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Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

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America is viewed as a land of dreams and opportunities. Gatsby, this man, used to describe his ambition as a “Green light”, it represented his desire for whatever thing he wanted, this being fame, money, great power, and love as well. Many think that coming to America and making yourself somebody is the key to success, but to what extent can one go to achieve this is the real question. Gatsby is a great example of this. A poor young man with a broken heart wanted to make himself somebody to win over the love of his life once again. A former mid-western who moved east in order to win Daisy Buchanan back. Love can move mountains, and it indeed moved Gatby’s heart hard enough to make him commit to his purpose a hundred percent, life and soul included. “I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first …show more content…

(Fitzgerald)” This was definitely not a life everybody could afford though. Not many could afford dreams, just like the people in the valley of ashes. This ambition of his was expensive, and regular Americans would never have these crazy ideas of a land of dreams since they lived in reality, unlike Gatsby. Materialism was one of Gatsby’s and Daisy’s traits. They thought having a lot was having it all, and they would do anything to achieve this. Gatsby’s purpose in life was not only Daisy but material things too. Houses, cars, and the most expensive clothing and accessories as well. This was something regular people could only imagine and daydream about since dreaming was expensive as well. In the 1920s, society did not look pretty good for low-ranked people, who probably had to work most days of the week to barely survive. The valley of ashes was the poorest place in America at

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Both Fitzgerald and Mary Balcazar, my mother, believe that the idea of the American Dream corrupts people in only wanting materialistic items. In The Great Gatsby, Mr.Wilson and Michaelis are both reminiscing what had happened before Myrtle's death, “And I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!.... Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg. ”(Fitzgerald 159).

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The Great Gatsby is an accurate representation of American leisure class in the 1920s, where social status was religion and where “very much of squalor and discomfort will be endured before the last trinket or the last pretense of pecuniary decency is put away.” (Veblen 8) That is, many people felt that money was the only way to achieve happiness. People quickly became slaves to money, working hard to obtain money and working harder to keep it and show it off. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the people’s obsession with money, no matter the outcomes, in the Roaring Twenties by offering a glimpse into the lives of the opulent rich and the effects their wealth has on their relationships. Daisy’s obsession with money is clear; she ran off to be married to Tom Buchanan, a rich but unintelligent polo player.

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“It evokes not only the ambiance of the Jazz age search for the American dream of wealth and happiness, but also the larger questions of fading traditional values in the face of fading traditional values in the face of increasing materialism and cynicism” (Povlovski2). Throughout his life Gatsby lives his life, from wealth to his love for Daisy, blinded by his dream. “He has a blind hope in the abilities of life-he trusts money can buy him Daisy’s love” (123HelpMe1). By Gatsby believing money can buy Daisy’s love; it shows a lack of morals in himself. The extravagance of his parties, house, clothes, and cars is a way of him trying to win Daisy through his wealth.

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655 Words | 3 Pages

If Daisy did not have the money she had, and the social class she was in, Gatsby would have never cared who she was. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that people who idolize wealth are hollow individuals. Fitzgerald shows this through the characterization of Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy. In the world, there are a lot of different social classes.

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The Tarnished American Dream The last statement from The Great Gatsby novel stated by Nick shows how Gatsby thought that is how life was supposed to be. Gatsby believed in trying to relive the past with much excitement especially from Daisy Buchanan. People back then, were trying to relive their glorious past. Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream had become materialistic.

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1070 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald wrote many books, but one of the most popular is The Great Gatsby. In the book he criticizes the upper class of the 1920s and how they lived. This is shown through the idea that rich people do not have it all and money doesn't buy happiness. Just like Daisy’s voice sounds like money, the upper class of the 1920s was focused on money and material things, but they were not as happy as they seem.

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The Great Gatsby critiques the wealthy by displaying their materialistic nature and being careless of themselves and others to demonstrate how wealth does not add to the quality of their character and leads to corruption. Materialism in The Great Gatsby is represented throughout the book, with each characters’ obsession with wealth, status, and possessions. "I'd like to get one of those police dogs; I don't suppose you got that kind?" The man peered doubtfully into the basket, plunged in his hand and drew one up, wriggling, by the back of the neck.

