The Emptiness In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Madi Spencer Mrs.Tollett Honors American Literature 25 April 2024 A Hollow Pursuit: The Emptiness in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby explores how the pursuit of wealth and material possessions fails to provide genuine fulfillment or happiness. In a society where many individuals measure their worth based on their financial status and social standing. The main character, Jay Gatsby, is the embodiment of this notion and believes that his money can buy him anything he wants. Except for the one thing he actually craves: true love. Fitzgerald uses his novel to illustrate the hollowness of an existence that is purely materialistic and superficial through the perspective of Tom, an average man navigating Gatsby’s extravagant world.

In chapter three, there are multiple examples of Gatsby boasting about his grand life, such as “Gatsby’s enormous garden” and “several hundred feet of canvas” (Fitzgerald 28). Luxury and expensive soirees serve as a mask, projecting a false sense of comfort and happiness to the outside world. However, “Gatsby bought this house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 50), referencing the one thing he can’t buy: Daisy’s love and affection. Gatsby's whole perception of his life was changed by Daisy. He did everything in his power to be enough for her, judging everything in his home as if in Daisy’s “well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 98). In a similar way, Tom and Daisy, although privileged, are trapped in a loveless marriage (Voegeli 3), seeking solace in extramarital affairs. As the main characters are constantly grappling with the emptiness surrounding their wealth and materialistic lifestyles, Myrtle Wilson becomes a compelling figure, a woman stuck between two worlds of dissatisfaction. While her husband does have love for her, she will never feel it is enough, simply due to his lack of social