he wants. Even though he has a wife and child, he has no problem with having a mistress on the side and does not care that others, including his wife, know about it. In addition, Tom is very self-absorbed and cares only about himself and his own desires. Tom was what Daisy’s family considered to be suitable for their daughter. That, along with his money, is mainly why she married him.
The Great Gatsby emphasizes that people’s sense of responsibility depends on their financial stability and social class. Exclusively, characterized as either rich or poor, people are supposed to manifest a corresponding mentality towards the consequences of their actions as regards to their family, work, or society as a whole. F. Scott Fitzgerald conveys the lack of responsibility in the established wealthy class by displaying its disregard of important affairs and its materialistic view of life. Meanwhile, the newly rich and the poor, like Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson, try to defy this norm by adopting the same mentality as the old money and thus, face tragic consequences.
Daisy Buchanan gives the appearance of leading an interesting, thrilling life in East Egg. She has traveled around the world, and lived the life of luxury. However, even with all her wealth and status, she still leads a dull, unfulfilling life. She is constantly complaining of boredom and is seen as being restless throughout the novel. They [Tom and Daisy] had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together(p.6). Daisys world and the people she associates with, all have achieved the American Dream, but they have no aspirations or goals and thus they all live meaningless lives. This sense of boredom and unproductiveness is seen at various points throughout the novel when Daisy complains of being bored and continues to say, Whatll we do with ourselves this afternoon?(p.118) On the exterior Daisy lives a fast-tracked, thrilling life, but in reality, her life is uninteresting and lacking sustenance. Daisys past relationships were much more fulfilling. Her love affair with Gatsby in the past brought her more happiness than with her current husband. They [Daisy and Gatsby] had never been closer in their month of love, nor communicated more profoundly with one another(p.150) Of course she [Daisy] might have loved him just for a minute, when they were first married and loved me [Gatsby] more even then, do you see?(p.152) Overall, Daisys leads an unfulfilling life, despite her vast wealth. Her past was much more rewarding then her current life. Nicole, like Daisy, gives the appearance of living a thrilling life, but in reality, she feels her life in unfulfilling as well. Despite Nicoles wealth, her life is far from exhilarating. I think we should do something spectacular. I feel that all our lives have been too restrained(p.274). She never had real goals in life; she drifted aimlessly throughout the world. She gained all her wealth from her inheritance. Daisy has achieved the American Dream in a sense, but the true ambition and spirit behind it has been lost.