The Theme Of Money In The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby distinguishes its characters through how much money they have. The world may revolve around money, but that doesn’t mean that money means everything, and Fitzgerald gets this theme across to his readers very well, simply by telling a story all about money. Money is a main concern for many characters, all coming from different classes, including Tom and Daisy who were born into having money, Jay Gatsby who worked for his money himself, and finally, there’s George Wilson who has little money despite working hard. None of these characters mentioned come out happy thus proving that money alone does not make a person happy. Not to mention how starting with that money can affect someone’s personality greatly.
Tom is bullheaded and cheats on Daisy constantly, while Daisy just leans on Tom for support and is painfully shallow since she has an affair herself making her hypocritical. This is all they have to truly worry about though as a nanny takes care of their kid, they can pay for anything they destroy, and they seem to have no consequences. Because Daisy decided it was a good idea to drive while she was hammered through a town, causing Myrtle’s death, it sickens me to think she barely spared a thought about it afterwards. Why should she worry about killing someone, if she gets into trouble she could just buy her way out of it, likely for a lesser amount than her $350,000 pearl necklace that Tom bought her. Just because Tom and Daisy don’t have a care in the world, that doesn’t make them happy though. They don’t really act like they love each other, they’re drunkards with little to no singularity, and they’re never content with what they have based off of how they cheat, buy their entertainment, and have zero responsibility. Spoiled from birth, Tom and Daisy do not come off as happy people throughout The Great Gatsby despite having more money than they’ll ever use. Their wealthy counterpart has a sense of responsibility though, but he isn’t exactly overjoyed

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