Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

The American Dream. This mentality of individualism, discovery, and the pursuit of happiness has always been and continues to be a staple of American culture. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, explores the disintegration of the American dreams in the 1920s in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess through characters, such as Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and Daisy Buchanan, who are seeking the happiness they desire. However, in order to obtain such happiness, these characters fall into the trap of materialism and decayed moral values. By depicting characters’ emotional isolation as a means of coping with the empty pursuit of pleasure, Fitzgerald criticizes the superficial effect of the unattainable

opportunity of prosperity and success.
The East during the 1920s provided an idealistic and illusionary goal to achieve status and wealth to those who were willing to try. During the 1920s, a person from any social background, could potentially, obtain a fortune. Myrtle possesses a fierce vitality and desperately uses Tom as a way to improve her indigent situation. When Tom and Nick go to the Valley of Ashes to meet Myrtle, Tom tells her to “get on the next train” (Fitzgerald 26). The commuter train, a facet of modernity, represents the more accessible possibility of social mobility. A commuter train that runs past the West Egg and New York also passes by the valley, bringing about the interaction between Tom and Myrtle that would have not been possible otherwise. Through her romantic encounters and adventures with Tom, made possible by the commuter train, Myrtle is able to get a taste of the lavish lifestyle that she so desperately desires and envies. The commuter train bring Myrtle and Tom to New York city where Tom is no longer required to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet. Here, Myrtle is able to immerse herself in a garish and glittery fantasy of what her life could be. Even Nick allows himself to be swayed by the idealistic possibilities the East offers. Nick travels from Minnesota to New York in hopes of participating in the bond business. Nick even “bought dozens of volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on [his] shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew” (Fitzgerald 4). The excited tone Nick utilizes when describing his preparation represents the restless nature of the 1920s in New York City. Nick is enamored with the idea that he could possibly obtain the riches that amount to those of the wealthy “Midas and Morgan and Maecenas.” This determination inspires him to move from his home in Minnesota to New York City, where the options were limitless.
However, even in an environment of endless opportunity, characters are unable to assimilate into the changing culture and revert back to traditional values. Daisy experiences turbulence of emotions as Tom steps away from the dinner table to speak with his mistress. While reflecting on her daughter’s birth with Nick, Daisy wishes that her daughter would be “a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in the world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). Daisy’s wistful attitude represents how she feels trapped in her marriage with Tom because although she is aware of his infidelity, she has no power to say anything against it or commit an infidelity herself. Even after she finds Gatsby, they only kiss and there is no instance mentioned where they commit infidelity. Although Daisy admits that she loves Gastby, she cannot bring herself to commit the same act her husband has been doing. Daisy wishes her daughter to be a fool because her knowledge of her husband’s infidelity brings her so much pain due to the fact she is powerless in such circumstances. Tradition values subservience in women and the traditional role of women permeates even in such a rapidly changing society that it prevents Daisy from asserting herself. Additionally, the disconnect between Nick’s emotions and his actions reflects his difficulty with adjusting to modern life in New York City. Nick is wandering through the streets of New York, when he notices the contrast between the young clerks who are “wasting the most moments of the night and life” and the “racy adventurous feel of [New York] at night” (Fitzgerald 56, 57) The disparity in tone suggests that isolation can even exist in a lively, animated environment. Although Nick recognizes his isolation, he does not attempt to assimilate in the modern culture. Instead of partaking in the excitement he so desperately envies, Nick further isolates himself by “wishing them well” and turning away (Fitzgerald 57). The lack of identification for “them” represents the isolated world Nick believes he is in, one without friends or connection with whom he can really connect with. Nick is unable to part with this self-conscious attitude, which constantly makes him feel out-of-place. This belief of displacement furthers Nick’s social and emotional isolation from the modern environment by preventing him from assimilating into the culture. The isolation eventually becomes too much to bear after Gatsby’s death that Nick returns back to Middle West, where he is able to feel a sense of belonging.
This contrast between the emotional entrapment and the external environment represents how the superficial achievement of prosperity and success gives no fulfillment, no real joy or peace.

From the outside, success and prosperity appears to be achieved, but analyzing the characters show us that the characters continue to be unsatisfied. The complete focus on superficial relationships and materialism prevents people from forming meaningful relationships and living a satisfied lifestyle. Even after Gatsby gets Daisy’s affection, he does not stop there. He demands that Daisy “tell [Tom] the truth – that you never loved him – and it’s all wiped out forever” (Fitzgerald 132). Although Gatsby has been yearning for Daisy for a very long time, he focuses on the superficial act of recognition. This represents how the desires can never be fulfilled since there will always be bigger, more exciting prospects ahead. Gatsby views Daisy with such idealistic perfection and pursues her with such zealous passion that he is never satisfied with what he obtains. Even after Daisy is unable to say she has been emotionally loyal to Gatsby, Gatsby’s powerful dream of happiness with Daisy still causes him to take the blame for Myrtle’s death, ultimately leading to his own death. Thinking about Gatsby’s death, Nick writes that he wishes that Gatsby realized “what a grotesque thing a rose is” (Fitzgerald 161). The rose is a conventional symbol of beauty. However, Nick suggests that roses aren’t inherently beautiful, but they are given the status of beauty by onlookers. Gatsby has invested Daisy with beauty and meaning by making her the object of his dream that Gatsby cannot see her as the “grotesque” person she is. Had Gatsby not instilled such value due to her status in her, Daisy would not be the object of his zealous passion. Just as how Gatsby’s dream is ruined by the unworthiness of its object, the world is represented as a moral wasteland due to the unworthiness of its objects –

humans excessively seeking money and pleasure.
By depicting prosperity and success as unattainable, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values due to the importance placed on the pursuit of pleasure and wealth. The drive for success is one of the most emblematic ideals that has permeated the history of the United States. The widespread prevalence the opportunities for prosperity and success occurred as both the product and cause of mass culture during the early 1900s. The ideals of conquest and optimism arose from the endless opportunities that were available no matter the social class. However, the opportunity remains an ideal rather than a reality in Fitzgerald’s interpretation.