Essay About Love of Money in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

634 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: America in the 1920s great gatsby

The Great Gatsby – For the Love of Money

F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), is about many things that have to do with American life in the "Roaring Twenties," things such as the abuse of alcohol and the pursuit of other pleasures, including that elusive entity, the "American dream." Mainly it is the story of Jay Gatsby, told by Gatsby's friend and neighbor, Nick Carraway, a bonds salesman in New York. Three other important characters are Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson. Nick is distantly related to Daisy, whose wealthy husband, Tom, went to college with Nick. Myrtle is married to a mechanic but is sleeping with Tom. Fitzgerald's novel seems to affirm the Biblical adage that the love of money is the root of all evil, for his characters value money inordinately. And this attitude is a central moral concern of the novel. Fitzgerald's characters erroneously believe money can buy them love, friends, and happiness.

Gatsby tries to buy Daisy's love throughout the book. In the first part of the book Gatsby throws a number of large parties, hoping Daisy will come to one of them so he can pursue her. Unsuccessful, he manipulates Nick into arranging a meeting between himself and Daisy. Nick has Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby to tea. Subsequently, Gatsby invites them to go for a ride with him. Thereafter, Gatsby tries to drive a wedge between Daisy and Tom, but though she claims to love him, her love is as superficial as the image Gatsby has created with his money. Money itself is neither moral nor immoral, but the use Gatsby puts money to involves moral issues about the sanctity of marriage that go far beyond the mere fact that he is rich and uses his money to gain want he wants.

Gatsby also tries unsuccessfully to win friends through his parties. Gatsby is lonely and he tries to fill his loneliness with his parties. In effect, he tries to buy friends with his lavish entertaining. And, although his parties are successful in the number of guests (invited and uninvited) and in their apparent enjoyment of the parties, Gatsby makes no significant friends through these entertainments. Instead, people speculate as to how Gatsby got his money and as to whether or not he is a killer. Indeed, he has got his money illegally--through bootlegging and other immoral ways.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Same Goal, Different Route In The Great Gatsby

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy.  He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man.  This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards.  He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick."  Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth.  Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively.  His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly.  Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention.  A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.

    Read More

  • John Hancock Influence

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Hancock was a very influential man for our independence during the War for Independence. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, which is now known as Quincy, Massachusetts.1 Different sources had a different birthday listed for him. One source said that it depends on the calendar that was in use at the time, therefore, his birthday is either January 12 or 23, 1737.2 His parents were Mary Hawke Hancock and the senior John Hancock.3 The name “John Hancock” was handed down for three generations making the John Hancock that was influential during the War for Independence the third. John’s father died in 1744, when he was only seven years old.4 Mary Hawke Hancock felt that she was too poor to raise her children on her own5, therefore, she

    Read More

  • CGI Group Case Study

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    This means, for instance, to understand the culture that defines and describes CGI Group is to understand their deeply embedded values and principles that orient the company’s behavior and interactions both within and outside of its domain. Practices are what constitute daily rituals; and the rituals make up the mental programming that summarizes an organization’s overall culture that tends to assume a static status over time (Hofstede, 1980). This, in retrospect, means that the CGI Group culture created in its formative years has and will remain the same as long it can. This is possibly not the case, especially not in light of their global outreach and consistent interactions with other cultures that may be quite the opposite of their

    Read More

  • Money And Social Power In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    Benjamin Franklin once said “Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness." This is arguably one of the most cliché quotes of all time. If money cannot provide happiness, then what exactly can it do? The characters of Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan open a door to a world in which money was the sole motivation for their success and the only reason for their power. When the reader uses a Marxist critical lens during chapter four of F. Scott 's Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, the social hierarchy reveals how Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan utilize the importance of money and social power to manipulate others in their lives.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Effects Of PTSD In The Three Day Road

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    PTSD is a psychological disorder that most commonly affects those who have been through a traumatic experience. Furthermore, PTSD can affect anyone, though it’s most commonly associated with soldiers and first responders. In Three Day Road, both Xavier and Elijah suffer this and are identifiable from their actions during and after the war. Finally, PTSD comes in a variety of symptoms that can affect anyone who has survived a traumatizing experience.

