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Society is overly materialistic
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Society is overly materialistic
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Many people believe the more they buy and spend, the happier they will be, but this is
rarely the case. Consumerism is common, not only in American society, but in American
literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a profound author, wrote about consumerism in his most famous
novel The Great Gatsby. He shows this idea of spending in search of superficial happiness to
explain how it can destroy someone. Just like Fitzgerald writes in the novel, people today are
guilty of consumerism.
Consumerism by definition is a “theory that an increasing consumption of goods is
economically desirable; also: a preoccupation and an inclination toward the buying of
consumerism goods” (Merriam-Webster). Aspects of consumerism can be traced as far back as
the
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Many people feel like as soon as they get their paycheck they need to
spend it. The most common type of consumerism in our society is impulse spending. Impulse
spending “is defined as a sudden strong tendency to buy products which the customer had not
planned to buy” (Khorrami 824).
F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates consumerism through the development of the characters in
The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy bootlegger who lives an extravagant lifestyle.
Gatsby’s house looks like “the World’s Fair” (Fitzgerald 81). He often throws tremendous
parties where “food and liquor are dispensed lavishly” (Hickey 1). He spends thousands of
dollars to set up the parties “and on Monday’s eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled
all day with mops and scrubbing brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages
of the night before.” For all the money he spends on these parties he does not ever take part in
them. The only reason Gatsby throws his parties is so that Daisy will “go to Tom and say: ‘I
never loved you’” (Fitzgerald 109). Even though “Gatsby’s money and fame were built on a lie,”
he is throwing it all away (Zeitz 1). For all the money he spends to impress others, in the
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Myrtle’s husband fails to provide her the lifestyle she believes she deserves.
She seeks a fantasy lifestyle of wealth and prestige through her affair with Tom. She spends
Tom’s money on lavish things hoping to disguise the rather plain, lower class life she lives with
her husband. After a day of impulse spending, “Mrs. Wilson gathered up her dog and her other
purchases, and went haughtily in” to the hotel (Fitzgerald 28). Even with everything Myrtle buys
and possess, she ends up being unhappy and eventually killed.
Not only do authors portray consumerism in literary works, it is also common throughout
today’s society. Consumerism can destroy people, both mentally and economically. There is
“substantial research indicating a negative relationship between excessive consumption, namely
materialism, and consumer well-being” (Lee and Ahn 18). People strive for happiness through
material objects believing the more they spend and the more they have, the happier they will be.
A vicious cycle of spending carelessly turns into a mental obsession with no self-control.
Personal relationships suffer because people only focus on acquiring more possessions instead of
each other. Overproduction of goods leading to excessive waste is another negative side
The two conflicting attitudes the narrator has toward Gatsby is his wealth and his capability to get anything he wants which he hates but still love him. The effect of this paradox is that he hates him but also love him.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him. Initially, Gatsby stirs up sympathetic feelings because of his obsession with wealth.
Daisy, for example, lives a miserable life, even though she appears otherwise. On the outside, she seems to have everything—a happy marriage, wealth, and beauty— which also connects to the American dream. Her relationship with Tom may appear to be perfect, however their marriage is marked by adultery, deception, and dissatisfaction. She married him only because she had to for his wealth and reputation. Daisy finds out that Tom has an affair with another woman in New York, but she does not leave him when Gatsby gives her the chance to.
...y until they realize there isn’t a party going on. When a funeral is held, barely any of the people who knew Gatsby attended. “The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came.” (Page 174). Not even one of Gatsby’s closest “friends”, Meyer Wolfsheim, goes to the wedding. “I cannot come down now as I am tied up in some very important business and cannot get mixed up in this thing now.” (Page 166). Even Daisy, whom Gatsby claimed loved him, didn’t attend the funeral. She and her husband, whom had been cheating on her beforehand, left to Chicago until well after the funeral was over.
none of it for himself. Everything he has achieved in life he has done to fulfill his dream. to prove to Daisy that he is worthy of her. When Daisy shatters his dreams by choosing Tom over, Gatsby has no need for his possessions. Once he loses Daisy, Gatsby also.
Gatsby has all the money yet he is not happy when he throws gigantic parties at his house. Daisy, the one he tried to lure in with his parties, never cared to show up. The love shown by Gatsby towards Daisy, “’I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed. Good night, old sport.’ He put his hands in his coat pockets and turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil. So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight – watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145).
