Materialism In Gatsby

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.

To begin with, the first glance we get of Gatsby is his extravagant parties. Gatsby uses parties to show off his wealth, hoping that it will grasp Daisy 's attention. "On week-ends his Rolls Royce became on omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains" (39; Ch 3). Gatsby throws extravagant parties to try to give off the illusion that he is old money. Unfortunately, by doing so, Gatsby makes it quite obvious that he is not old money. Old money does not act like Gatsby does; old money does not throw parties every night, they keep their money to themselves due to the fact that they are used to it.

Pursuing this further, Gatsby shows off his wealth to Daisy again by flaunting his expensive clothing. At this point in the story, Gatsby shows off his money in any way that he can. Daisy states to Gatsby, " 'It makes me sad because I 've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before '" (92; Ch 5). Gatsby 's shirts are part of his lifestyle, they were made to impress others. Daisy 's world is made up of wealth and flashy materials, and when she realizes that Gatsby is now connected to money, she breaks down. Both Gatsby and Daisy appreciate appearance over true character. Gatsby is now part of Daisy 's world, and she falls back in love with him for his status, not for