Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

Over time, certain human traits have become universal, including materialism, resulting in societies in which people are forced into a more superficial way of life. Most of society is afraid of being judged or viewed as an outcast; thus, they are forced to go along with what society deems as correct. This idea of universality in characteristics is further backed by Parvini, as he writes, “Individuals are said to be conditioned by a set of social, cultural and ideological forces; they are entirely products of their particular place at a particular historical moment” (52). In other words, people born in certain time periods have no control on what they think or do, but it is rather a combination of outside factors that dictate standards set

on by society. I agree with this idea, as society has always been the deciding factor what is accepted versus not accepted, which leads to the masses following what they are told. As years go by, certain ideal and traits change, yet materialism has always been an underlying focal point of society, only recently becoming a large problem within the last 100-150 years. This includes the 1920’s, the setting of The Great Gatsby, where materialism and superficial practices were at an all-time high. Author Tom Wolfe supports this idea as he claims that during the 1920’s, men were grew so caught up in that decade’s shallow ways, that everything they focused on was in terms of money (129). Although people during the 20’s became so caught up in purely monetary topics, it was not their fault, but rather the ideas and beliefs that surrounded them, ultimately conditioning them to practice a shallow form of materialism. Jay Gatsby is a prime example of following a path of shallow materialistic ways as a result of the “forces” that surrounded him. Living in the 20’s, Gatsby was already very familiar with it shallow ways and what society focused on. On top of that, Gatsby was surrounded by wealth and power as he grew up, for example, Dan Cody and even Daisy Buchanan. To Gatsby, these two symbolized everything he desired and wanted to be in life. He idolized the both of them, and even went as far as to changing his whole persona just to live the kind of life the rich lived, as shown by the quote: “He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career – when he saw Dan Cody's yacht drop anchor”(FItzgerald 75).

To Gatsby, his idolization of the extremely rich led him to inherit certain shallow ideals, which over time, caused him to lose focus on what should and should be given meaningful value. As Gatsby continued to surround himself with rich and powerful people, along with living in the 1920’s, he became engulfed in many materialistic and shallow ideals, leading to the corruption of is American Dream. While his dream becomes corrupt, Gatsby was not at fault, but it was rather the society’s fault as a whole. Society is at fault not only the time period, but also for the pressures that were put on Gatsby to be seen as achieved or successful. This included Daisy, as she could not marry someone poorer than her, which ultimately led Gatsby to believe he wasn't enough. Thus, his desire to be seen as equal to Daisy overtook him, until ultimately, he was left blinded by what he had worked so hard for, money. His constant fuel for more is what led materialistic and shallow ideals to be apart of everyday life for Gatsby, along with outside pressures from

society. Certain superficial traits become ingrained into people like Gatsby, as they search for acceptance and validation from the rest of society. Without validation, many are left feeling empty or incomplete, which ultimately drives a push to be seen in a better light by society. As these traits become more ingrained, less focus is set on the hard work towards achieving a goal, and more is put on the end reward.