What Is The Change In The Great Gatsby

Over the course of a lifetime there are many lessons to be learned. There are stories to tell, friends and enemies to be made, and money to be had. But these things are all greatly affected by where and when a person is from. The setting of a person’s life will change who they will meet, what opportunities they will have, how much money they will make, what they will believe, and eventually who they become. Changing the setting of a person’s life, could entirely change who they are. This is especially evident when one looks at the cultural changes that the world has gone through over the years. The culture of the time period that a person lives in affects not only the person that they become, but also the kind of life they will lead.
Money
is one of the constant forces which acts upon the people of the world. It is something pursued by most people, it’s the driving force behind the actions of many, and it is one of the few things that influences the lives of nearly every living human in some way. This single factor can change who a person decides to be, and what they do; just as it did with Jay Gatsby, Bodega, “a son,” and Dexter Green. Both Gatsby and Bodega are individuals who needed money to achieve their goals, and both turned to the sale of illegal substances in order to gain what they needed to achieve these goals. “A son” is implied to use similar means, as he “makes his money the best way he knows how” (Lopes 2). Dexter Green, on the other hand, was able to gain his fortune through legitimate means, which gave him a confidence in himself that may have turned out to be the downfall of “the young and already fabulously successful Dexter Green.”(Fitzgerald, 10) In all cases Money changes the basic behaviors of people. Whether they seek it or have it, they were affected by money in some way. The effect of money varies from person to person, but how a person goes about their attempt to obtain wealth, has much to do with their surroundings. Gatsby, for instance, was able to become rich almost solely because he happened to live during the prohibition. As said by was no Tom Buchanan: “A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers…” (Fitzgerald 84) and Gatsby was no exception. In fact, many successes and failures can be attributed to being in the right place at the right time. Dexter Green grew up in a time when there wasn’t thousands of other bright young people working hard to get into the same school that he got into easily, and when a business could become wildly successful in only a few years just by specializing. If Dexter had grown up without that same education and without the opportunities that existed at the time, he would not have been so successful. Chino on the other hand was always intelligent, but grew up in Spanish Harlem and had to work hard for every opportunity he got. Given the same life and the same opportunities as Dexter, Chino may have been just as successful. In this way, all of these men are products of their times, and who they are and the differences between who they are, have a lot to do with money. One of the clearest differences that money makes between people, is the cultures of those who have always had wealth within reach, those who have worked for their wealth, and those who are not wealthy. Dexter Green grew up the son of a man who owns a grocery store, and who, “prospering now, would have paid his way” (Fitzgerald 4) through his state college business course. Dexter was a hard worker, but the means to success were always within his reach. This is not the case for either Bodega, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, or Gatsby, who was the son of a farmer. These two characters totally lack the social graces and finesse that a character like Dexter would have. In spite of their newfound success, they will never be the same as Dexter, and at the same time the will never go back to being the same as “a son,” who never finds success. The only thing that truly bonds all four together is the idealism that they have, “chasing waterfalls” (Lopes 3) and striving for goals that they will never be able to achieve. In the way of every idealist, every dream, and every unattainable goal, is careless people. In every life there will be met individuals who “…smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” People like Nazario and Vera, Judy Jones, Daisy and Tom, and “Temptation.” These individuals are not born, but made. Either due to excessive comfort, like Tom, Daisy, and Judy; who don’t care about the suffering they cause for others because they don’t understand suffering enough to feel empathy. Or because of excessive struggling, and the self-centeredness that grows within an individual who must constantly fight by oneself, for oneself; like Nazario who “…was a reptile, his veins as cold as a razor in the morning;” (Quiñonez 209) and Temptation, who represents the Son’s own carelessness, and the fact that he destroys his own body through drug use because “…he just can’t see [Temptation] gives him loving that his body just can’t handle.” (Lopes 4) One way or another, these individuals are users who care only for themselves, and they leave a path of destruction in their wake.
Destruction which manifests in a variety of ways. For Tom and Daisy, and for Nazario and Vera; destruction comes in the form of death. Having lived the way they did for so long, all of these people are incredibly self-centered, and think themselves to be above other people. Daisy even outright states that she “…knew [Gatsby] was below [her]” (Fitzgerald 29) when talking about almost having married him years prior. This kind of thinking makes it so easy for these people to cause so many deaths, only to let others clean up the mess for them, without thinking twice, or caring once. However, death is not the only form of destruction brought about by carelessness. For some, it is possible to destroy an individual on the inside, leaving them a hollow shell which once was filled with hope. Judy Jones “…was entertained only by the gratification of her desires and by the direct exercise of her own charm.” (Fitzgerald 9) Therefore, she decides that the best way to remain entertained, is by playing with the emotions of as many men as she can manage at once. And she continues to play with them for as long as she can- until something in them is gone. In a similar way, the Son causes destruction in the hearts of the people around him. Because while he may not care that he harms his own body, “…he doesn’t realize he hurts [his mother] so much.” (Lopes 1) The
Son causes turmoil within the hearts of those who care about him. Yet, for every careless person that exists, there is a friend to be found.
Gatsby has Nick, Dexter has Irene, the Son has his mother, and Bodega had all of Spanish Harlem on his side. These allies act selflessly, helping those who would otherwise be destroyed by the actions of the careless. When Gatsby needs encouragement, Dexter tells him “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth a whole damn bunch put together.” (Fitzgerald 162) Similarly, Chino tells Bodega that he’s worth all of the souls in hell. Despite the fact that Irene had two suiters, they were “…pleasantly relinquished when Dexter formally asked her to marry him” (Fitzgerald 10). The boy has his mother, and “If at any time he’s in a jam, she’ll be by his side” (Lopes 1). And all of these people have one thing in common: They all come from the same place as the person they are helping. Whether that place be the same war, the same streets, or the same household, all of these characters share an unbreakable connection with the person that they help, and this connection is the invisible thread which draws these individuals that they choose to
support. There will always be new things to learn, people to meet, and chances to take in life. But even in a world of such infinite possibilities and combinations of who, what, where, when, why, and how, there can only be one outcome. And for better or worse, the outcome of events changes the person that an individual will grow into. Culture, which is always changing; and time, which is always moving, will always be a part of the world that humans live and develop in. This is a truth which is inescapable, so we move forward, whether we want to or not, slowly becoming the people we are meant to become.