The idea of money being able to bring happiness is another prevalent modernist theme found in The Great Gatsby. According to Sparknotes, Fitzgerald acts as the poster child for this idea. He, himself in his own life, believes this as well. He puts off marrying his wife until he has enough money to support her (SparkNotes). Fitzgerald’s delay to marry his wife and Gatsby’s quest to buy Daisy’s love are parallel (Gatsbylvr).
Tom cares about power, and what makes him powerful is his money. Like they say with money comes power and Tom sure felt that way. Tom is very wealthy and has power over the people in his life, which makes him in a sick way happy. Because Tom has this, he never goes for the gold or dreams of a better life he and his wife could have. At first glance, the story is about love, but once you get a bit deeper, the truth shines through.
It’s like Tom Outland’s death stirred up turmoil for the family. Everyone became at odds with each other. Before Tom died, Mrs. St. Peter had a grudge of jealousy towards him because of the bonding relationship he and her husband, Professor, St. Peter had formed. Rosamond and Kathleen have a grudge against each other because both girls were fond of Tom but Tom loved Rosamond. Tom left all his money and inventions to Rosamond and it was a large sum that provided her with the enablement to live comfortably. Kathleen feels like Rosamond flashes the money in her face and finds it preposterous. ““I can’t help it, father. I am envious. I don’t think I would be if she let me alone, but she comes here with her magnificence and takes the life out of all our poor little things. Everybody knows she’s rich, why does she have to keep rubbing it in”” (69)? The Outland holds bitterness and unresolved
Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich couple, seem to have everything they could possibly want. Though their lives are full of anything you could imagine, they are unhappy and seek to change, Tom drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(pg. 10) and reads "deep books with long words in them"(pg. 17) just so he has something to talk about. Even though Tom is married to Daisy he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and has apartment with her in New York.. Daisy is an empty character, someone with hardly any convictions or desires. Even before her relationships with Tom or, Gatsby are seen, Daisy does nothing but sit around all day and wonder what to do with herself and her friend Jordan. She knows that Tom is having an affair, yet she doesn't leave him even when she hears about Gatsby loving her. Daisy lets Gatsby know that she too is in love with him but cant bring herself to tell Tom goodbye except when Gatsby forces her too. Even then, once Tom begs her to stay, even then Daisy forever leaves Gatsby for her old life of comfort. Daisy and Tom are perfect examples of wealth and prosperity, and the American Dream. Yet their lives are empty, and without purpose.
Gatsby offered her so she took the money Tom offered her. Tom is portrayed as such an
Not everything that is expensive is better. Rich people can get everything they want, but middle class people need to think if they need it, or they can find the same thing cheaper. Most people try to find cheaper things, but some buy expensive things, because they think that it will help them to feel that they are rich. First, people buy those expensive things, and after that they are in debt. Expensive things need a lot of money, but people don’t have them, so they use credit cards to buy for that. According to the article “All that glitters is not gold” says that auto exhibition 32% of attendees bought a car and 56% of attendees reported they were going to buy a car in the near future. It shows that that people don’t have money, but they saw that other people bought the car, and they want it also. My parents just last week bought a new car, because our old one broke. My dad said that everyone has big, and new cars, so we need to buy a costly car like other people have. I thought that it was a stupid idea to look at expensive car, but anyway he found a good car, nor costly, nor cheap car. It is middle cost, and it is a wonderful car. Running after expansive things people forget to look of prices. They forget that they will need to pay for that thing for many years after they buy
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby reveals the carelessness and shallowness of the characters in the upper class. Society is totally corrupted and the character’s lives revolve around the money and extravagant lifestyles. All of the characters are surrounded with expensive and unnecessary itms, which in turn, dulls their dream of actual success. Scott F. Fitzgerald provides a powerful and everlasting message of a corrupt, materialistic society and the effects that it has on the idea of the American dream.
Money, Love, and Aspiration in The Great Gatsby." P. 51
Acquiring things like houses and cars only has a transient effect on happiness. People’s desires for material possessions crank up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier. There’s even evidence that materialism makes us less happy. People don’t shift to enjoyable activities when they are rich.... ...