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While at sea, sailors make use of anchors to secure their ships to a fixed location. These anchors lock into the seabed and prevent the ship from shifting from strong winds and waves. But when an anchor becomes stuck in the wrong place, it weighs down the ship it was meant to ground. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s initial infatuation with his own moral advancement morphs into a dream diluted by materialism and status, which causes Gatsby’s eventual descent into obsession and instability. Early in life, Gatsby strived for moral betterment over all else.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

People were, and still are attracted to a higher class of living and everyone wants to be rich. Gatsby‘s character is defined through his extravagant house, clothing, parties and cars. (QUOTE THE LAST PART) When we look at our current society, this particular aspect having to do with materialism has not changed much since the writing of “The Great

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In an attempt to win Daisy over from afar, Gatsby buys an exorbitant mansion, “a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald 5). Gatsby fills his mansion with the most extravagant items and people he can find, from fountains to golden toilets to circus performers. Although Gatsby’s story is the perfect rags-to-riches story, wealth could not mean less to him. The wealth was all just a facade to draw Daisy into his house, perhaps to one of his parties, allowing them to reunite. After they reunited, Gatsby “revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes… he stared at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real,” making it clear that he had no interest in the expensive goods he filled his house with, but instead only cared what Daisy thought (Fitzgerald 91).

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1639 Words | 7 Pages

The Great Gatsby: A Critique of the Excess and Illusions of the American Dream The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel set in the Jazz Age, is not only a timeless love story but also a social commentary on the excesses, inequalities, and illusions of the American Dream. The novel centres on Jay Gatsby, a typical 1920s man pursuing the American Dream, F. Scott Fitzgerald employs Gatsby to expose the disillusionment of this dream, while Daisy and Tom Buchanan personify the wealthy elite of the Jazz Age, of which Fitzgerald was a member, both Daisy and Tom are portrayed as shallow self-centred, and superficial. This paper examines the theme of the Jazz Age's excess and materialism through characters such as Gatsby and Daisy, exploring

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1042 Words | 5 Pages

Through the early to mid 1900s, the concept of striving to attain more than one is originally born with became predominant in most American societies. During this era, many authors, through literature, began expressing their concern with the rise in materialistic ideals and its effect on society and the individuals living within it, one being F. Scott Fitzgerald. Two of Fitzgerald’s widely-known works of literature, The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams”, both heavily elaborate on the effects of the increase in materialism and the ultimate effects of attempting to achieve the American Dream; this is conveyed through the unhappiness of the Dexter and Gatsby despite their perseverance to acquire women of higher social statuses. These texts both reach the conclusion that the American Dream is not within reach of anyone. Fitzgerald’s representation of the unattainable American Dream is demonstrated in The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams” through his portrayal of the materialistic nature of society as well as the characters’ failure to possess the women they love.

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668 Words | 3 Pages

I believe he also suggests that maybe the American Dream isn't just about getting insanely rich or winning the person you love. Maybe it's also about being a good and honest person along the way. In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” isn't just a story about the 1920s, or just about Gatsby's love for Daisy. It's a bigger story about the American Dream and the dark side of it. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald makes us think about whether chasing this dream is worth it, especially if it means losing sight of what's really important.

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1558 Words | 7 Pages

The American dream states that any individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, and/or religion simply by working hard. The 1920’s were a time of corruption and demise of moral values in society. The first World War had passed, and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as advanced technology and innovative inventions. The novel The Great Gatsby exploits the theme of the American Dream as it takes place in a corrupt period in history. Although the American Dream seemed more attainable than ever in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby demonstrates how materialism and the demise of moral values in society leads to the corruption and impossibility of the American Dream.

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In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, social class is a key theme, as seen by every character having their own distinct class. Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and even Nick are old money, Gatsby is new money, and the Wilson 's are no money. In short, the more money you have, the better off you will be. In the epigraph of the novel, there is a poem by Thomas Parke D 'Invilliers, who is a fictional character created by Fitzgerald himself. This poem is about using materialism to win over the affection of someone, which is exactly what Gatsby tries to do.

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