Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

At a first glance, The Great Gatsby, seems like it is just a story of the wealthy people who lives the desired, dream life. However, if one reads carefully between the lines, they would encounter the colossal amount of symbols and messages dispersed throughout this one novel. One of the main messages the author gives out is the criticism of materialism. Myrtle, the wife of poor mechanic struggles to escape from her miserable life and Gatsby, struggles while he is eager for regain his lover who has married another man. They are both examples of people who has been corrupted by this idea and chooses to adopt the new, perfect figure that they desire to be. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his novel, The Great Gatsby, uses clothing to demonstrate how materialism

can lead to putting up fronts and covering up one’s true identity to the detriment of one’s well-being.
Myrtle’s vivacious personality totally shifts once she changes into her luxurious dress and starts acting in a condescending manner towards the others.

When Myrtle, Tom, and Nick get to Myrtle’s apartment, the readers can see her change as Nick explains, “Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon … . With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change” (Fitzgerald 30). When a neighbor compliments Myrtle’s frock, Myrtle “rejected the compliment by raising her eyebrow in disdain. ‘It’s just a crazy old thing … . I just slip it on sometimes when I don’t care what I look like’” (Fitzgerald 31). Despite being the wife of an unsuccessful mechanic and a mistress, Myrtle pretends to be from the upper class with the assistance of her fancy dress. This shows her materialistic belief that happiness is owning large quantities of belongings; causing her to put up a facade of a wealthy lady while dissembling her actual self. In this moment, Fitzgerald is reflecting the common belief of Americans in the 1920’s as well as describing to the readers that people adorn themselves physically and mentally to change their feelings and the impressions they give

out.
Gatsby’s dressing in white, gold and silver shows his attempt to put up a front as a perfect, wealthy person in order to impress Daisy.

As Daisy marries Tom, even though she loved Gatsby, the readers see how Daisy chose the wealth Tom owned over her feeling towards Gatsby. When Gatsby sees Daisy for the first time in five years, Gatsby arrives in “a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (Fitzgerald 84). The colors gold and silver are often associated with money and success. Likewise, white makes people appear pure and innocent. By dressing himself in such colors, Gatsby, who has gained his wealth through criminal activities, sets himself up to look wealthy and righteous. This is because he thinks Daisy, whose “commodity aesthetic filters race and class through the conventionally gendered lens of consumerism” (Goldsmith 1), could only be won by showing his prosperity. Therefore, the readers can infer Gatsby is attempting to attract her by attiring himself in such clothing. Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby is driven to adopt a perfect disguise instead of letting his true self pursue his

dream.
Gatsby’s endeavor to conceal his murky past and attain Daisy by arraying himself in a fancy pink suit results in a complete failure. Although at first Gatsby manages to attract Daisy, he is unable to keep up his charade as an old-moneyed sophisticate for long. When he shows up at the Buchanans’ in a gaudy pink suit, Tom skeptically comments, “An Oxford man! … Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit!” (Fitzgerald 122). Gatsby, this time, adorns himself in a bright colored suit to stand out from the others and draw Daisy’s eyes. However, his choice of the pink suit to look stylish and appealing backfires as it appears too flashy and almost vulgar. This is a mismatch to his story of being a refined Oxford man, later causing Tom to reveal Gatsby’s sordid past in front of Daisy. This shows how Gatsby is unable “to throw off ‘the cluster of appurtenances’ and invent (himself) themselves anew” (Donaldson 1). He is unable to totally erase his dirty part of his past and pretend like he never did anything wrong because those decorations are masquerades. Fitzgerald is criticizing people’s materialistic mindset and admonishing the readers that the desire to hide every flaw they have forever is impractical and foolish.
To conclude, Fitzgerald applies the symbol of clothes to assert that materialistic beliefs can cause people to mask their reality and imperfection in order to enhance themselves. His characters in The Great Gatsby, show how people influence their miens by clothing themselves in a certain way. People do this because otherwise they would be abhorred by the ones with depraved beliefs. Furthermore, it is absurd to consider that one is able to obscure whatever taint they have. Corruptions and misbeliefs like these are hard to eradicate since they are caused by people’s natural desires. This is why although this novel is set and written back in the 1920’s, the messages behind it are nevertheless meaningful for many people today.