The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been interpreted by many different people
to mean many different things. The novel, published in 1925, at the time of the economic boom
in the United States, creates a portrait of the Roaring Twenties. Although Fitzgerald had not
known what was to come in 1929, the Great Depression, he did an exceptional job at practically
foretelling people’s futures. The purpose of The Great Gatsby is to show and explain how the
pursuit for wealth and status can ruin lives. Fitzgerald wrote that people have a natural tendency
to desire wealth and status, that wealth and status cannot and will not make one happy, and that
the desire for wealth and status can result in undesired consequences.
The 1920’s was a time of great wealth in the United States and people searched only to
obtain money, whether it was legally or illegally. Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby is the ideal
example of a person who attempted to get rich quick during the Jazz Age. He was born poor and
gained his riches from rumored bootlegging. Fitzgerald wrote, “Americans, while occasionally
willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry” (Fitzgerald 88). Gatsby
however, did not seem to care for money until Daisy came into his life. He, then, realized that
Daisy would never marry him unless he had money and a great status which she could have
attained from him. Fitzgerald explained, “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and
the tired” (Fitzgerald 79). Daisy only wished to pursue wealth and status, which she obtained
when she married Tom, she wanted nothing more. Gatsby, still obsessed with reclaiming Daisy,
hoped that if he was worth...
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...too long with a single dream”(Fitzgerald
161). The desire to want something to too much of an extent is not healthy and will usually result
in unwanted consequences.
Although many people classify The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as a love story, it
is nothing more than a novel about the desire for wealth creating trouble. Fitzgerald wrote about
how people have a natural tendency to desire wealth and status, how wealth and status cannot
and will not make one happy, and how the desire for wealth and status can result in undesired
consequences. The Roaring Twenties was a great time period for a majority of the United States
population; however, all good things must come to an end. As the Roaring Twenties came to an
end, so did Gatsby’s dreams.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
The thought of having an immense sum of money or wealth brings certain people to believe that money can buy almost anything, even happiness, however in reality, it will only lead to loss and false hope. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, writes a story about a man named Gatsby who is a victim of this so-called false hope and loss. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald clearly demonstrates and elaborates on the relationship between having money, wealth, and one's ethics or integrity by acknowledging the idea that the amount of money or wealth one has attained does affect the relationship between one's wealth and one's ethics whether or not in a pleasant manner. Although money and wealth may not be able to buy a person happiness, it surely can buy a person's mind and action, given that a wealthy person has a great deal of power. Fitzgerald analyzes the notion that even though many people dream of being both rich and ethical, it is not possible, and therefore, being poor and ethical is much better than trying to be rich and ethical.
Knowing from their different circumstances, he could not marry her. So Gatsby left to accumulate a lot of money. Daisy, not being able to wait for Gatsby, marries a rich man named Tom. Tom believes that it is okay for a man to be unfaithful but it is not okay for the woman to be. This caused a lot of conflict in their marriage and caused Daisy to be very unhappy.
The year 1925 landed in the middle of the roaring twenties. In the 1920’s, a lot of things happened such as the prohibition of alcohol, social change where more people lived in the cities, and the overall boom of wealth as the economy grew. This change in the lifestyle of the people sparked a decade of riches. Once accumulating every dollar after dollar, millionaires bought mansions to throw extravagant parties, galas and balls to impress the rich, the richer, and the richest. Not only did money play an important part of this era, but literature also had a significant and vital role. One of the numerous writers was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wanting to capture the twenties in its midst, Fitzgerald wrote the literary classic, The Great Gatsby. The
to his fate. Despite his naiveté about Daisy and her friends who "are rich and
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 live, when they should have been fulfilling their potential. American people lack all the important factors to make life worthwhile.
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
Daisy was like a sponge, and she only absorbed one thing, and that was money. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Daisy as a gold digger. Even Jay Gatsby, who loves her unconditionally and respects her states "Her voice is full of money"(120). What Gatsby is trying to say is that she's so spoiled and rich that you could even hear it in her voice. She has a voice that is very flirty and convincing, and she speaks as if she's higher than everyone. " She wanted her life shaped now, immediately--and the decision must be made by some force--of love, of money, of unquestionable practically--that was close at hand"(151). Daisy wanted to feel secure and safe immediately. She did not want to wait for someone who respected and loved her, s...
‘‘A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.’’ Said by Thomas Paine the man who wrote common sense during the American Revolution. His words apply to this story in a variety of ways, the key idea being that almost everyone in the great Gatsby is living somewhat of a lie and sacrificing there own happiness to protect their social standard, and oddly enough none of them seem to be effected by the artificiality that surrounds the people around them and themselves. They are perfectly content with the fact that no one in their lives is truly genuine, but are dishonest, hollow shells that take on the image of human beings. Most of the people eventually become so blind of it, not even realizing how artificial their lives are.
Daisy's greed can best be seen in her choice of a husband, and in the circumstances
He wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. (148)
Daisy’s main goal is to maintain her social status. She comes from a high status; her voice is even described as “sounding like money” (120). Near the end of the novel, she doesn’t leave Tom for Gatsby even though she truly loved Gatsby. She stays with Tom knowing he has a higher status and more security than Gatsby. Nick describes Tom and Daisy interactions as not happy, but almost satisfied in a way. Nick says, “They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched their chicken or ale- and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (145). This quote shows how Daisy wasn’t with Tom because it made her happy, she was with Tom because he didn’t make her unhappy. Daisy uses Tom to provide a secure status and life for
Scott Fitzgerald, the humble ideals of the American dream described in the Declaration of independence becomes completely radicalized by the corrupt vision of wealth in the U.S. during the 1920s. Instead of focusing on the equality for humanity and the inalienable rights of man, the American dream shifted to how much wealth you were entitled to by the end of your life. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters of the novel, is consumed by a drive to become wealthy in order to regain the love of his life. He acquires a relentless urge to become wealthy, to the point where his actions and motives are dictated by money. In the end, Gatsby loses all of his friends and never truly becomes happy. Through this novel, Fitzgerald comments on the prevalent belief that, in order to be successful one must be wealthy or strive towards it, even if it is by any means necessary. This lends to the belief of wealth acting on a person 's motivation towards any aspect in
...y are bombarded from birth that they should desire and pursue money, power, fame, and success. Without achieving these goals they are seen as failures. Strain theories have shown that placing too much emphasis on individual success and the pursuit of happiness through the accumulation of power and wealth, can lead to an increase in crime.
and fortune.Poor to rich (Bruccoli). Daisy wanted to didn 't want to be with someone who was