Effects Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Register to read the introduction… She is not part of the first class like most of the other characters in the book, but she still wants the material things just as bad. One way that Myrtle uses money to her advantage is throwing parties. The parties lead her peers to believe that she is wealthy, which she is not. Another way that she is influenced by money is pursuing in another love interest other than her husband George. “He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out...I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried...all afternoon.” Myrtle’s quote shows that she is embarrassed to be with George because he is not rich. The reason for her affair with Tom is obvious. She only stays with him because he provides her with materialistic things. If her husband gave her the same things that Tom did, she most likely would not be having an affair, but the fact that he provides her with things such as a dog, and an apartment in New York City, affect her decisions …show more content…
Gatsby knows that material things are on Daisy’s mind, and he uses that to his advantage. Jay Gatsby spends outrageous amounts of money on the parties that he throws. “And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.” This quote, stated by Nick shows how much money Jay Gatsby lays down on just one party. He thinks that the parties will lure Daisy to one, and she will see how wealthy he is, and possibly take him back. Gatsby is willing to buy Daisy anything to get her back, which may lead to bad things happening, such as a confrontation between Jay and Tom. This is an example of a negative effect of materialism. In addition to winning Daisy back through money, Gatsby also likes to splurge for himself a little bit. He owns a very nice house, and he drives the nicest cars, one being a Rolls