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Economic Status In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Armita Atefi Ms. Tarascio ENG4U Date May 26, 2024 Fortunes and Fates: Economic Status in The Great Gatsby In what way does wealth influence the decisions people make in their lives and their destiny? F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows how a person's life is based on their economic status. Tom, born into wealth and is self-centered and selfish, Gatsby on the other hand became wealthy on his own, and he tries to gain status in society. Analyzing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby through a marxist lens allows for the examination of how the economic status that an individual is born into impacts different aspects of their lives; this can be explored through the characters of Tom and Gatsby and their romantic relationship, careers and societal …show more content…

Even Gatsby, being the wealthiest man, can not convince her to leave her husband. While Gatsby’s love for Daisy is pure and passionate, but due to him not being born into a wealthy family when they first met, made things hard for him and Daisy decided to marry Tom because he was old money, which shows how the economic status that an individual is born into can affect who people choose to be with. Moving on from the impact of economic status on romantic relationships, it is important to also consider how economic status influences other parts of their lives, such as career paths and societal privileges. Moreover, the career paths of Tom and Gatsby demonstrate their strategies for attaining wealth within the economic system the inhabit. Following their argument in chapter seven, Tom exposes Gatsby's so-called drug stores business and the dark side of his success, Tom says, “ ‘I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. ‘He and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts.’ ”(Fitzgerald

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Is it possible to live life without the temptations of money and power? Even so, can money indeed buy happiness? The need for wealth and power is evident in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as well as in modern-day instances. In the novel, Jay Gatsby devotes half his life to becoming a wealthy man to impress his love interest.

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