Preview

The Great Gatsby: Wealth Allows People to Be Careless and Dangerous

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1830 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Gatsby: Wealth Allows People to Be Careless and Dangerous
"I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth" (Fitzgerald 7), as stated by Nick, shows that, in The Great Gatsby, class determines the value of a person’s identity. Even between the rich, those with old money are more respected than those with new money, since there is a history of wealth associated to those with old money. Wealth holds great priority in society, since it provides more opportunities. However, while it provides more opportunities, the characters in The Great Gatsby shows the negative aspects of money. In the book The Great Gatsby, it is seen that rich people are powerful, but are careless and dangerous because money has great influence with their actions in society, which can be seen through the characters of Daisy, Tom and Gatsby. To begin, Tom shows that he is a careless and dangerous character since he uses his money to sustain his actions. As well, Daisy shows that she is careless because she uses her money as a reason not to take responsibility for her actions. Finally, Gatsby shows that he is a careless and dangerous person since he uses his money to achieve his actions. While, there are many careless people in The Great Gatsby, none are a more careless and dangerous character than Tom.
To begin, Tom is a very careless and dangerous character due to his wealth since he cheated on Daisy, is abusive to his mistress, and does little to stop the affair between his wife and Gatsby. To begin, it is known very early in the book that Tom is having an obvious affair with Myrtle, and does not feel any remorse about cheating on his wife. For instance, this can be seen at the dinner party with Tom, Daisy, Nick and Jordan when Myrtle continues to call the house, "the telephone rang inside, startlingly, and as Daisy shook her head decisively at Tom the subject of the stables, in fact all subjects,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Almost all persons know the importance of money. Some may think it’s more important to others. Tom and Gatsby are both men who understand money very well. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald writes about how Daisy’s relationship with Tom and Gatsby have similarities and differences. Tom and Gatsby are so different, even their similarities have differences. They both love her very much but they do so differently. Daisy is very important to both of them, maybe one more than the other.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “’They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’” (154) The Great Gatsby was been surrounded for a struggle for inner and outer wealth. Gatsby spent the first half of his life chasing after monetary wealth. It took him a while to discover that all he ever wanted was interior wealth, all he wanted was Daisy. Love and happiness turn out to be more valuable than money. Characters, Gatsby especially, have tried to put a value on themselves. Due to the society which they live in, they have been set equal to how they look and what they have. This notion has domination Gatsby’s, Daisy’s, Myrtle’s, and Tom’s lives. Nick reminds Gatsby, in his final words to him, that Gatsby is worth something. He doesn’t need his dream fulfilled, wealth, or notoriety; all he needs is to be comfortable and happy with…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gatsby Decencies Quotes

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page

    "A sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth"(page 2, lines 6-7). This quote appears in chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby , when Nick remind of his father's suggestion. This quote is significance because it gives the readers the meaning of this novel. This quote means money isn't the only thing that people are born into. Some people are naturally just nicer and more honest. The essence of men has nothing to do with their wealth and social class. According to The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy are belong to the upper social class and are "old rich". However , they have less "sense of fundamental…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using the literary devices and/or techniques of irony, flashback, and point of view. Throughout the story, Nick Carraway exposes the affluent main characters through their hideous actions and words. Whether to them it is virtuous or not, the result was completely repulsive. First of all, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using irony. According to the text, when Jordan is driving with Nick, “‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted. ‘It takes two to make an accident.’ ‘Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.’ ‘I hope I never will,’ she answered. ‘I hate careless people. That’s why I like…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Money in the world of the Great Gatsby is a bad thing and it negatively influences everyone in the book. Throughout the book, we see its negative influences and it corruptive powers. There are examples of this being true throughout the book. From how it destroyed Gatsby to even how its ability to desensitize the rich from their ethics and morale code.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the wealthy class that live in New York, and takes place during the “Roaring Twenties”, and era of economic prosper and recklessness after World War I. Fitzgerald highlights the irresponsibility and lack of morality that derives from wealth. Throughout the novel, there are a number of characters that abuse their wealth or power in a way to excuse their moral irresponsibility. Through Gatsby’s disputed accumulation of wealth and Tom’s unceasing trysts, Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of two men who choose to use their wealth and objectives as an excuse for their immoral habits.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the destructions and immorality, caused by the unrestrained pursuit of wealth, through the symbolism of the village of ashes and Gatsby’s feelings for Daisy.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money is no issue to most of the characters in The Great Gatsby because whether it is from inheritance, polo playing, or suspicious means, they are very wealthy. However, with great wealth comes great responsibility. Apparently nobody from the early 1920s got the memo. Throughout the story we constantly see examples of these absurdly privileged people use their status to justify reckless and childish behavior.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money In The Great Gatsby

