Essay On The Wealthy In The Great Gatsby

Noah Mammeri

Mrs. Fenlon

Honors English III

22 March 2023

The Wealthy and The Wealthier

In America, the "dream" is to become wealthy, build a family, and create a future worth living in, but while everyone is focused on wealth, money, and power, they get dragged into a constant focus on only what they think they need and forget to build up their skills as people and cherish the moments they have. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the deep, gaping hole that overwhelms all the wealthy. Throughout the course of the novel, there are many characters that seem to have everything in life, yet in reality have nothing. Gatsby, the novel's protagonist, experiences this when he is finally put in a spot where money does not

Too many people are caught up in trying to constantly bring money in to provide for their families, which often leads to a corrupt lifestyle. In the novel, many wealthy people are grouped into a society called socialites, such as the Buchanan’s. In the novel, it says, "The Buchanan’s belong to the socialites, yet their lives have no meaning" (Taylor 1). This quote clearly demonstrates how, in all, the socialites have no life meaning. This is because they have spent so long building up money and only money that they lost all their life skills and were completely drained of any and all life experiences worth having. Another way socialites have proven to have no skills and lack all life experiences is told in Source 2 when Taylor says, East-coast eggers have inherited their wealth and dwell on the traditions of high-class society. They did not work for their money, so they do not appreciate it the way West Eggers do" (Taylor 4). This excerpt shows how the life of the wealthy was most likely gifted to them and not obtained using any skills, and they did not experience the great opportunities and experiences that come with building up a legacy and

Gatsby was too busy chasing money. As the protagonist, Gatsby goes through an easy path of challenges to get what he wants. In source 2, Taylor says, "Gatsby tries to chase the American dream, yet his idea is tarnished. He throws parties to try to fit in with the socialites. Gatsby’s idea of the American dream is doomed because he tries to fit in with a society that will never accept him" (Taylor 1). This quote clearly demonstrates how Gatsby has been chasing something so simple but cannot fully achieve his goal of fitting in with the socialites. Gatsby often runs into the issue of not being able to do something but being able to get away with it due to his money and fame. Gatsby lacks the skill that would get him into a society like the socialites. This also appears when Gatsby tries to cheat his way to getting Daisy back. Gatsby tries to use money to achieve what he once failed at. In the novel The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald says, "The flowers were unnecessary, for at two o’clock a greenhouse arrived from Gatsby’s, with innumerable receptacles to contain it. An hour later the front door opened nervously, and Gatsby was there in a white flannel suit, a silver shirt, and a gold-colored tie" (Fitzgerald 84). This quote shows how Gatsby unescapably uses flowers and an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind suit to try and impress Daisy. Daisy is