Preview

Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
375 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
In fact, every coin has two sides, nothing is ever perfect. The American Dream, despite its promises, its capacity and fulfillment are not absolute. Materialism, from the ancient day to the modern day, has an immense power and impact in human society. However, using a limited source to strive only results in constrained and conditional affection. Material possession is a limited source, once it exhausts, the affection earned would consequently fade away. For instance, Gatsby’s application of wealth, social image, and underworld power to buy Daisy’s love, as he longs to protect her, results in a violent death when she finds more advantage staying by Tom’s side. Moreover, the promise is not fulfilled when Gatsby is unable to transform into a
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Literary Elements In The Great Gatsby
    • 219 Words
    • 1 Page

    Literary Elements In The Great Gatsby

    The Great Gatsby was a phenomenal book that managed to captivate audiences from The Roaring 20s to today's classrooms. From its brilliantly elaborated characters, to its astonishing array of literary elements, The Great Gatsby was nothing short from stunning with its insane denouement. Fitzgerald managed to artfully construct multiple incredible characters utilizing the bases of their names to the etches of their figure. Characters such as Nick bit his tongue and contradicted many of his own supposed morals while Gatsby was entirely alluded upon the idea of Daisy. He manipulated all of his characters in such a chaotic harmony the ending mimicked the intensity and extravagance of an award show. In addition to Fitzgerald's clearly notable novel…

    • 219 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Literary Devices In The Great Gatsby
    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page

    Examples Of Literary Devices In The Great Gatsby

    More examples of these literary elements arose in the private conversation between Daisy and Nick after the dinner party because Luhrmann inserts the quote “all the bright precious things in this world fade so fast, and they don’t come back.” While Daisy utters these words, the camera moves to the blinking green light and to Gatsby’s dock where Gatsby stares at the light. This excellent three-in-one scene clearly shows the green light, Gatsby on his dock, and the theme that time does not stop. The quote ties these aspects together since the blinking light symbolizes the American dream and Gatsby’s dream; the light continually fades and reappears while Gatsby looks out at it. In addition, the quote foreshadows the eventual death of Gatsby and…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis Of Jay Gatsby
    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Jay Gatsby

    Gatsby’s actions are provoked by money, or Daisy, or a combination of the two. The conquest of these two concepts prove to be shallow. Gatsby’s early life as a poor farmer caused him to hate a life of disadvantage; which lead to his thirst for riches. When he fell for Daisy in Louisville it changed the course of his life. From then on, his ambitions for money and Daisy consumed his life. Previous actions inspired a sense of longing in Gatsby; which caused him to lead a meaningless life and die alone with only his…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    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.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby
    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

    Jeff Benzos said “I don’t think wealth actually changes people”. To me, this quotation means…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is The Importance Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What Is The Importance Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald strategically begins the novel by giving us insight into the narrator, Nick Carraway. After reading the first two chapters the reader has a good understanding of Nick Carraway and what his values are. The reader feels a connection to Nick, whose character is a stark contrast compared to the other characters introduced in the story. The characters in this story, specifically from East Egg, can be compared and contrasted to those from Camelot in our previous reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Daisy's Use Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Daisy's Use Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    Friederich S. Fitzgerald weaves together the motifs of materialism and lies/illusion in The Great Gatsby to express a theme in a couple of ways. First, he uses Gatsby’s illusion of love for Daisy to mix between the two motifs in crazy ways. Second, he uses the power of status to show how people come up to be and where they sit in the power chart. And lastly, the death of Myrtle is whipped into lies and materialism that comes to a dreadful end. Fitzgerald tells a story of love, lies, and deceit, and those who you love most can be the cause of your ultimate demise.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Examples Of Reality In The Great Gatsby
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Reality In The Great Gatsby

    Things are not always what they seem to be. We can be fooled by the mask `people wear everyday. As we get older we develop habits ad an opened mind to understand the difference between an illusion and reality. The use of illusion in the novel The Great Gatsby is used very effectively to show the nature of people. Through out the novel there are many examples where the appearance of the character is deferent than what’s inside.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Role Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby
    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Role Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

