Materialism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby depicts an era filled with aspirations and freedom that boomed at the end of World War I, the Roaring Twenties. This era enabled opportunities for prosperity, wealth, fashion, and music as the nation experienced an economic boom through technological advancement and consumerism that Fitzgerald expresses through his characters and how they experienced the American Dream or attempted but failed to. Popularized at this time, the chase for the American Dream began as people longed for success, freedom, and opportunity. The American Dream is an attainable ideology, but only those who overcome their obstacles are able to achieve it. Others believe that this ideology comes with consequences and, once pursued,

Taking the chance, many choose to pursue their dream; some are destined to be able to live this dream easily, whereas others are stuck trying as they deal with poverty, social status, or equality. One of the challenges one may face on their journey to the American Dream is wealth. Regardless of your dream, wealth is involved in one way or another, which often prevents its attainment as people fail to accumulate the wealth needed for their dream. Comparing the amount of wealth surrounding families in the 1920s and four decades later, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman concluded that the majority of families' indebtedness was due to high mortgages, high consumer credit, and student loans to repay (Saez and Zucman). The majority of families in recent decades have shown to have experienced erosion within their wealth share because of the rise of bills and payments that families often cannot afford, resulting in the erosion of their wealth share. Financial issues cause immense amounts of stress that can take

A class can determine others' perceptions of you, especially if you are part of the lower portion. In the novel, Nick and Gatsby reside in the West Egg, which represents the newly rich who are showy and had to work for their wealth. The Buchanans live in the East Egg, whose residents are born into generational wealth and present themselves as far classier and possess a feeling of superiority over those who live in the West Egg. The two regions had a clear divide, with “bizarre” and “sinister” contrasts between the two as one is truly rich whereas the other believes they are (Fitzgerald 5). Though both are extremely wealthy, tension is formed between them due to the attitude of the West Egg community, who are flashy and gaudy to show off their money, while the East Eggers are the opposite, showing their money in more practical ways. Tom and Gatsby symbolized the difference between the West Egg and the East Egg, Tom was often seen mocking Gatsby for his suspicious uprising and criticizing his methods of flaunting his wealth. Another crucial factor that stops people from reaching their dreams is their gender, as society holds each to its own standard, often putting one before