ipl-logo

Wealth In The Great Gatsby

643 Words3 Pages

What would you do if someone in your family was dying of heart disease? Would you do whatever necessary to make sure they get that new heart or watch them slowly past? In this article you will be reading about the repetition of people doing whatever it takes to gain wealth in american culture. Going against their values, families, and beliefs. While it seems once they achieve their end goal they gain many more problems with the difficulty of money. In the Great Gatsby this idea is portrayed by the character Jay Gatsby. He is a successful bootlegger that gained his wealth by illegally distributing alcohol. He does this to not only make himself look better but to win the woman of his dreams Daisy Buchanan. While he is wealthy now it was not always this way. Growing up his family was very poor which motivated him to get money each and every way he can. This lead to him leaving his family and meeting Dan Cody, a wealthy man that took him in and introduced him to bootlegging. The thought of dying could scare these people that gain money the wrong way. They realize that what they are doing is wrong and don’t know where they will end up. In the article “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” explains people that have done bad things in their life and have to face god in the “afterlife” In the article it states, “He is not only able to …show more content…

The quote shows just how poor the little boy and his family is and how many problems they have to face. They are treated poorly in their town due to their lack of wealth. This story exposes problems we have today in the society we live in now. People with less benefits are treated poorly and judged for the way that they live, when we could be helping our people and trying to get them back on track. This sense of feeling like an outsider can cause people to start doing anything for money and a better

Show More
Related
646 Words | 3 Pages

Fabiana Pinto 11/28/15 First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who lives among the dirty ashes and lost his vitality as a result. Nick Carraway made the decision to move to the East and learn "the bond business" because "everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supposed it could support one more single man.

Read More
75 Words | 1 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby, is centered particularly on the theme of money and how it will inevitably affect one’s life. Money, wealth, and class are central themes which fuel the plot, and the way in which characters act, think, interact with the other characters, and are portrayed. The Marxist theory expresses that class shapes who we are, what we experience, and how we see ourselves; moreover, our “class-consciousness” also determines how we perceive

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
275 Words | 2 Pages

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald speaks very stridently of “class”. He permeates clues and different sayings about how the bourgeois people talk and how they act among themselves. For example, “What’ll we plan?; What do people plan?.” Daisy had said this as a innuendo to her surroundings that the “rich” people that had so much money, have no idea what to do with their fortunes.

Read More
1956 Words | 8 Pages

Have you ever considered what implications your own culture, upbringing, and source of wealth have had on your social ranking within society? It’s a rather complex and philosophical question that only few have truly taken the time to consider. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald undertakes this inquiry and demonstrates his answer to this ambiguous question through a series of catastrophic events as depicted through numerous characters - most notably, Jay Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby is long regarded within the novel as a suspect character when it comes to his source of wealth. Unlike Tom Buchanan, Gatsby wasn't born into a wealthy family, and instead had to “earn” his fortune.

Read More
1416 Words | 6 Pages

While money may be an essential aspect of life, becoming wealthy often leads to more trouble than it is worth. Many people during the 1920’s earned money rather easily, whether that be through honest, hard work, or more underground illegal methods. Those who pursue wealth, however, seem to find themselves consumed by the promise of money. As they become more and more desperate to climb the ladder of success their morals seem to be left further and further behind. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the character Jay Gatsby to illustrate how newfound wealth can lead to corruption and ultimately a disastrous end.

Read More
467 Words | 2 Pages

The Great Gatsby The wealth and social status of a person greatly impacts their life and their choices. The characters in The Great Gatsby are extremely wealthy and have no idea what it's like to be poor. They don’t even realize what it is like to be middle class. Sense Nick is more middle class, he really looks up to people like Gatsby and is interested in his lifestyle.

Read More
319 Words | 2 Pages

The Great Gatsby explores the relationship between wealth, social classes, and happiness, highlighting the idea that an elevated social standing does not equate to fulfillment. The rigid classes depicted in Gatsby make it difficult for characters to move between them, creating an exclusive and elitist society. Jay Gatsby, despite his enormous wealth, is unable to fully integrate into high society due to his lack of social connections and generational wealth. This exclusivity creates a sense of dissatisfaction and unhappiness among the characters, especially Gatsby, ultimately reinforcing the idea that social class and wealth does not bring happiness. In the same way, The Wolf of Wall Street showcases the excesses of wealth, illustrating the

Read More
640 Words | 3 Pages

Prosperity. The thing that all people strive for, but so little reach. Being prosperous in America is a top priority for almost all residents, although it is different for each and every individual. America is a place of opportunity, and here one can obtain the American Dream. This American Dream is generally defined as the longing for success: wealth, good health, and more importantly, enjoying life.

Read More
751 Words | 4 Pages

Scarlett Morton Mrs. Fenlon Honors English III 28 March 2023 The Hollowness of the Wealthy The Great Gatsby takes place in Long Island, New York, focusing on two parts: East and West Egg. East Egg represents old money that has been inherited through generations. Tom and Daisy Buchanan live there and fit the description perfectly.

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Gatsby symbolizes many things. The most important thing it symbolizes as well as its theme is the pursuit of wealth during an era of unprecedented prosperity. The author of the novel, Fitzgerald, portrayed the 1920s as a time when social and moral values were fading and overtaken by greed and empty pursuit of money. This is emphasized by the constant partying and dancing. While this seems like such ridiculousness in this time period, you can still relate these things to the presents time.

Read More
371 Words | 2 Pages

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an savant novelist, “…whose works are the paradigmatic writings of the jazz age…”. The Great Gatsby, a 1925 novel explores a group of compelling characters living in the affluent fictional town of West Egg. Despite Fitzgerald’s fairly short life, his legacy continues to live through his literary works of art. Prosperous, affluent characters fill Long Islands fictional town of West Egg. The characters moderately exhibit their life stories and secrets as the stories plot proceeds.

Read More
452 Words | 2 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, tells the story of Jay Gatz and his life into the world of the social elite as he works to gain Daisy's love. Fitzgerald focuses on the change money and wealth, or lack thereof, can create in people. Throughout the novel, the geography represents part of this metaphorical message, each location representing a different social class and caste. Whether it be the East Egg's complacent luxury, the West Egg's rash extravagance, or the Valley of Ashes' decaying monotony, each area has its own particular characteristics. The East Egg, jutting off of New York, symbolizes unbelievable wealth, which seems to sink its possessors into apathy.

Read More
161 Words | 1 Pages

I agree that while I was reading chapter one it did focus on the setting and how it described their social class and wealth in the story. I noticed how the people that lived in East Egg, like Tom, seemed to be very pompous, selfish, and fake. People like Nick Carraway that lives in West Egg seem to be honest and do not hide themselves from society. The people in East Egg use their wealth and beautiful mansions to distract others from who they really are. I also felt that point of view was important in chapter because it showed how Nick seems to be an honest person because of the advice his father gives him.

Read More
1250 Words | 5 Pages

This story additionally shows how money has made the wealthy unfamiliar with struggle as they live life at its simplest. The rich do this because it works and there is no need to go above and beyond in life as they would rather life guide them to their destinies. This critique on the affluent illustrates that there are many imperfections and says a lot with the way they think, act and speak. For those who want to improve themselves they must take steps in order to be more humble and open minded because money doesn’t make someone

Read More

More about Wealth In The Great Gatsby

Open Document