Examples Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby

Sarah Halpern-Meekin defined “Social Poverty” as “[The] inadequate number of close, trusting relationships or [the] feeling of social disconnection...” The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is centered around social poverty as it highlights the absence of community since many of the characters in the novel are too corrupted through the need to flaunt their materialistic assets, then build lasting relationships with one another. The excerpt from the telling article, “The Only Metric for Success that Really Matters is the One We Ignore” by Jenny Anderson, stresses the concern regarding social poverty in one’s life as she discovers the vitality of having true connections with people after seeing how she herself didn’t have any. The

This is because in Gatsby’s belief the only way to prove to Daisy that he’s worthy of her and being a part of her life in the Old Money society was through wealth, not who he was as a person. Looking back at why Gatsby wanted to be with Daisy we see how he was attracted more to all she represented rather than who she was as a person. Daisy represented beauty and the Old Money persona which we see is what Gatsby wanted to be accepted into all his life. He treated Daisy more like a prize rather than someone he was privileged to be in love with. When we correlate this to Meekin’s definition of social poverty, we see how the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy wasn’t true at all as Gatsby only cared for what Daisy could add to his image rather than his life. Compared to the excerpt, we see a similar resemblance in terms of the obsession with image in Anderson’s earlier days as well, as she mentions, “I spent my days focused on optimizing myself: Endlessly working and improving, on a permanent quest to do as much as possible in the unforgiving confines of 24 hours. It was the only way I knew how to be. Compete. Excel. Win” (1). Similar to

Nick, Gatsby’s father, and a few servants were the only ones who attended Gatsby’s funeral despite the measures he took to be with Daisy. Gatsby revolves his life around Daisy which is seen through the various sacrifices he makes to be accepted by her. One being when he takes the blame for hitting Myrtle with the car even though it was Daisy who was liable. Gatsby doesn’t think twice about the allegations or consequences he’ll face if he goes through with this lie. When Daisy doesn’t make an appearance at his funeral it says a lot about the relationship between the two of them as she was indirectly the cause of his death. Daisy chooses to run away from the situation with the man who constantly cheats on her both openly and privately. To think how Gatsby held true to dying with the lie of him being at fault for the accident, which allows Daisy’s appearance to be untouched, emphasizes how insincere it was for her to not show an ounce of gratitude towards him by not making a mere gesture of appreciation, even at his funeral. Both Daisy and Gatsby, according to Meekin’s words on social poverty, would be considered socially poor as neither of them had a genuine relationship. Daisy wasn’t there for Gatsby when he needed her to be, and Gatsby only made the sacrifices he did for Daisy because he loved what she represented. When this is compared to the time