The 1920s was a time of flamboyance and wealth in the upper class. Jay Gatsby, a man of old money, threw over the top parties, in which he would spend his money very nonchalantly. The ambiance of his parties greatly illustrated the upper class of the time. The author uses symbolism and characterization to support the central idea that the upper class was very careless, wealthy, and extravagant. Gatsby’s parties are luxurious, glamorous, and over the top.
Bang! Bang! Those could be the last sounds you could ever hear if you have been too obsessed with money . All of the people in the Great Gatsby love money and it turns out that the money betrays them. In F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby it proves that no matter how much you have money can't buy true happiness.
Tom gained a sadistic satisfaction by knowing he was superior to Myrtle. Tom couldn’t have this feeling towards Daisy because Myrtle is just his mistress. “The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew” (Fitzgerald 24). Tom was so pitiful.
Does money make the characters in the Great Gatsby happier? In the book The Great Gatsby, Gatsby was dating Daisy, who he truly loved then he had to go fight in World War I so then Tom took advantage of that and married Dasiy who was using tom only for his money. Will Gatsby and Daisy's love be the same as before when Gatsby went to war?
Research has shown that the wealthiest eighty-five people in the world have more money than the poorest three point five billion people combined (Jackson par. 3). The life styles and viewpoints of these two classes of people differ by enormous proportions. One class will never have to worry about their finances, while the other may struggle to even buy food. These different ways of life can produce extremely different personalities for better or for worse. The unique personalities of the upper class are observed in the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, where the narrator, Nick Carraway, moves into a village called West Egg just outside New York.
What is wealth? Wealth is the abundance of valuable possessions or money. Wealth in The Great Gatsby plays a major role; it can get you to the top of the social hierarchy, buy you nice shirts, or it can throw elaborate parties in your name. Wealth can even buy love, but it can never buy happiness or genuine, real love. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, money is used to demonstrates the distance between people.
Imagine that George Clooney was your next door neighbor, threw extravagant parties every weekend, yet kept quietly to himself during the day; this describes the life of Jay Gatsby. While he appears to be the nation’s most mysterious, wealthy bachelor, his wealth is built on the illegal business of bootlegging. However, despite all the rumors against him, the allure of Gatsby’s character is based off of the slanted view of the narrator and the improbable way that he obtained his massive amount of wealth.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby describes the life of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. The novel shares his love story and his loneliness. A major question the author raises is how does wealth impact class structure and society? Fitzgerald answers this question through the distinction between “New rich” and “Old rich” and the significance of East and West Egg.
In the Great Gatsby money keeps the relationships together despite massive problems. The characters think that money will lead them to happiness. Not in this case money led a women to get a get married to an unfaithful man or a women to cheat on husband with another man. In this time it was wrong for women to divorce their husband and it didn’t help that the woman in the book was catholic in the religion it is wrong to divorce.
What can money not buy? In The Great Gatsby the luxuries are endless, from Gatsby's luxury yellow station wagon cars, to his humongous mansion, parties thrown, the yachts, horses, the countless maids and musicians, and the many piles of silk and linen shirts. Money buys bottles and bottles of expensive whisky and bourbon, the apartment Tom Buchanan buys solely to have an affair, the acres and acres of land all for one family, and the many trips around the world. Bathing in jewels and rings and expensive painting and sculptures.
I think those are well thought out points that you found within those devices, however I think that there is more to be unpacked from the novel. I agree with your repetition of colours, particularly the green, which is shown through the green light of Daisy’s dock. I see this as a consistent reminder for Gatsby that in order to win Daisy, he must obtain a lot of green American dollars. The light could have been any colour, but chose to be green in order to demonstrate the hold money has on Gatsby. You also need to question the authenticity of the narration of this story.
Economic crisis and the growing gap between the wealthy and the remaining “99%” is a massive controversial topic in today’s world. The divide between the wealthy and the poor only continues to grow. Instead of being redistributed, money is passed along families, staying for generations. This leads to divide even within the wealthy, between the new and old money. Though both have wealth, old money is often seen as more respectable and comes from inheritance, while new money is often earned or stolen.
The carelessness that money creates allows those in power to bypass and disobey the laws because they believe their money will bail them out of trouble. Many wealthy people use their money as a reason to not take responsibility for their actions. Wealth causes the characters in The Great Gatsby to be out of touch with reality and the world beyond wealth. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's
Set in the lavish era of the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the wealthy, yet sinful life of Jay Gatsby. When describing his character, Fitzgerald touches upon the three deadly sins: greed, envy and gluttony. James Gatz, having grown up in a small town to farmers, wished to make more of himself. Disowning his parents at a young age, he went off in search for money, and a new identity. “And when the TUOLOMEE left for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast Gatsby left too” (Fitzgerald 107).
“Then wear that gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you” (title page). Throughout the novel, the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents Tom Buchanan as a very controlling person who believes he is entitled to many things because of his wealth. Similar to the quote, Tom’s constant need for wealth and power leads to a need and want for everything in sight. If a reader were to read this book through the Marxist lens, they would see an obvious struggle between the powerful and powerless and how that directly coincides with how much money the person with power has. The main character with power and wealth in the novel is Tom Buchanan, and he uses his control to gain power over others.
