How Does Money Affect The Great Gatsby

Does money affect your feelings for someone? A romantic would argue never, while a cynic might say, “of course it does!” In The Great Gatsby, a novel about America during the 1920s, several relationships are featured. The relationships are described through the perspective of one person, a man named Nick Carraway, and it can be inferred that he believes most of the individuals are in it for the money not the love. Some may argue that Nick’s perspective isn’t reliable and that the feelings of some characters in The Great Gatsby were not affected by the money that someone had because Daisy did love Gatsby when he was poor, I argue, that Fitzgerald truly believes that money does affect who you love and how much you love as proven by the three …show more content…
Myrtle’s feelings towards Tom were founded on the fact that Tom would give her things her husband Willison couldn’t. In the Great Gatsby the first love affairs we are introduced to is the affair between Tom and Myrtle. Nick described Myrtle 's face as having no facet of gleam of beauty, Myrtle lived in the Valley of Ashes, which in the book is between West Egg and East Egg, were the poor people live. Myrtle 's husband Willison was poor and couldn’t offer he many things. Tom and Myrtle began to take an interest in each other. Tom and Nick went to visit Myrtle, Myrtle wanted a police dog Tom said “ Here’s your money. Go buy ten more dogs with it.” (p.28) Myrtle was so used to being poor and not having her husband buy her anything. It was different and was what had interested Myrtle into having an affair with Tom because of all the things he could give her. Myrtle basic feelings toward Tom was because of his wealth. When the question surfaces of why Myrtle married Wilson Myrtle answers “ I married him because I thought he was a gentleman, she said finally I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.” (p.38) Myrtle thought Willison would be able to provide her with many things but in the end Wilson wasn’t able to provide basic necessities for Myrtle. Since Wilson wasn’t providing for her the way she wanted she was cheating on him with Tom gave her more than enough. Myrtle love was based upon the money Tom had. In the end of The Great Gatsby Myrtle ends up choosing Wilson because before her death Wilson told Tom Myrtle and him were going to leave town he just needed more money, thus showing Myrtle was using the money Tom had given her to get out of town with Wilson. Myrtle was valued the money over love and was willing to cheat on her husband just to get the money she