Materialism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Improved Essays
The 1920s, famously known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great economic and social growth in America. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the flourish of success, as well as the sudden rise of materialism through the lives of Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan in his novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald creates many parallels between the lives of those in the 1920s and the lives of the characters in his novel.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of great innovation and change in America. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929 (“The Roaring Twenties”). Young adults were eager to live the lavish lifestyle that is ideal in America. However, this new-found fortune did not always come from honest work. On January
…show more content…
It was and still is very common for those with great wealth to have great possessions. Wealth alone was not negative. However, obsession with wealth led to the moral decay of Americans. There was a greater sense of selfishness. People became consumed with outdoing one another. The heavy traffic in illegal liquor brought about an increase in criminal activity (Gale). These jobs were mostly done by men. The women at that time started to lose the conscientious and empowering culture that had been created during the time of the Suffrage Act and the passage of the nineteenth amendment, and placed more focus on material wealth and outer appearance. This time of social revolution proved to be both beneficial and …show more content…
Many nights Gatsby hosted extravagant parties, similar to those of the elite class of the Roaring Twenties. These parties brought a sense of fun and adventure to those in attendance and also fueled Gatsby’s hope of reuniting with Daisy. His parties were filled with people, many of whom did not even know what Gatsby looked like. Nick Carraway, another character in the novel, marvels at the fact that he may have been one of the few people who were actually invited to the party (Fitzgerald 41). Upon arrival to one of his extraordinary parties, guests could hear the music of an outstanding Jazz orchestra playing the popular songs of the era. The music had an important role. The upbeat tempos prompted an eruption of dance throughout the house. The soft, blues style sounds created an intimate atmosphere. “When the ‘Jazz History of the World’ was over girls were putting their heads on men’s shoulders… even into groups knowing someone would arrest their falls…” (Fitzgerald 55). Although the parties brought joy to many members of the community, they provided nothing for Gatsby except a reminder of the absence of his one true

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Topic 7, Values and Goals of Society in The Great Gatsby The 1920s were a period in history marked by the end of the First World War and the ensuing economic boom. This great economic change also brought on an immense social change: the loss of traditional morals and a shift in the focus of life for society. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates this replacement of ideals of society in this time period through his characters.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The billionaire, J. Paul Getty, once said, “The Roaring Twenties were the period of that Great American Prosperity which was built on shaky foundations.” The During the 1920s, the nation doubled in wealth and most farmers moved to the cities. But, 600,000 farmers lost their jobs during the 1920s. The 1920s was called the “roaring 20s” because society was improving by the inventions that were being made to cure diseases like insulin. But, the music was becoming smoother with instruments like trumpets, banjos, and the trombone.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Great Gatsby Dbq

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Furthermore, people got rich quick in the 1920s... only to have it all thrown away in the Great Depression. Other than that, the newly rich had to “fit in” with the older rich, which basically means they had to learn manners. As stated in Only Yesterday: “There was an epidemic of outlines of knowledge and books of etiquette for those who had got rich quick,” (Doc C). Going forward with the ‘newly rich’ topic, the higher class would spend their money recklessly.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People used the new prohibition law to sell alcohol and also sold drugs, gaining money, and climbing the social ladder to the upper class. Although illegal it was not uncommon and many people did it only to get from rags to riches. The lower and middle classes thought individuals could, through skill, hard work, and a bit of luck, pull themselves out of poverty (Silkenant). This common dream complements the way people wanted to live, but rarely achieved. Those who achieved this social status found it hard to fit in and was questioned on how they gained their wealth.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby is always throwing parties and having lots of people over at his house. Nick Carraway, the narrator and another character in the story, happens to live right across the street from Gatsby and witnesses these parties almost every night. Right when it is least expected, Carraway gets an…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life.” This small but powerful quote describes the trends in the 1920’s, shown in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This era was a time of change from the traditional values and culture of America, whether this was for good or for bad. The Great Gatsby reflects the trends of the 1920’s through the transformation of James Gatz, the differences between the houses in West Egg and East Egg, and the unflattering picture of the era.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The roaring 20s was all about celebrating great prosperity and having fun with big, wild parties. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story is taken place in the 1920s where people are constantly surrounded by greed and wealth. Though it appears that Jay Gatsby is the most materialistic character in the novel because of his obsession with becoming wealthy and his flashy parties, it is really Daisy Buchanan who is the most materialistic because her wealth exemplifies her lifestyle, superiority and her happiness. One might argue that Jay Gatsby is the most materialistic character in the novel. Gatsby has always admired the upper class and has aspired to become wealthy from a young age.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    American Dream in the context of The Great Gatsby Undecided Sun Seo Jeon 20140880 The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which proposes that opportunity is given to everyone according to their ability or achievement regardless of their social class, and that anything, such as rising from rags to riches, is possible with enough hard work and tenacity. This interplay between idealism and materialism is at once contradictory and complementary, because idealistic dream usually has a substantial material base. The concept of this dream is ideal since it suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but the realization and the ultimate goal, which is usually rising up the social ladder or becoming rich, is material.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a novel published in 1925 by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Midwest-born Nick Carraway details Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with the notion of being reunited with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he lost five years earlier. The novel particularly focuses on describing the disintegration of the American dream; the view that all people are created equal, and have equal opportunity in the pursuit for happiness. This definition of the American dream, however, is challenged by Fitzgerald; suggesting that the American dream became nothing but the pursuit for happiness through materialism (having a big house, car, etc.). This paper will explore and analyse the techniques that Fitzgerald used to undermine the American…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1920's DBQ Essay

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The 1920s was a time concerning the greatness and excitement of the United States. There were several new things happening in the country. The “Roaring Twenties”, as they nicknamed the 1920s, was real and sustained prosperity, bringing technology advancements, and lively culture. The economy in 1920 was booming.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Analyzing The Roaring 20's

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Roaring 20’s and 30’s The roaring 20’s was an era where many good and bad things happened. One of the worst things that happened was the great depression and the ridiculous increase in crime rate. The great depression was essentially the stock market crash of 1929. This was due to buying stocks on margin. Buying stocks on margin was buying stocks but not having enough money to pay them on the spot, so they would pay later. Many of this lead to people losing their jobs and property. Due to the lack of money and growth of …

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the roaring twenties, materialism and wealth were the keys to happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts this in his novel The Great Gatsby. The characters used their materialism and wealth to build their perfect utopia, for dominance, comfort, and love. With the help of geography, Fitzgerald analyzes and explores the horrid truth of American wealth and materialism through Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby. Myrtle Wilson lives in the Valley of Ashes “where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens […] with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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...…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gatsby does not mind random people coming to his party. He just wanted his life to be filled with people. However, that never happened. He house was filled, but never his life. His life only chased his love for Daisy, and never for the people around him.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Great Gatsby Report

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby locations play an extremely large role in the telling of the story. They can indicate a character’s economic standing or make a poignant statement about the society of the 1920s. The three main locations in The Great Gatsby are the Valley of Ashes, the Eggs, and Manhattan. Each location sheds light into the various lifestyles of those that live there and how Fitzgerald perceives their actions and behaviors. Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to show the world how the pursuit of the American Dream will inevitably end in pain and suffering.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays