Money In The Great Gatsby

There is an old adage, “Money can’t buy happiness”; however, can it? Jay Gatsby certainly thinks so. While great wealth may seem to bring constant happiness, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays money as than a more of a burden rather blessing in his 1920s novel The Great Gatsby. The novel illustrates how the impact of riches affects the lives of old and new money characters, as well as what can and cannot be bought no matter how much money a person can possess. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald illustrates the idea that wealth does not translate into happiness.

Jay Gatsby like many people, wanted the “American Dream.” For him, this dream would only be realized when he and Daisy were together again. The one thing he needed to make this happen was what

He built a luxurious house, wore the most lavish suits and drove the fastest cars all to become a part of Daisy’s world, East Egg. Although, no amount of “things” could transform Gatsby into East Egg old money. As stated, Nick and Gatsby live in, “West Egg, the--well, less fashionable of the two” (9). The difference between each Egg lies not in the name “East” and “West” but in people who populate the town and how they live. Fitzgerald emphasizes the difference between the Egg’s by figuratively describing their homes. East Egg wannabe, Jay Gatsby’s house is described as “Gatsby’s mansion” (9). The lack of wonder and elegance in Gatsby’s house compared to Daisy and Tom’s town consisting of, “white palaces of fashionable East Egg [that] glittered along the water” (10) highlights the key difference between the two towns. East Egg with old money and classy taste, and West Egg composed of new money modernism. The two places may be similar in the amount of wealth they obtain; however, each differ in their behaviors and way of life simply due to their upbringing. The men and women of East Egg live as they always have: with immense wealth and a calm sophisticated life. Differing from Gatsby of West Egg who flaunts his new wealth. Strangely, both “eggs” are filled with money, yet no one is truly happy. Jay Gatsby longs for Daisy while Daisy is unhappy in her marriage to her cheating husband Tom, while Tom looks

After years and years of work trying to win over Daisy, new money Gatsby was not enough to steal her away from old money Tom Buchanan. As hard as Gatsby tried, he could not buy love and happiness. He may have lived a flamboyant and extravagant life but he was never happy. His extreme wealth and countless “things” never got him anything he wanted. At the end of the novel, Gatsby is murdered and Nick is astonished when at Gatsby’s funeral, “no one arrived, except more police and photographers and newspaper men” (173). Jay Gatsby threw party after party filling his house inside and out with people, friends. Yet, on the day of his funeral, not one person aside from his own father, Nick, and Owl Eyes bothers to acknowledge his death or attend his funeral. Gatsby's fortune was massive and with all he had, and as many people he knew and saw daily, most would suppose hundreds of people would care about his tragic death. Although, no one did. His money could not buy him happiness or friends, just things to add to a bookshelf. Gatsby worked nonstop for his wealth and his dream only to be lead to a gruesome death and a miserable