Essay about The Great Gatsby

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Zaydia Ellis
Mrs. Hemphill
Studies in American Literature Honors
18 February 2015
Wealth in
The Great Gatsby
The book
The Great Gatsby has been revered decade upon decade. Some works of fiction flow through time agelessly, just as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work continues to be an integral part of many high school’s English curriculum, due mainly to the many moral lessons and powerful themes it embodies.The fact that it does encompass a fairly sizable amount of influential material would be the reason that it has attained value and significance enough to still be relevant in todays society. When analyzing the book, it can be said that one of the most important of its attributes would be the theme of wealth and materialism. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s demonstrates how money and wealth influences the actions and choices of people.
To begin, it should be noted that societies highest echelon are not the most benevolent people out there. The characters portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel are judgmental and superficial, failing to look at the essence of the people around them. A prime example of this surfaces itself in the attenders of Gatsby’s grand parties. To put it simply, they use him. The partygoers drink his liquor, attend his parties, eat his food, yet never taking the time meet or

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thank the host. Instead they conjure up rather ridiculously incredulous lies about Gatsby’s history and just who exactly this man is. These people take advantage of Jay Gatsby’s great wealth, ruining or wrecking their own belongings because they know the items will be replaced more lavishly, just as the woman, Lucille received a new two hundred and sixty five dollar dress because she had torn hers at the last party. The guest at the parties have no need to respect anything because whatever is ruined will be replaced. The careless actions lead back to how money induces the different behavior in people. In addition, Gatsby’s funeral also displays wealth’s superficiality in the point that the assemblage of people that attended the funeral was three close to zero. As soon as the late Gatsby could no longer provide people with means of money or wealth, they no longer had use of him and forgot all of him close to instantaneously.
Speaking of Gatsby funeral Nick points out that “...it wasn't any use. Nobody came”(174). No matter how great Jay Gatsby’s wealth made him, once he was gone, so was the money and that made him obsolete to those who once admired his fortune It goes to show just how important money is to people, and how it affects what they do.
At first glance, those who possess a great deal of money could be seen to be living a rather pristinely satisfied life. When taking a longer look at the same class of people, dissatisfaction with their own lives hangs above them in an ominous cloud. The status of relationships in
The Great Gatsby is an example of how people’s affluence can create

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disconnection and result in a dreaded discontent. Starting off with a relationship that should have been deemed as the backslide of a true love story, Daisy and Gatsby become the main focus.
Gatsby became infected with a need to impress the girl he was overly infatuated with and that lead to his acquisition of immense wealth; money empowered by love. It should be simple enough to say that they were in love, but Daisy married a man that could give her wealth and status instead of a compassionate life. Tom Buchanan was the safe path, better for her reputation and her quality of living, a young man from a solid, aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle. Tom and Daisy’s situation was love empowered by money; the antithesis of what drove Jay Gatsby. “She vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby­ nothing” (Fitzgerald 149). Daisy married Tom, not because she loved him, but in the interest of wealth, and that ultimately lead to a doomed
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