Wealth In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald is renowned for his ability to encapsulate the feel and frivolity of the Jazz Age. He expertly crafts and evokes both the beauty and pleasure seeking spirt of the time, as well as the pessimism and powerlessness of those considered to be the lost generation. As Matthew Bruccoli writes in his introduction to “A Life of Letters” “Fitzgeralds clear, lyrical, colorful, witty style evoked the emotions associated with the time and place.”1 This is particularly made evident through his depiction of the empty lives of Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and George Wilson, as he demonstrates how chasing dreams of wealth only leads to misery. This is important as it helps to perpetuate the idea that there is no hope for fulfillment in “The Great Gatsby”. The three characters all hold different positions in the social strata. Daisy originates from the respectability of old money, Gatsby is a self-made man and …show more content…
According to .... “The Tragedy of Gatsby is that he invests his platonic ideas and pursuits in something as superficial as wealth and material gain”2. The reason this is true is that no matter how much Gatsby has, it will never be enough to extract Daisy from of her comfortable world of old money. As soon as Daisy learns about the origin of Gatsby’s wealth she is quick to drop him and abandon her lover once again. In fact, the a-morality of wealth is also reflected in the symbolism of Doctor T J Eckleberg’s eyes who watch over the valley of ashes. His eyes act as an observer and judge of a place indicative of “a spiritual wasteland”3. In “The Great Gatsby” money has no morality, which is evident in the corrupt “gonnegsions” that Gatsby uses to amass his own vast wealth. Something also being evident in the frivolous way that Tom lives his life “going wherever they had money and played polo” having extramarital affair after