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In conclusion, money had an extremely large role in “The Great Gatsby”. Having money was synonymous with having power and influence. Money drove decision making. Also, money was valued more than happiness and joy. The characters were so proud of their monetary possessions rather than their experiences. Lastly, Gatsby attempted to perfect his past by spending exorbitant amounts of money on parties, but in the end few people cared enough to go to his funeral. Overall, money was a significant factor in the plot of “The Great Gatsby” and it exposes flaws in multiple facets of the…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 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
  • Better Essays

    It also hints that the Buchanans might have moved around a lot because of their repetitive mistakes. While explaining Gatsby and Daisy’s past, Jordan also refers to one of Tom’s infidelities. “The girl who was with him also got into the papers, too, because her arm was broken-she was one of the chambermaids at the Santa Barbara hotel” (77). After talking about the affair, Jordan states that they later moved to France. This draws the conclusion that they might have left Santa Barbara because of the infidelity. The quote also foreshadows Myrtles death and how it was caused by Tom and Daisy’s carelessness; the chambermaid broke her arm because of the car accident and Myrtle died in the car accident caused by Daisy. Tom’s first affair had been brought to light because of the car accident, and Myrtles affair could have been, too, had he not manipulated Wilson into killing Gatsby. This led people to believe that Gatsby was having an affair with Myrtle even though she was having an affair with Tom. Tom has no control over his actions and seems to dominate the people in his affairs. This might be because he cannot control himself, so he tries to exemplify control by dominating others. He only had affairs with poor women in the novel signifying how he took advantage of people he saw as lower than him for his own pleasure. He believed he had the right to cheat because he was a rich…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fizgerald, status plays a major role for Gatsby as it paints a social barrier between him and the East eggers and highlights his ambition to climb the hierarchy of societal status to try to obtain Daisy. The societies of East and West Egg are deeply divided by the difference between the “nouveau riche” and the older moneyed families. Gatsby is aware of the existence of a class structure in America, because a true meritocracy would put him in touch with some of the finest people, but, as things stand, he is held at arm's length. For the "old money" people, the fact that Gatsby has only just recently acquired his money is enough reason to dislike him. In their way of thinking, he can't possibly have the…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people dream to have enough money to support a family, have a house, a car, and true friends that will bring you eternal happiness. Tom and Daisy are two characters in The Great Gatsby that represent the deterioration of the American Dream. Rather than being devoted to a healthy lifestyle, Daisy and Tom sought out to become rich beyond their wildest dreams with a social status fit to suit their standards. To them, the main goal in life is to reach the absolute top of the social pyramid, slowly destroying anyone and everyone who has fallen into their trap. Tom bullies people into respecting him, as Daisy lives in her own world living without consequence to her action, expecting people to clean up her mess. Tom and Daisy live a trouble free…

    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It is easy for someone to lose their morals when encountered with enormous amounts of money. Moral decay is clearly painted in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby showing the corruption driven by a green light that is represented as money. Both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, men of money are mirrored opposites of each other; possessing general similarities in which certain differences are distinguished. For example, both men have money, Gatsby’s means of achieving wealth, though illegal ways that are more justified than Tom’s. Tom earns money from inheritance, whereas Gatsby constantly works to achieve a social rank acceptable to Daisy’s liking. Both men show off their money. Gatsby throws numerous amounts of parties in an attempt to attract Daisy, whereas Tom brags about his money to impress. Finally, both men share a relationship with Daisy, where Daisy is Gatsby’s number one priority, whereas Tom sets her to the side. Tom is more selfish and self-centered, completely dislikes Gatsby’s selfless behavior. Although Gatsby has justified reasons for attaining wealth, his selflessness leads him to his end whereas Tom’s immoral actions keep him from harm.…

    • 400 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays