Money And The Importance Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Improved Essays
“For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:12) Through the centuries money grew to become an ideal importance. Money’s importance has blinded some people from their morals or reality. As evidence, the term affluenza describes the form of living a life with an abundance of money. Material possessions become a source of “happiness,” but will this ever satisfy them? It is important to realize that material possession can blind someone from what true happiness should be and the importance of sustaining morals. Society, is this the main source of materialism? Through society, most actors, musicians, and politicians have made money the center of life. Many generations strive for money because it has become a direct necessity, as a pen is needed to write. The growth of this necessity has obstructed the view of true happiness and has created a belief that material possessions will decide the future that you may obtain. The main focus is not our material belongings but the hard work that can be seen through our work. To seek satisfaction supposedly obtainable, but people strive to grasp the idea and it’s false hope. To put all dreams and all self into work that may be able to have the smallest glimpse of its beautiful features, this can drive a man mad. Through much torment and much sorrow, a person has to be down trotted when they are unable to see the false glimpse of satisfaction. In The Great Gatsby, the examples of the never-ending determination for the belongings that Jay Gatsby desperately searches (Fitzgerald). Daisy was Gatsby’s personal false hope. He strived for success but only for her. She was a voice that “ringed with money” but her value from the past never stopped Gatsby. The wealth and status were Gatsby’s main source for winning the heart of Daisy. She was attracted to the wealth that Gatsby did not posses during that time they first met; unfortunately all of his wealth and status did not work in his favor. Symbolic of Gatsby’s sought for past with Daisy was seen through the green light. When Daisy was close to his reach, the green light seemed to vanish and his American Dream that was within Gatsby’s eyes. The longing for Daisy ended up leaving him without what he had intended, through all his fame and glory inevitably brought him to his end. Another key point is that money should not be the center of everything within our lives; if this were to be true the world would be a dark place. Striving for success is different than striving for money. We must want to succeed, not for money, but to better ourselves. Affluenza can affect anyone at any age, sometimes more than others. Therefore the grasp of affluenza can become overbearing or does not allow them to fully acknowledge their problem. …show more content…
Love, happiness, and destruction can greatly be seen in The Great Gatsby. Truly, money can blind the heart, creating false fantasies that can prevent a person from seeing reality. The godly and unrealistic character in The Great Gatsby is the notorious billboard of Dr. I.J. Eckleburg (Hermansson 139). Eckleburg was made into a false idol, a watchman, and a silent killer that was unable to neither move nor talk. The significance of Dr. Eckleburg demonstrated how the Valley of Ashes was a place where some people that had little hope placed it all into Dr. Eckleburg. When our hearts are blind, we are prevented from seeing what is truly there. Instead by blinding our hearts some people strive to appeal to what the eyes see instead of what the heart feels. In fact virtues, morals, or common thoughts are beneficial with the decision making for every day life. We must have only the necessary items in order to diminish the creation of a monster (Aristotle 191). In the Nicomachean Ethics, the “complete virtues” are close to true happiness when a man has much wealth. A wealthy man believes that he has true happiness, but he actually has pleasure over his material goods. Aristotle states that mankind becomes “slavish” to satisfy this hunger, which creates

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Money is a wonderful thing, except when people grow greedy for it. That is when a person’s worst is brought out. Greed for money and success is helpful to a certain point and then it becomes dangerous. Within the two books The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and 419 by Will Ferguson the idea explored is that money outweighs people’s morals. Lawmen, politicians, lawyers, although they are there to fight for the law they can become corrupt if money is involved.…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 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
  • Improved Essays

