Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

When Americans returned home from the Great War, many were unable to enjoy the successes of the society to which they returned. In F. Scott Fitzerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Nick, the protagonist, returns from war to join the newly wealthy citizens of West Egg. The loose morals and rampant materialism within this society reveal an unhinged people struggling to overcome mortality, the issue at stake for pawns of war. "The Great Gatsby" is a novel that critiques American society during the Roaring Twenties, a time of great prosperity and social upheaval. Through the use of certain symbols, characters, and settings, Fitzgerald explores the corrupting influence of the American Dream and the shallow, materialistic values of the wealthy elite.

However, the author also critiques American Society through the setting portrayed through the valley of ashes. Before Nick met Gatsby he saw Gatsby reaching towards the green light, “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald .) One of the key symbols in the novel is the green light at the end of the Buchanans' dock, which represents Gatsby's pursuit of the American Dream and his yearning for Daisy. The green light serves as a metaphor for the difficult and ultimately unattainable nature of the Dream, as Gatsby is never able to fully possess Daisy or achieve the level of success and status that he desires. In reality it shows Gatsby’s desperation and inability to reach the American Dream. In addition to this, the valley of ashes also shows a massive disparity between wealth. In the valley, while Nick is riding the train he catches a glimpse of Myrtle working at her husband’s auto shop, “Then the valley of ashes opened out on both sides of us, and I had a glimpse of Mrs. “Wilson straining at the garage pump with panting vitality as we went by.” (Fitzgerald ). From this quote we can see, Nick catches sees Myrtle in a different light. This contrasts the lives of Myrtle and that of Daisy and Jordan, who are described to have more laid back and relaxed lives. We can see that the residents of the valley show a little bit of how the American Society was during the 1920s. Hiding behind the Eggs lies the valley which is created by industrial dumping and a place where poor people want to escape and rich people want to get out of as quickly as possible. Through the use of the valley of