Examples Of Idealism In The Great Gatsby

The negative consequences of lives based on materialism and idealism are prominent in the characters of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both Jay Gatsby and the Buchanans are prime examples of the detriments that materialism and idealism can have on the true value of life, while Nick Carraway presents a foil by showing the positive impact of a more humble lifestyle. Wealth and idealism are key factors in many of the events of Gatsby’s life, many of them negative. After he is unable to marry Daisy due to his lack of wealth, he shows unrealistic idealism to the extreme. He believes that amassing a large amount of wealth will compensate for his lack thereof in the past, and thus entirely erase the past five years that Daisy has been

Initially, Daisy’s wealth is an impediment to her finding love: it prevents her from marrying Gatsby because they were of separate social classes (74). This led to her marrying Tom, even though she does not truly want to do so, as evidenced by her drunken ranting of “Tell ‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: Daisy’s change’ her mine!” (76) the night before her wedding. Drunk Daisy seems to have a good deal of foresight, for although Tom is of equal social standing to her and they live a very comfortable upper-class lifestyle, their marriage is crumbling. The Buchanan family ties are weak: the parents focus on materialistic things such as dinners and parties rather than their only child, Pam, and Tom partakes in an affair with Myrtle Wilson (117). Tom’s involvement in the affair reflects Gatsby’s position with wealth; even though both men seem to have everything that any American would want, both of them continue to chase idealistic dreams that eventually lead to negative outcomes. However, in the end, Daisy remains with Tom and Gatsby is dead, which shows, in a convoluted way, how familial relationships cannot be severed by material