Do Not Judge a Book By It’s Cover
Money can buy fast cars and designer clothing, luxurious mansions and the latest technology. The wealthy travel the world, throw lavish parties and can buy anything in an instant. Due to this seemingly posh lifestyle, many strive for wealth in hopes that it will improve their their lives and create happiness. This theory that money leads to happiness and prosperity is disproved in Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, set in the opulent 1920’s. Although historians argue that the 1920’s were a time of good fortune due to economic prosperity, it was actually a period of hardship due to the rampant loneliness, suppression of women and the impossibility of the American dream. While the frequent lavish …show more content…
Many strive their entire lives to be able to achieve this aspiration to little success, as those who attain wealth are generally still unhappy with their lives. Also, even in the Jazz Age, not everyone could live these affluent lifestyles, they were reserved for the ultrarich. As Daisy Worthington explained at the National Conference of Social Work, less than a quarter of the people owned over 90% of the country, while the poor got poorer in response (Worthington). While an elite few were able to realize their dreams, the rest of the country payed for it by falling even further into poverty. Several times during the Great Gatsby, Nick drove through this “farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills”, also known as the Valley of Ashes (Fitzgerald 23). The ashes, grey and gloomy, were a symbol of the price the lower classes had to pay. It can be inferred that these ashes come from the factories that were becoming increasingly more popular as materialism grew. As the prosperous bought more and more, these oppressive ashes built up in the Valley, stifling the lower class inhabitants for the sake of the elite. However, life was not easy for the rich either. Those who had made their own money were never able to attain their dream either as the “old money” constantly looked down upon them. Nick noticed this at Gatsby’s
Money can buy fast cars and designer clothing, luxurious mansions and the latest technology. The wealthy travel the world, throw lavish parties and can buy anything in an instant. Due to this seemingly posh lifestyle, many strive for wealth in hopes that it will improve their their lives and create happiness. This theory that money leads to happiness and prosperity is disproved in Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, set in the opulent 1920’s. Although historians argue that the 1920’s were a time of good fortune due to economic prosperity, it was actually a period of hardship due to the rampant loneliness, suppression of women and the impossibility of the American dream. While the frequent lavish …show more content…
Many strive their entire lives to be able to achieve this aspiration to little success, as those who attain wealth are generally still unhappy with their lives. Also, even in the Jazz Age, not everyone could live these affluent lifestyles, they were reserved for the ultrarich. As Daisy Worthington explained at the National Conference of Social Work, less than a quarter of the people owned over 90% of the country, while the poor got poorer in response (Worthington). While an elite few were able to realize their dreams, the rest of the country payed for it by falling even further into poverty. Several times during the Great Gatsby, Nick drove through this “farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills”, also known as the Valley of Ashes (Fitzgerald 23). The ashes, grey and gloomy, were a symbol of the price the lower classes had to pay. It can be inferred that these ashes come from the factories that were becoming increasingly more popular as materialism grew. As the prosperous bought more and more, these oppressive ashes built up in the Valley, stifling the lower class inhabitants for the sake of the elite. However, life was not easy for the rich either. Those who had made their own money were never able to attain their dream either as the “old money” constantly looked down upon them. Nick noticed this at Gatsby’s