Theme Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Two themes that connect very well together in The Great Gatsby are materialism and money. As the story gets told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby achieves his wealth through the motivation of his first love, Daisy Buchanan. Since the story of The Great Gatsby takes place around the 1920s, money also became a great deal to Gatsby since it helped him flourish a lavish lifestyle that he built around the woman he loved. Furthermore, both of these themes apply a great effect towards Gatsby’s character. Both materialism and money come together to portray how one can never have all of the desired things in life. Romance is very dramatic, and can drive a person to do stubborn things for another person. Hence, Jay Gatsby’s actions

During the 1920s, people lost vast amounts of money due to the stock market crash. Since the story of The Great Gatsby takes place around the Great Depression, an era where the loss of money became the epitome of people who desperately needed it the most. However, people who were a part of the wealthier social classes, such as Gatsby, infinitely spent money on fancy cars, a mansion, and especially his giant parties. All of those things are all for Daisy, and the life Gatsby lived all started out because of her. She became the main reason why he lived such a rich lifestyle. According to Greg Forter’s reviewed work on the article, Gender, Race, and Mourning in American Modernism, Forter expresses how Gatsby gets “disparaged for embodying the very qualities for which he is initially valued.” (460). He explains how Gatsby deceived people, especially Nick, with his lifestyle because Nick realizes that Gatsby’s materialism and money were all for Daisy. Moreover, the theme of money in The Great Gatsby brings great use to materialism. For instance, in order to receive another person’s affection, one must go through desperate measures to achieve that affection. In Gatsby's case, he would buy anything for Daisy even if it costed him at an extremely high price because he is very in love with her, and believes that she deserves