Why Is Greed Important In The Great Gatsby

Words: 533

Pages: 3

Open Document

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there are many themes. These include power, greed betrayal and many more. The theme that stands out the most throughout the entire book, is greed. Each character in the book is affected somehow by either their own, or someone else’s greed. This causes each and every character to either be trying to gain their own wealth, keep the wealth they have, or take someone else’s wealth. This illustrates just how much money and wealth matters to these people.

The first group is those who have their money and are trying to keep it. These people are not all equals, however, there are 2 distinct groups of the rich. Those of “old money” and those of “new money.” Old money would be those who inherited their wealth from their parents or some other member of their family, being born into money. New money is those who worked for their money and made their own way to get to where they are. …show more content…
These people want to be rich but do not want to put in the hard work that it takes, so they latch on to someone with wealth. This makes them wealthy by association. People like Daisy, who tries to decide if she “loves” Tom or Gatsby, but in reality she just wants to jump to whoever has more money. Or someone like Myrtle, who goes on “adventures” with Tom, all for financial gain to try and get herself out of The Valley of Ashes.

The Great Gatsby does a great job exposing these people and how much greed there is in the world. This time period was one of much false security. Many people felt invincible, but when the harsh realities of the world hit in the 30’s and 40’s, so many people couldn’t handle it and it started the worst recession that the United States has ever seen. This book does a great job of illustrating how all of this greed was not getting any of them anywhere, and was eventually all of their

The Great Gatsby Wealth Analysis

emerges the theme of wealth. Greed is a concept of wealth that can possess one’s mind when they exercise it too much. When one becomes amenable to greed, it can overpower delicate aspects of one’s personality; the person becomes snobby. Myrtle begs Tom Buchanan “to get one of those dogs” (Fitzgerald 27). Myrtle personality contorts when she spends time with Nick and Tom on her own. Her high maintenance personality presents itself when she spends time with the men. Her greed and bold personality offsets…

Words 454 - Pages 2

Gold In The Great Gatsby

Literature is known to be an important aspect of our everyday lives, yet, when you dive deeper into the literature you're reading, symbolism is used to give the text a deeper meaning. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the protagonist, main character named Jay Gatsby is hoping of life with Daisy Buchanan, a woman who Gatsby has loved since before he went to war, and is constantly trying to win her love back after she married another man. Daisy’s cousin, Nick Carraway, describes Gatsby’s…

Words 1711 - Pages 7

Gatsby: Roaring Twenties and Inevitable Tragic Downfall Essay

Kevin Dill English 111 Professor Pulinski 12/1/2010 1) In the novel the Great Gatsby I had a very hard time finding any true hero’s when it came to the characters. On the other hand I had no trouble finding any villains. Most of the characters are actually villains with an inevitable tragic downfall. Gatsby is the only person close to being a hero but there is no way I can title him a hero while throughout the book he is lying and going after someone else’s wife, as well as participating…

Words 600 - Pages 3

Literary Devices In The Great Gatsby

A common question from high school students is “why should we spend our time reading old books and plays from a ‘stupid list’ when there are ‘more important’ things to learn.” The answer to this question usually ends in a statement along the lines of “the books on the list show why literature is important”.While this might be true, it does not really answer the question. Literature is important for many reasons, including its ability to impart real world experience without the reader actually experiencing…

Words 1414 - Pages 6

The Great Gatsby Moral Analysis

right of mind so one can avoid getting poisoned by the glamour of society. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, examines an ensemble of high class citizens whom are free of any morals and continuously glide through obstacles using their looks and riches. One can see by examining Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle that the characters’ selfishness is built on a lack of moral foundation driven by greed which leads to each of them losing an entity of their life. By examining Tom, one can see how ungrateful…

Words 1527 - Pages 7

Theme Of Water In The Great Gatsby

While the novel The Great Gatsby portrays George Wilson as the killer of Jay Gatsby, his pursual of the American dream actually killed Gatsby. Gatsby started at the very bottom of society, and ended up at the very top, changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby in the process. He built a life for himself on hopes and dreams in the society of the 20’s, but lost his life all the same to its hidden greed. Throughout the novel, the motif of water surrounds Gatsby, defining the crucial moments of…

Words 1341 - Pages 6

Why Is Nick Carraway Gatsby A Failure

People are failures, we all seem to have a dream towards the perfect life, similar to the characters in the fictional novel The Great Gatsby written by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The story revolves primarily amongst the young mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, whose blinded obsession for the exquisite Daisy Buchanan leads every other important character to their emotional and physical collapse. Nick Carraway becomes the narrator of the novel he is morally upright and an honest…

Words 917 - Pages 4

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby Essay

beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader did not originally expect his death. With a perfect, “rare” smile, and tremendous wealth, what could go wrong? Before Jay Gatsby expires, he was en route to achieving his version of the American dream. The reader discovers that Gatsby did not have it easy, for outside forces prevented him from ever attaining his dream. All of the “foul dust [that] floated in the wake of his dreams” defeated Gatsby before he could get there (2). Like many…

Words 1495 - Pages 6

The Great Gatsby Analysis Essay

Introduction “The Great Gatsby” is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922. The novel takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyed prosperity during the “roaring” as the economy soared. At the same…

Words 5604 - Pages 23

Great Gatsby Review

Title: The Great Gatsby Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald. 2) Summary: The Great Gatsby is told from the perspective of a man named Nick. Nick moves to New York to start a new job selling bonds. He moves in next door to a man named Jay Gatsby. Early on in his first summer there Nick goes to dinner at his cousin Daisy and his old friend Tom’s house. He meets Jordan Baker there. Later he attends one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. He again meets up with Jordan and he also meets Gatsby for the first…

Words 9628 - Pages 39