Gatsby Essay

Submitted By ayang9824
Words: 1000
Pages: 4
Open Document
Austin Yang
Mr.Brown
AP Lang Pd.6
November 23, 2014
New Money Is Not Always the Best Money

In the 1920’s, whether it be how they acted or how they are perceived, a person’s legacy was heavily dependent on the type of society they were born into, old money or new money. Those with old money, such as Tom Buchanan, wore their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility while those from new money, such as Gatsby, were gaudy and irresponsibly flaunted his money. Old money oozed of a secure and a traditional lifestyle, such as the one Daisy led. New money may have seemed appealing at first, but underneath lies a risky and unsecure lifestyle. Like the hordes of partiers at Gatsby’s extravaganzas melting into the dawn, new money could disappear just as easily. This is primarily because new money was achieved through crime, resulting in dirty money. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, uses the symbolism of West Egg versus East Egg to represent the underlying theme that old versus new money dramatically shapes how individuals act and react. West Egg, where Gatsby lives, represented new wealth. It was described as “the less fashionable of the two” (9) implying that East Egg, Tom Buchanan, was better. The blatant differences between West Egg and East Egg symbolizes an understatedly opulent lifestyle versus a garish lifestyle, respectively. Tom and Daisy live among prominent established wealthy families in a "red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay” (11) with "wine-colored rug[s]". While just as impressive as Gatsby's “imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normady” (9), it is clearly a more tasteful and a low-key reminder of their bottomless wealth. Tom struts with confidence because he knows that he will have money throughout his life and he does not need to worry about losing it. Tom, knowing that he symbolizes Daisy’s security, states “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” (137). Gatsby, knowing that Tom’s statement was true, constantly tried to be a “somebody” by wearing his money like a flashing neon sign. The 1920’s was a time for everyone to flaunt their money. As the stock market rose, the lavishness with which people drowned in rose as well. Old money did not buy into the latest craze and continued to live their traditional and conservative lives. On East Egg, the wealthy were kept separate from the money-grabbers in New York City while those in West Egg desperately tried to emulate East Egg. After World War I, the surging economy turned the 1920’s into a time of easy money, allowing people to make money with just a lift of a finger. With the influx of money in the economy, growing one’s wealth was simple yet often illegal. Aware that new money garnered little respect, Gatsby simply told everyone, including Daisy that he suddenly “came into a good deal of money” (65). However, his new money status was obvious from the way he threw “gleaming, dazzling parties” (188) and bought “gorgeous cars” (68) for attention. During the 1920’s, since it was basically possible to buy your way into wealth, there was little real respect for people like Gatsby. They were good sources of entertainment, but ultimately not people you wanted to be associated with. Tom, understanding the corrupt ways Gatsby obtained his wealth, tries to convince Daisy that Gatsby is nothing more than a peasant with a fancy suit. Daisy begins to register that what she thought was silver was actually just shiny tinfoil. Gatsby had been manipulating her with his nouveau riches and she ultimately remains with Tom and the security of her extravagant lifestyle.
This is similar to citizens during
Show More

Related Documents: Gatsby Essay

Gatsby essay

Ibrahim Period 3 L. Appino English 302 Essay The Great Gatsby Essay The novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald has showed us about the morality or the lack of molarity in each character throughout the book. One of the examples in the story is Tom Buchanan, who lacks morality. Throughout the novel he is dishonest about certain perspectives about life. Tom Buchanan exhibits dishonesty in this novel, contributing to an overall theme related to morality. The theme of this book is…

Words 695 - Pages 3

Gatsby Essay

Aaron Evans Mr. Miley English 4 november-14-2014 Gatsby Essay In the novel The Great Gatsby the most obviously recognized topics; the American dream and how difficult it can become to achieve it, the delineations between the social classes, old rich, new rich, some money, and no money, and how all social classes do have some similarities, the fact that Gatsby cannot realize that he cannot repeat the past with daisy to rekindle their relationship, and what describes a self-made man. The…

Words 774 - Pages 4

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

(3) 22 April 2013 Lies and Deceit Frederick Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby portrays a rich man who obsesses over the love of his past and as a result ends his life. Lies and deceit take a major role during the novel, the biggest lie of them all being Mr. Jay Gatsby himself. All humans are innately dishonest and superficial which reveals the characters true disposition and as a result leads to discontent and in Gatsbys case, death. Frederick uses Symbolism, Characterization, and Diction to reveal…

Words 1001 - Pages 5

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

THE GREAT GATSBY.. In the Great Gatsby the story is narrated in the past tense and seen through the eyes of Mr Nick Carraway.He is a young man from Minnestota, who after serving in World War 1, went on to New York to learn the bond business. He moves to the West Egg and soon becomes friends with his neighbour, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald, the author uses the the settings of the East and West Egg to present the differences in the classes and the demise of the American dream in the…

Words 1007 - Pages 5

Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby Essay

objectivity down to pronounce, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end” (Fitzgerald, 6). This is not taken lightly by Barbara Will, who notes that Gatsby is “a figure marked by failure and shadowed by death throughout most of the novel” and is far from “all right”. As she notes, this idea holds to Fitzgerald’s style if Gatsby is looked at as an embodiment of the American dream. Throughout the novel, Gatsby has no grasp of time or reality, for that matter, and Gatsby, a man who sees everything with…

Words 3524 - Pages 15

Gatsby Practice Essays

Exam preparation – text response to The Great Gatsby Notes from Barron's: Great Gatsby (1984) by Anthony S. Abbott, Davidson College Professor of English. 1. Is Gatsby a "hero?" Discuss. Everyone wants to admire someone. Do you admire Gatsby? Is he a hero to you? If so, why? If not, why not? This essay gives you a wonderful opportunity to take sides. From one point of view, Gatsby is a crook, a bootlegger, a vulgar materialist. From another point of view, he is a dreamer, faithful to his dream…

Words 2834 - Pages 12

Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby Essay The Great Gatsby is a novel of pure early 1900’s literature. It directly explains the roaring twenties and how America was changing during that time. This novel exemplifies all of that change through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s point of view whether through Gatsby’s parties or the characters in the book. The Great Gatsby also shows the underling struggles of American people and shines a light on the American dream during that time. The prompt I have chosen is a direct comparison…

Words 1021 - Pages 5

Essay on Great Gatsby

Great Gatsby Essay 3. Show how the author’s use of imagery and/or symbolism reveals them OR reinforces aspects of character in a work studied in this course. The Great Gatsby, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about the love story of the main character Gatsby during the 1920s. In the novel, the author uses colours to reinforce the aspects of characters. Each colour has symbolic meaning from the beginning of the novel, but as the story develops and as the true nature of characters are revealed…

Words 319 - Pages 2

Gatsby Essay Outline

Calvin Noel Mrs.Sumurien English Period.1 Nov.7,2015 The Great Gatsby Final Essay There were many things that were attainable in the 1920’s but the American Dream was said to be the easiest.The 1920’s was a time of new and fresh ideas, to woman working,or the black culture booming. According to the propaganda of the 1920’s the American Dream could be obtained easily. The American Dream was attainable if it was worked hard for. Many people…

Words 576 - Pages 3

The Great Gatsby Essay

Great Gatsby Essay In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, the main character Jay Gatsby attempts to rekindle his long lost romantic relationship by flaunting his new found wealth and success. Furthermore, he declines from his deliberately crafted image of glory to his exposed, gruesome, and lonely death. The story of the novel is really the collapse of Gatsby’s image, and the various ways in which the true Jay Gatz is uncovered. All through the novel, Jay Gatsby justified…

Words 868 - Pages 4