Preview

How Does F Scott Fitzgerald Use Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
593 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does F Scott Fitzgerald Use Materialism In The Great Gatsby
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he expresses the American Dream: the search for love and money. There is a rich, handsome, young man, Jay Gatsby, who lusts after the wealthy and beautiful woman, Daisy Buchanan, whom Gatsby lost when he was drafted into the war. The novel is also known for its critique of the Jazz Age. Gatsby comes from a poor family; growing up, he became a bootlegger to earn all of his money. Throughout the book, Gatsby has extravagant parties to get Daisy’s attention. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s parties to show materialism with “new money,” to get Daisy’s attention and love, and to show loneliness. In the novel, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s parties to show the careless use of “new money” mentality.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Set in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, tells the story of social classes and a wealthy man who lost the love of his life. This man, Jay Gatsby, is born poor, but he works his way into becoming rich, and thus being the symbol of new money. Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s lover, is born as old money and lives in East Egg with her husband Tom Buchanan, and is a glamorous person. Gatsby always loves Daisy, but was unable to marry her because he was poor and Daisy loves rich men, so Tom marries her. Gatsby attempts to stop time and “repeat the past” because he has lost the girl of his dreams. Fitzgerald…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character, Jay Gatsby, is a rich man originally from North Dakota. Before fighting in World War I, he meets a young girl named Daisy, and the two fall in love. Daisy says she will wait for him, but marries Tom Buchanan and moves to Long Island, New York. This prompts Gatsby to relocate to West Egg in Long Island to be close to Daisy. The narrator, Nick Carraway, reveals that Gatsby acquired his wealth dishonestly and harbors an unhealthy obsession for Daisy. Gatsby’s upbringing as a poor Midwesterner, along with his teenage love for Daisy, motivates his future actions and shapes his character.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ridge Scholarship Essay

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On the surface, The Great Gatsby reads as a story of thwarted love between a man and a woman. The real theme of the novel, however, encompasses a highly symbolic meditation on 1920’s America as a whole, and, in particular, the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as an era of decaying social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music—epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby himself hosts every Saturday night—resulted ultimately in the corruption of the…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a novel that depicts Jay Gatsby chasing his American Dream. Although Gatsby did it by illegal means, Fitzgerald honors Gatsby for the effort he put forth in trying to achieve his American Dream of winning Daisy back. With the use of symbolism, syntax to create a respectful tone towards Gatsby, and a mood of honor, Fitzgerald admires Gatsby for chasing an unattainable American Dream and almost succeeding.…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates how the desire for money and materialism compels the American dream to decay. Fitzgerald uses Tom and Daisy’s daughter, Gatsby’s bootlegging, and the sin of adultery to show the downfall of ideals during this time period. The Great Gatsby examines the collapse of society’s morals and values in their attempt to try and pursue the American dream.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story set in the 1920’s in New York City. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a young man who bootlegs and gambles to achieve wealth, only to impress his first love, a materialistic spoiled girl named Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy went their separate ways when Gatsby joined the war. Now Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan and Gatsby is trying to win her back through wealth. Gatsby’s one goal is to have Daisy; despite her marriage he believes that he can recreate his past with her. Fitzgerald, paints the picture of the of Gatsby’s dream with symbolism, by using the colors gold/yellow, white sliver, and green, the reader comprehends the true contrast in characters and the American dream.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a classic novel that represents the “American Dream” from the 1920’s. Everything from that time period in the book has a symbol. The main character, Gatsby, symbolizes the typical American and his love for Daisy is the obsession with reaching a nearly impossible goal. The “American Dream” is seen when Gatsby breaks down and finally tells everyone about his affair with Daisy and how long he has been chasing her. Additionally, it is also recognized when Jay Gatsby waits outside of Daisy’s house for reassurance that she is alright after the death of Myrtle Wilson but is turned down for the last, and final, time.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered one of the best books ever written by an American author. Before being deployed into the military, Jay Gatsby falls in love with a beautiful girl named Daisy. While he is away he believes she will stay loyal to him, but she ends up marrying a wealthy polo player named Tom Buchanan. She disbands Gatsby without hesitation because Tom has money and Gatsby was poor. From that day on, Gatsby knew he had to acquire wealth to win Daisy back over. In this time period, money was everything to them and people would go to great, unethical, extents just to be affluent. This caused people to rid their morals, creating a widespread problem.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby Vs Buchanan

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel exploring the roaring twenties and the American Dream. The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway during the summer of 1922. The novel explores the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful and fickle Daisy Buchanan and how it affects the characters around them, including the also wealthy Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband. Marrying him allowed Daisy to be as rich as Gatsby, but it also revealed that she and Tom had fundamentally different values than Gatsby. Although Gatsby’s and the Buchanans’ home lives appear similar, the small variances represent the fundamental differences between the occupants. Gatsby and the Buchanans both hold grand parties, but while…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a classic novel in which many characters lives revolve around money, however money cannot buy happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald pursued many things writing the book The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald offers many themes in the book he shows power, greed, and betrayal. Fitzgerald showed Gatsby as a Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating distinct social classes old money, new money, and no money Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism running throughout every strata of society.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald one see a story of a man with hope to reunited with his long last love that wasn't meant to be. Tom a incredibly rich man marries Daisy who was once a lover with Gatsby. Gatsby builds a business empire buy an enormous, luxurious house near Daisy and throws banking breaking, massive parties hoping that one day Daisy will come to his party and he can once again united with her. Nick is in the middle of it helping Gatsby on his quest for true love. However a darker aspect is shown in this story this darker aspect is how materialism corrupts and dehumanize a person. Gatsby has mysterious business meeting doing shady business, Tom Buchanan thinks he can throw money at an problem that comes his way. Gatsby can instantly get out of trouble with law enforcement with the snap of his fingers In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald shows that materialism of the wealthy and privileged is corrupting, toxic and disillusioning to one's life.…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, there is a distinct gap between the old money crowd and the new money crowd. Gatsby’s version of the American dream was never fulfilled despite having a seemingly unlimited supply of money. It was Daisy that Gatsby desired. Daisy on the other hand,…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Great Gatsby Daisy

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald is a critique of American prosperity, and the endless drive for wealth brought on by the economic growth against the background of Long Island, New York City. The Great Gatsby critiques materialism and the new American Dream, no longer defined by prosperity for equality, but by prosperity for the goal of excess wealth. Nick Carraway, the protagonist, views Jay Gatsby’s disillusionment about Daisy Buchanan, the object of his affection. The tale is not a story about past lovers, but instead represents a cast of characters chasing the American Dream which destroys them. The theme suggests that Americans have created a second form of aristocracy that the original founding fathers tried to escape. Each character…

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even with immense wealth, Gatsby’s life is haunted by a lack of meaningful relationships along with a distorted view of Daisy and the rest of the world; these weaknesses make him a fragmented character, acting as an example of the disillusionment of many people aiming for the American Dream…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays