How Does Money Bring Happiness In The Great Gatsby
The Relationship Between Money and Happiness In The Great Gatsby Many humans believe money can bring them happiness. They believe this because money can provide material goods, which can feed greed and maliciously wanting to be better than others, and/or stability. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the unhappiness portrayed by different characters of different classes to highlight the disconnected relationship between wealth and happiness. Both before and during the novel, Daisy Buchanan had money, as she is old money, and yet she was still unhappy. Jay Gatsby was new money, and he was unhappy when he was both poor and when he was rich. Not being old or new money, Myrtle Wilson was of a lower class with less money, and
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Scott Fitzgerald use to suggest money cannot bring happiness is Gatsby. Gatsby was new money, which means he lived life knowing what it meant to not have much money and having a whole lot of money. Like a lot of people, Gatsby was unhappy that he would be forced to live in the lower class that he was born into, so instead “...he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent,”(98). Him “inventing” and “becoming” Gatsby shows that he was unhappy with who he was- or, who he was forced to be, so he turned to money in order to feel the satisfaction of life. Although, even when he had money it wasn’t enough. Along the way of making his riches, Gatsby met Daisy, who made him need for money for happiness even more. He needed money in order for Daisy to fully accept him, but when she didn’t- even though he was extravagantly rich- Gatsby “...[clutched] at some last hope [that Nick] couldn’t bear to shake him free [from],”(148). Gatsby was upset that he was rich and did not yet have Daisy, so he was crushed when he was rich and couldn’t have her. Deep down though, Gatsby was not unhappy at the fact that Daisy didn’t want to marry him because of romantic reasons, rather that he spent years obsessing over her, believing “attaining” her would attain happiness, only for her to throw him away. F. Scott Fitzgerald used Gatsby to show that even if one is unhappy while or for not being extremely wealthy, that person will still be unhappy as they will find more things that can’t be attainable; Gatsby wanted the old Daisy, but his money couldn’t buy something that made him seem better than Tom in her
Scott Fitzgerald use to suggest money cannot bring happiness is Gatsby. Gatsby was new money, which means he lived life knowing what it meant to not have much money and having a whole lot of money. Like a lot of people, Gatsby was unhappy that he would be forced to live in the lower class that he was born into, so instead “...he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent,”(98). Him “inventing” and “becoming” Gatsby shows that he was unhappy with who he was- or, who he was forced to be, so he turned to money in order to feel the satisfaction of life. Although, even when he had money it wasn’t enough. Along the way of making his riches, Gatsby met Daisy, who made him need for money for happiness even more. He needed money in order for Daisy to fully accept him, but when she didn’t- even though he was extravagantly rich- Gatsby “...[clutched] at some last hope [that Nick] couldn’t bear to shake him free [from],”(148). Gatsby was upset that he was rich and did not yet have Daisy, so he was crushed when he was rich and couldn’t have her. Deep down though, Gatsby was not unhappy at the fact that Daisy didn’t want to marry him because of romantic reasons, rather that he spent years obsessing over her, believing “attaining” her would attain happiness, only for her to throw him away. F. Scott Fitzgerald used Gatsby to show that even if one is unhappy while or for not being extremely wealthy, that person will still be unhappy as they will find more things that can’t be attainable; Gatsby wanted the old Daisy, but his money couldn’t buy something that made him seem better than Tom in her