A Comparison Between Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby and Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class

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Recommended: Analysis of the great Gatsby by Fitzgerald as a critique of the American dream

Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby and Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class

The American Dream is real; Americans are able to rise out of poverty and into leisurely lifestyles with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class both address issues of status and wealth that arise from peoples' pursuits of the American Dream. But the authors differ in their beliefs about the nature and motives of peoples' pursuits of wealth. To begin with, Fitzgerald disagrees with Veblen's notion of pecuniary emulation as being intrinsic behavior (a goal in and of itself). He does this by conveying that Gatsby's flamboyant lifestyle is as extravagant as it is only because it is goal-driven (Gatsby wants to get Daisy's attention). Fitzgerald's ideas about the consequences of "conspicuous leisure" and "conspicuous consumption" are no less critical of Veblen's theory. Fitzgerald conveys that those who engage in pecuniary emulation invite superficiality into their social lives and relationships-a consequence which Veblen fails to even consider. Furthermore, Fitzgerald disagrees with Veblen's belief that pecuniary emulation is consuming (it demands one's focus) by subjecting characters such as Gatsby and Nick to different levels of non-consuming materialism. Fitzgerald believes that the pursuit of wealth for the purpose of invidious distinction is not what Veblen claims it is--that is, that the pursuit is neither intrinsic, fulfilling, nor necessarily consuming.

Fitzgerald sees pecuniary emulation as voluntary, non-intrinsic human behavior. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen writes that wealth "...

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...burse and use money-probably because he was a multimillionaire. Because of the biases inherent to the discussion of wealth, one must consider all of society's sentiments in order to obtain a comprehensive basis from which meaningful discourse can spring. Resources such as The Great Gatsby and Theory of the Leisure Class allow that ideal basis to become ever more tangible.

Works Cited and Consulted:

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster Inc., New York: 1991.

Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Extremes. New York: Pantheon, 1994.

Mizener, Arthur, ed. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963.

Raleigh, John Henry. "F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Mizener 99-103.

Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (New York and London: Macmillan, 1899

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