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Consumerism In The Great Gatsby Essay

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Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in 1925 as a critique of the ‘roaring twenties’ where America was dominated by capitalist values and for many there was no such thing as excess. Jay Gatsby is used as a symbol highlighting that the frivolous nature of America’s elite was transient. In Chapter 7, Gatsby makes the following statement, ‘Her voice was full of money’ about Daisy Buchanan implying that Gatsby idolises Daisy for her wealth and status. Gatsby has finally managed to pinpoint what is so elusive about Daisy’s voice, one that ‘the ear follows up and down.’ A voice that is ‘full of money’ indicates that Daisy has the tonal quality of someone that has always been well provided for. This also implies that Daisy has a love of money, which …show more content…

The metaphor, ‘enough coloured lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden’ conveys the sheer opulence of the party. Generally the public associate Christmas with the celebration of the Christian faith however this implies that consumerism has replaced religion in the opulent society of New York in the 20’s. This is further reinforced by Dr T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes, a billboard mentioned in Chapter 2. These eyes grow to become a God-like figure keeping a ‘watchful vigil’ over the elite of New York. This indicates that religion came second to consumerism as the figure seen as the Valley’s ‘God’, is a billboard made to help the rich make profit from the poor residents of the Valley. Also, Fitzgerald describes the entertainment band that Gatsby provides for his guests attending his parties as ‘no thin five-piece affair, but a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums.’ This lengthy polysyndetic listing describes a bombardment of sound, highlighting Gatsby’s overwhelming determination to upkeep the façade of wealth and decadence he has created in his pursuit for

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