    Gatsby wanted to be rich but his main motivation in obtaining his money$ was his infatuation for Daisy Buchanan. Hence with trying to get back together with Daisy as his main objective, Gatsby has taken the path of crime and illegal activity in order to achieve his goals. The path that has compromised on his morals and value. It is seen throughout the novel that this means to achieve his envisioned end was clearly not justified. Even through his bootlegging activities, Gatsby was unable to attain his goal as he was not born in to wealth and does not possess the lofty social status that comes with that. As such we see how his dream of her disintegrates, revealing the corruption that wealth causes and the unworthiness of the goal as it truly…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    "CARELESSNESS", MORAL CORRUPTION AND MATERIALISM "They were careless people." F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel about a man, who tries to make it rich by following the American Dream to pursue the love of his life. Through Gatsby pursuit of the American Dream, Fitzgerald illustrates the themes of "carelessness", moral corruption, and materialism. Fitzgerald uses his depiction of the rich, the easterners, to exemplify the theme of carelessness.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Materialism Analysis
    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Great Gatsby Materialism Analysis

    The Great Gatsby articulates how materialism restricts human desire and behaviour. Materialism in this context is defined as a “preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values” according to; dictonary.reference.com - the psychology behind this is that materialism restricts a person's ability to function as a social being to their full potential. We see this is the characters of Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan, more relevantly known as "old money". Nick, the narrator, reflects upon these two characters as "careless people..- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness.."…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby
    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Role Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    The 1920’s could be described as “a great time to be rich” in America. It was a time where the rich got richer, and the poor worked to better their lives. It was a time of hope; when people strived to achieve the American dream of money, family, and happiness. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, attempts to uncover the truth of the American Dream. It follows the experience of Nick Carraway and his meeting with the one and only Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is perceived as one trying to live out the American Dream - a man with great ideals determined to achieve the unachievable. It is through his pursuit of Daisy that Fitzgerald is able to show that the Dream itself is truly indeed unrealistic and corrupted by materialism.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Pursuit Of Happiness In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Pursuit Of Happiness In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

    Using characters and symbols, Miller and Hansberry showcase the unsound tangents within the American Dream, and its indisputable focus on physicality to define wealth and status. The two plays expose the reality of the American Dream and its negative influence on the common man. The American Dream is often the aim in the common man’s life, although it is the root cause of deterioration when one bases wealth and riches as the end goal. The American Dream encompasses opportunity for prosperity, and the chance to to move upward in status, regardless of race, gender, or social class at birth. When the American Dream is associated with materialism and physical comfort, instead of family and spiritual values, an individual can become greedy and hopeless. The American Dream has often been referred to as a “fruitless pursuit” in that it causes individuals to only focus on material objects, wealth, and leave behind important family values, being loyalty, honesty, and morality. The faults enclosed in the American Dream are far more detrimental to the common man as it promotes material prosperity, and accentuates the idea of tangible wealth. At the heart of the American Dream, it is vital that the common man finds light in family and nurture core values, rather than chase…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The American Dream Future
    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On The American Dream Future

    This change can be seen through illustrations of the ideal futures of various decades. From 1915 to the 1980s, the idea that anyone could achieve the “ultimate dream” stayed the same, while the ultimate dream itself changed from the want to make one’s own way in the world, to having a perfect family, and finally to having the most possessions. However, in recent years young people have stopped believing that anyone could achieve anything through hard work - although these Americans still have a dream of having a nice house, a family, and a job, this is a dream that is no longer uniquely American. The concept of being able to achieve anything by working hard and persevering, and the fact that this was actually possible in America, is what made the American dream so important. Today, the American Dream is mostly considered unattainable, and is now considered more of a historical concept than it is a modern…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream
    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The American Dream

    Throughout one’s life, a person will strive to reach a certain level of success. Each individual determines what he wants in life, and to what extent he will go to reach it. However, as The United States of America has risen so have these standards, resulting in many people determined to obtain items they do not need in order to achieve the temporary bliss of being better off than others. In 1931, James Adams coined the term “American dream,” stating that it was "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams 404). Despite the fact that many of the citizens of America live truthfully to this dream, others would agree that with advances in technology and living standards, the so called “American dream” has changed. Another, more modernized version of the American dream has emerged stating that it “has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy their prosperity” (American Dream). Many Americans have become more interested in having enough money to buy worldly and unnecessary possessions rather than living in a society where each person has the potential to reach his own goals. Throughout American literature, authors have portrayed how greed has intertwined itself with the progressing American dream of having material prosperity, resulting in a corrupt society.…

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics