Materialism Depicted in The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, reveals much about thewaste and wealth of America in the "roaring twenties." Through a cast ofcolorful characters, Fitzgerald weaves a tale of excess and passion thatleads to the destruction of the human soul. Jay Gatsby, a self-mademillionaire embodies the exorbitance of this era and pays the ultimateprice. Tom and Daisy Buchanan illustrate how wealth and greed corrupt. Jay Gatsby is a complex character because he has admirable qualities anddespicable qualities. We admire him because he able to attain the wealthhe desired despite the fact that he came from a poor family. We dislikehim because he was driven by greed and materialism. Gatsby is wealthy, nodoubt, but he flaunts it in ways that are tasteless. We know from Nick thatGatsby went to great lengths to redefine himself. For example, we knowthat his real name is James Gatz and he was from an unsuccessful farmfamily in North Dakota. He changed his name when he was seventeen--achange inspired when he laid his eyes on Dan Cody's yacht. It was thetaste of greed that Gatsby could never shake. It shaped him from an earlyage and from this fact, we can see how damaging greed can be to an
Additionally, he has two cabinets full ofsuits. This scene is significant becauseFitzgerald is demonstrating the sheer vanity not only of Gatsby and Daisy,but also of an entire segment of the population in the 1920s. His huge house has "MarieAntoinette bedrooms and Restoration salons" as well as a "Merton CollegeLibrary" (93). Nick is also impressed by the Buchanan's house. When he is showing Daisy his house, he tells her that hekeeps it "full of interesting people, night and day. In contrast to Gatsby, Tom was born into his wealth and neverexperienced what it was like to be without anything. Fitzgerald also sheds light on American class structure during thetwenties. His mistake was focusing it on the wrong thing. Additionally, Tom is very suspicious ofGatsby's ticket to his wealth and asserts, "A lot of these newly richpeople are just bootleggers, you know" (110). In fact, Gatsby possesses an incredible drive to succeed that manypeople never do. First, itreveals Tom's ability to uncover information about Gatsby. First theyillustrate the difference between the "old wealth" and the "new wealth. It is also important to noteDaisy's reaction to Gatsby's extravagance. In fact, we knowthat he was kind to those who attended his lavish parties and wantedtrouble from no one.
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