Examples Of Gold In The Great Gatsby

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The Desire of Gold is not for Gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit" ("Ralph"). Within society, it is believed that money is the key to happiness, for with money comes fame, status, influence, and above all else power. Society uses money as an escape and in doing so, believes that with money all problems can be solved and all mistakes can be undone. Over time, the value of money within society increased to the point that it began to overweight the core values of what it truly means to be human. This theme is heavily exemplified within F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby, and is consistently demonstrated throughout the actions of its characters. The book demonstrates this by repeatedly highlighting

"Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and Daisy gleaming like silver, safe, and proud above the hot struggles of the poor." (Fitzgerald 142) Jay understands the impact money previously had on his first attempt at love with Daisy, which is why he went through everything he did in order to gain wealth. Gatsby’s love for Daisy is so overwhelming that he spent his life struggling with hopes of being able to obtain enough money in order to secure a second chance at his relationship with Daisy. Gatsby believes that with money everything is possible; he believes that money will give him the ability to rewrite the past, and when Nick tells him that there is a possibility that he may not be able to, he says, "Can't repeat the past? 'Why, of course you can! I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,' he said, nodding determinedly. 'She'l see." (Fitzgerald 106) He truly believes that money is the key to undoing the past and revitalizing his love with Daisy. Therefore, since he has money now, he believes that everything should simply fall into place. In order to gain wealth, Gatsby changed his name; where he once was known as James Gatz, he is now regarded as Jay Gatsby. He experiences loss, witnesses death, and additionally risks his life as a free man and gets himself involved in the illegal bootlegging business. He endures all of this to gain wealth, yet perseveres through it all for his love and overcomes it all with one goal in mind: to one day be able to renew his love with the one who he holds dearest within his heart, his one true love,