Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream The American Dream in the Roaring Twenties generally consisted of materialism. The protagonist Gatsby portrays the American Dream in the novel because he has what all people wanted at that time which was money, a mansion, and cars. The East and West egg consists of only wealthy people like Gatsby and the Buchanans, and in between these areas is the Valley of Ashes where the poor lower class live including Mr. Wilson. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby money is essential for most of the characters, Daisy in particular. Money is the most important part of The American Dream in the Roaring Twenties therefore it was also the key to “happiness” back then. Gatsby did not really appreciate money, what he really wanted was Daisy, and he knew that the only way he could get her to leave Tom was with money. Gatsby’s character portrays Fitzgerald’s message of how people should be instead of caring so much for money. Fitzgerald wants people to be more like Gatsby and be a dreamer with “an extraordinary gift for hope” (Fitzgerald 2) so we will not give up on our dreams such as Gatsby did not give up on his love for Daisy even in his last moments of life.
There is no better way of showing off your money than by having a mansion everyone can see, and Gatsby knew this. He was determined to obtain a huge mansion that could compare to Tom’s
and was able to obtain it through hard work and dedication. Since Daisy adored wealth Gatsby took her to see his mansion so she could fall back in love with him, which she then did for a while. The fact that Daisy is so interested in money is a representation of the American Dream because she is so interested in living it that she married Tom to have it and is then planning on leaving him when she finds Gatsby can also give her that life.
In The American Dream people want to be worshiped and adored, not only have wealth but also be known or seen different than others. A way that Gatsby showed himself unique or different than others was by his cars. Gatsby had a “rich cream color” (Fitzgerald) car that called people’s attention towards it and made him different from any other person. A person’s dream has always been to have a nice car, no matter who it is, everyone would like to be able to have the most luxurious car around and this was also part of the people’s view of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties.
With this in mind, Fitzgerald’s novel has a wide representation of the American Dream throughout the whole novel.
From the Buchanans to Gatsby, every one of the characters either lived the American Dream or were in search of it. All the huge parties and amount of guests that went to Gatsby’s house were a representation of the things money brings. However we then realize that no one actually cared for Gatsby even if he had all that money because no one showed up to his funeral besides Nick and Gatsby’s dad. However what made Gatsby unique from the others was his carelessness for money and huge dreams he had and believed
in.