    Read More

  • Freedom of Speech

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for simply speaking one’s mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one’s mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one’s own ideas can be expressed freely and the follower’s belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would be a very different place.

    Read More

  • Diagnosis and Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: Money, Power, and the Fulfillment of Dreams

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald money, power, and the fulfillment of dreams is what the story’s about. On the surface the story is about love but underneath it is about the decay of society’s morals and how the American dream is a fantasy, only money and power matter. Money, power, and dreams relate to each other by way of three of the characters in the book, Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom. Gatsby is the dreamer, Daisy cares about money, and Tom desires and needs power. People who have no money dream of money. People who have money want to be powerful. People who have power have money to back them up. Fitzgerald writes this book with disgust towards the collapse of the American society. Also the purposeless existences that many people lived, when they should have been fulfilling their potential. American people lacked all important factors to make life worthwhile.

    Read More

  • Greed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    To the main characters in the book, money is everything. Tom, Gatsby, and Daisey are all consumed by money and its prestige. Gatsby uses his money as a tool to lure Daisey back into his life by giving her a tour of his possessions inside and outside his house. Because Daisey seems to fall in love with Gatsby again, it shows that she was not really in love with Tom, it was his "old" money that she is truly in love with. Money is important to Tom and Daisey because it makes them feel superior to those who have less. All of these characters have been corrupted by their greed but the one person that has not is Nick, Daisey's cousin. He is nice enough to help Gatsby with Daisey out of friendship, not for his money.

    Read More

  • Causes and Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many different causes of PTSD such as sexual abuse, sudden death of a loved one, and war. Trauma affects people in different ways, some can develop it from watching a fellow soldier being killed, and some can develop it from losing their jobs or a divorce. Being diagnosed with PTSD is a difficult process because there are many other psychological disorders whose symptoms can overlap and are very similar. An important fact to remember is that PTSD doesn’t just affect the person suffering; it can also have secondhand effects on their spouses, children, parents, friends, co-workers, and other loved ones. Although there is no direct cure, there are many treatment and alternative treatment options to assist them in moving forward after a trauma.

    Read More

  • The Results of Keeping Secrets in the Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, a novel set in The Roaring Twenties, portraying a flamboyant and immortal society of the ‘20s where the economy booms, and prohibition leads to organized crimes. Readers follow the journey about a young man named Jay Gatsby, an extravagant mysterious neighbor of the narrator, Nick Carraway. As the novel evolves, Nick narrates his discoveries of Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy, Nick’s married cousin to readers. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald develops the theme of the conflict which results from keeping secrets instead of telling the truth using the three characters – Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby (James Gats).

    Read More

  • Gender Identity And Social Identity

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The source fails to consider other interpretations and does not provide alternate explanations for the research proposed. The writer does accredit different understandings but solely focuses on the theory by Dr. Kranz, that those whom wanted sex-reassignment to their desired gender are based upon the theory of different brain structures. No alternate explanations were accounted for gender changes and why people do

    Read More

  • The Pursuit of Wealth, Power, and Pleasure in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reader sees how much Gatsby wishes for Daisy and their past relationship, but Tom has become an issue through his wealth, power, and social status. Gatsby knows that he has to eclipse Tom’s appeal to Daisy in some way and that he would need money for this. This gets him into the illegal actions of bootlegging. In the end of the novel, the reader realizes the sign...

    Read More

  • Reliving the Nightmare: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today the definition of PTSD has broadened to include not just those in combat, but people who have experienced any man-made or natural disasters, accidents, violent crime such as rape, and abuse. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, emotional detachment, ...

    Read More

  • Summary Of What Is An American By John De Crevecoeur

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    They wanted to pick jobs based on ability and merit, and not based upon orders from Dictators. Crevecoeur described a significant difference in religious freedom between his early America and Europe. The distinction was important because it allowed individuals to think for themselves in spiritual matters, develop genuine religious principles, and bring an end to persecution over religious pride.

    Read More

More about Essay About Love of Money in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

Open Document