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 Jay Gatsby,Fitzgerald weaves a tale of excess and passion that leads to thedestruction of the human soul. Gatsby, a self-made millionaire embodies theexorbitance of this era and pays the ultimate price. This paper willexamine how the greed and endless desire of Jay Gatsby turned out to morethan he could control despite his grandest efforts. 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 early
It is important to realize that Gatsby was not an inherentlyevil person. When Gatsby kisses Daisy, he knows he had "forever wedhis unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never rompagain like the mind of God" (113-4). His mistake was focusing it on the wrong thing. It is also important to note that Daisy represents the type of life thatGatsby wanted to live. In addition, he has Klipspringer play the piano for them as they sit in hismusic room. He is also willing to become rich at the risk of breakingthe law. Through the course of the story, we feel sympathy for Gatsbythrough Nick because he sees how the man changes. Lastly, this sceneillustrates the desperation of Gatsby as he feels Daisy slipping away fromhim. Nicknever approved of any of the lavish lifestyles he encountered in the WestEgg, but in the end he determined that jay was "worth the whole damnedcrowd put together" (157). It reveals much about hercharacter. Jay Gatsby represents the wonderfulpossibilities in America through his self-made millions but he alsorepresents the negative result of greed and materialism. In conclusion, Fitzgerald is able to display the ugly side of theAmerican Dream through his characters in The Great Gatsby. An examination of Gatsby's extravagance reveals much abouthis character.
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