Wealth In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald gives a contradictory view to the American Dream by showing unanticipated consequences of the allure of wealth. Fitzgerald shows the artificial nature of the American Dream by contrasting “Old money” with “New Money”, depicting characters lustfully pursue wealth through immoral means, and ultimately questions whether the end is worth the means.
Fitzgerald contrasts East Egg and West Egg to analyse the differences between old money and new money. Despite both being wealthy, the two ‘eggs’ are vastly different and display a gap in social classes symbolized by the bay separating the two. East Egg personifies those with old money- characterized as snobby and greedy, they are able to fall back on their inherited …show more content…
Therefore, the wealth provides them protection as they leave —- in their wake. For example, Daisy started her affair with Gatsby after being given the grand tour of his mansion, and even begins crying because she had “never seen such beautiful shirts”-- this proving Daisy only loves Gatsby because of the wealth he accumulated. Daisy ultimately returns to Tom due to the lavish lifestyle he can maintain. Additionally, Tom takes advantage of those in the lower class, by exploiting their lust for wealth without a care for who he may hurt in the process. Tom and Daisy’s actions demonstrate a selfish lifestyle where they ultimately lust after meaningless tokens to prove their “nordic” superiority. In contrast, Gatsby, living in West Egg, had not grown up in wealth, as he was the son of poor farmers in North Dakota. However, Gatsby hoped to become of the upper class, and began to learn the mannerisms of the aristocracy. Through his learned behaviors, he was able to charm Daisy through his miraj of wealth, before he was shipped to the Great War. When he arrived back to the states, Gatsby began to accumulate wealth and was able to gain notoriety, which he used to attract the attention of