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Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby

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Society is used to dwelling on the proclaimed fact that money can buy happiness. As the world and its economies progress, this statement gains a turn-around in its nature. Nowadays, having incredible wealth is viewed as a dream by many. It is visible that greed is a pattern of behavior often explored in literature, old and new. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a classic novel that explores the shallow pursuit of wealth and status in the society of the roaring twenties. Through his characters and plot, Fitzgerald communicates his cautionary tale about the destructive and self-defeating nature of seeking to achieve the American dream of wealth. The novel not only deconstructs the distorted public perception of what constituted …show more content…

Gatsby is a young guy who rose from a poor rural North Dakota background to become extremely wealthy. He lives life being comfortably prosperous, living in West Egg, and throwing elaborate parties in his home every weekend. While doing so, the man presents his money through live music, vehicles, and the service of being able to afford numerous parties. He was the embodiment of new money in many people's eyes. Despite that, Gatsby attained this lofty ambition by engaging in criminal fraud, including the distribution of illicit alcohol and the selling of stolen assets. Towards the novel's end, Tom exposes Gatsby for having, "'...bought up a lot of side-street drugstores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That [being] one of his little stunts….picked him for a bootlegger the first time [seeing] him….'" (Fitzgerald 103). This passage is important because it showcases a way that Gatsby earned money in an unfaithful way. Breaking the law and lying about how he achieved this money with no remorse is morally corrupt. That constant build-up of lies and unfairly earned cash built up his bad karma. The fact that this method didn't get him caught allows him to feel he can get away with anything and everything to get what he wants. Additionally, the constant display of wealth reveals that Jay does all of this to try and impress Daisy Buchanan. He met her once a while back and, ever since, had an infatuation with her. One so strong that Jay would do anything, no matter the cost, to get Daisy to leave her husband, Tom, to be with him. So, to get her back, he grew his social status to surplus and changed his identity from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, yet told no one. These motives connect Gatsby's passion for Daisy to his quest for riches and rank. It is visible that Daisy serves as a stand-in for the concept of wealth in the American Dream. Gatsby is somewhat

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Examples Of Greed In The Great Gatsby

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“For the love of money is the root of all evil; While some covet after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (Bible Timothy 6:10). The path to money is a greedy one that often leads to pain, ending up alone and being left in sorrow. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the text provides many examples of greed, lust, sneakiness, and the power wealthy people hold. Furthermore, money is the root of all evil is a statement that goes back ages, Fitzgerald’s novel speaks on this evil through the way he portrays avaricious actions, social status, and wealth.

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Gatsby puts on a facade and tells everyone that he inherited his money, but in reality Gatsby has other means by which he earns his money for the sake of Daisy. He stoops to a level that shows that he has no care for his morals and he will go to any extent if it means making Daisy happy and earning money. He commits multiple crimes including buying “side-street drug-stores in Chicago and [selling] grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 133). He doesn’t care about getting in trouble with the law because he is no longer living for himself, and it seems like he is only living for Daisy, who embodies the wealthy lifestyle Gatsby has wanted his whole life. Gatsby got rich out of a sense of “desperation and crazy hopefulness, out of refusing to get over a broken heart and give up the love of his life” (Voegeli).

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Dating back to his childhood, Gatsby developed a deadly sin during his early teenage years, ultimately leading him to his wealthy lifestyle. “[Gatsby’s] heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain… each night he added to the pattern of his fancies… these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination… they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality” (99). Gatsby’s envy of the wealthy life caused him to develop a deep desire to stray away from his life of clam digging and salmon fishing and become a wealthy man in an upper class society.

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Gatsby went from a poor military boy who was in love, to a lying, rich bootlegger to impress the woman he loved most. In “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald created the character Jay Gatsby to represent the influence that organized crime had on 1920s America. Gatsby was well known for his involvement with the smuggling of alcohol during prohibition. “It took me three years to earn the money that bought it” “I thought you inherited your money” (Fitzgerald 90). The quote explains that he is lying about

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