    The need for money and to be viewed in a higher class is what we as humans crave. The short story the rocking horse winner by D.H Lawrence displays the powerful control money has over any individual. A mother of a family that are not rich but also not poor craves a wealthy life. The son of her is willing to do anything to get his mother the money she so desperately desires. In D.H Lawrence's The Rocking Horse Winner, the author uses his characters to display the overwhelming consequences of greed in middle class families.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pardoner’s Tale-Literary Response The love of money is said to be the root of all evil. People will do unimaginable things for money. They will ruin other people’s lives as well as their own just to pocket cash. In Bill Taylor’s article “Understanding Money and the Meaning of Life,” it is explained how people handle their money with greed versus how they should handle their money, the right way.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his essay “On the Want of Money” William Hazlitt draws comparisons between unpleasant circumstances and how they’re brought forth by the want of money / greed. There seems to be many unconnected pessimisms throughout the essay but they all relate to each other represented by the similarities in sentence structure. Hazlitt uses parallel structure to convey the idea that negative circumstances are united under one root cause: greed. Hazlitt draws an ironic connection between the want of money and negative situations.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    1. Money is a double-edged sword which can make people get material satisfied and at the same time make people greed. 2. On the flip side, teamwork can make people make friends with others.…

    • 105 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Three Idiots

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Nowadays, the majority of people in our society falls into great obsession with materialistic possessions from fancy cars, expensive smart phones to designer clothing, which to some extent is due to the growing increase of consumer culture. It is a pity that they do not attach enough importance to the spiritual parts of life. Of course people are every bit entitled to pursue material enjoyments; however, the point is that people break the balance so that they will not sense the true essence of remarkable lives. As far as I am concerned, people will reap more benefits from spiritual satisfactions than material enjoyments.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the world we are shown the good, the bad and the ugly. The world revolves by spiraling in a circle, and forces us to commit to things. ” Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy”(Andy Stanley). Technology being one of those exact things that requires leadership is ever so changing and even beginning to consume some.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socrates

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In addition to furthermore solidify that money is not the most important aspect of our lives, in a study conducted by PNAS on how income affect our lives. In the study it was concluded that “More money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain ”(Kahneman & Deaton 16489+). As i mentioned before…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Increasing materialism is generally the ever growing desire to possess worldly things and depression is a form of mental illness. Lundberg defines materialism as a perceived reality that constitutes societal constructs; according to him the relationships that exist amongst people have become more centered towards wealth acquisition and selfishness. Unconsciously people have taken part in a race; the race to build an identity for them that is not only acceptable to one’s own self but is also revered by everyone else. Materialism is a thought process that emphasizes on giving more importance to the mundane and worldly commodities and the acquisition of these commodities important for the survival of one’s identity in the society. Depression,…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Green Paper Pig Money is considered by many the most important thing in their lives, but there are values and morals that money can’t buy. No one can buy emotions, emotions are an aspect of what makes up an individual. Its true money can buy all the luxuries and comfort in the world. However, for a man to think that money is everything, is a great mistake. Money is just a green printed paper that has no value, until society decided to give it one.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Materialism Analysis

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Materialism: Advantage to Human Kind All of mankind likes property. In a more versatile term, every man likes wealth. Wealth drives the existence of human kind. It is important for survival to be driven by wealth.…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No matter how successful you are if you are a materialistic thinker, you will always be hungry for more. Mark Twain explains how “...many men who have accumulated more millions of money than they can ever use have shown a rabid hunger for more...”. This shows how even the richest people will always want more and they will never be able to stop pursuing more money. It also shows how greedy and ignorant people can be because some people put this over things such as their health or even their family. Twain also describes how “...squirrels and bees and certain birds made acumulations, but stopped when they had gathered a winter supply…”.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It has been said before that more money means more power. Money accommodates our needs just as much as our cravings; for some it is materialistic and for others it is often psychological. Although money can provide many things, one must never forget that once it is lost the brief bliss and sense of security will follow. Many often value money more than its essential purpose. If society continues to go in this direction, a never-satisfying cycle will continue to exist among younger generations, causing them to chase a life of luxury rather than pursuing a more fulfilling life filled with passion.…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some people think that only "money" can control social order. Important value is overwhelmed by superficial things. People judge others by their buying. Children today are learning by watching their parents, who have a compulsive need to spend a lot. They are also watching television drama series and movies which are trying to glamorize the lives of rich people (Odyssey 1).All around the world, there are messages telling us to buy stuff.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays