Examples Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

“The Ills of Materialism in The Great Gatsby”

Money, status, and power. These words epitomize the American Dream that people of the 1920s sought to make a reality. In a time of economic prosperity and “unrestrained materialism,” being successful and wealthy was an aspiration that many awestruck people pursued at all costs (Keshmiri 1). Indeed, many people lost sight of the fact that their personal journey that they undertook to achieve the American Dream was as important as reaching the ultimate objective. In other words, people forgot that the ends never justify the means. F. Scott Fitzgerald was mindful of the potential for the moral and social decay that could result from the ruthless quest for wealth and material objects. F. Scott

Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby portrays the evils of materialism and how it leads to corruption through his development of the characters of Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan.
The main protagonist in the novel, the Great Gatsby, falls prey to the wickedness of materialism in his plight to achieve the American Dream.

Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz to poor parents in the midwest. When he is a soldier in World War I, he meets Daisy Fay and falls in love with her. However, to his dismay, while he is stationed overseas, Daisy marries the well-to-do Tom Buchanan. Thereafter, Gatsby makes it his life’s mission to reunite with Daisy and to rekindle the flames of their relationship. To win Daisy back, Gatsby determines that he must find an expedient means to allow him to mirror her husband’s wealth. (Kazin 31). Consequently, he reinvents himself as a wealthy person and turns to a life of crime to acquire his fortune (Kazin 31). He forms a partnership with Meyer Wolfsheim, a known criminal, although the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear (Bloom 15). However, it can be inferred that their business dealings involve criminal activities, such as bootlegging liquor and the illegal sale of bearer bonds (Bloom 15). Gatsby’s new life becomes so inextricably bound between criminal activities and materialism that he can no longer distinguish the difference between right and wrong (Keshmiri 3): “‘Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he’s a gambler.’ Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: ‘He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919. . . . They can’t get him, old sport. He’s a smart man’” (Fitzgerald 74). In this situation, Gatsby is unable to

discern the difference between being “smart” and being “corrupt.” He does not perceive a problem with making a living by associating himself with known gangsters and being involved in shady business dealings and illegal activities. He is too focused on achieving his ultimate dream and reuniting with Daisy (Keshmiri 2). To this end, Gatsby creates an illusory life of glamor, glitz, and allure through his illegally obtained money (Bloom 15-16). Although Gatsby’s ultimate goal of finding true love is admirable, he loses himself in his materialism (Valverde 3). As a result, Gatsby dies a rejected and lonely man, with only his father and a few acquaintances in attendance at his funeral (Keshmiri 2). Ironically, his pursuit of the incorruptible dream of happiness leads to his heartbreak, and ultimately to his physical demise (Keshmiri 3). Unfortunately, despite the best intentions, Gatsby falls victim to the corrupting influences of money and materialism (Keshmiri 3).
Even though Tom Buchanan does not have to strive to earn money like Gatsby, Tom’s well-established financial position in life steers him directly to a life of moral corruption (Hook 61). Tom Buchanan shamelessly engages in an open affair with Myrtle Wilson, a married woman who lives in the low-class Valley of Ashes. Tom is excessively controlling and dominating over Myrtle (Cowley 20). During one heated argument, he exhibits physical aggression towards Myrtle to take charge over her behavior: “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald, 37). Tom’s moral emptiness is also exemplified by the verbally demeaning comments that he makes towards Myrtle by frequently making fun of her husband, George Wilson. He mocks George’s menial position as the owner and mechanic of a gas station/car garage. However, Tom does not reserve his ridiculing for only his mistress’s husband. Without empathy or regret, he unethically scorns those who belong to a lower socioeconomic status, as he considers them to be beneath him (Cowley 20). Also, without any ethical considerations, Tom outwardly manipulates and controls Myrtle with his money and concomitant power (Cowley 20). Indeed, Tom pays for the apartment in which he and Myrtle have their extramarital rendezvous and he buys her things that she desires, such as perfume and a puppy: “‘It’s a bitch,’ said Tom decisively. ‘Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it’” (Fitzgerald 28). Tom is acutely aware of the fact that Myrtle is seeking to improve her low social status and he takes advantage of her struggling financial situation (Cowley 20). In addition, being born into a privileged lifestyle, Tom possesses the inaccurate belief that he is superior to others (Will 5). He is haughty, bossy, and paternalistic: “His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it” (Fitzgerald 7). His paternalism does not stem from his desire to help others, but rather from his pompous and snobbish impression that he is more knowledgeable and knows better than others. Tom’s superiority complex is also exemplified in his racist attitudes: “‘It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things’” (Fitzgerald 13). Believing that he is above others, Tom harbors and displays prejudice towards those who are different from him (Hook 60).
Most disgustingly, though, Tom allows his money to shroud him in a cloak of safety and security which permits him to act with careless and reckless indifference to others (Bloom 15). After Myrtle is run over by Daisy while driving Gatsby’s distinct yellow car, Tom viciously and wickedly puts the blame squarely on Gatsby. In fact, Tom purposefully manipulates Myrtle’s grieving husband by advising him that Gatsby was the driver of the vehicle knowing that George Wilson would seek revenge (Valverde 5). Tom lacks any sense of moral responsibility or remorse for his reprehensible and depraved actions that directly lead to the murder of Gatsby (Valverde 9): “I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 180-181). Tom Buchanan uses his money and position in life to shield and protect him from the consequences of his amoral actions. After the tragic deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby, and George Wilson, Tom remains unscathed and unfazed by the events (Hook 61). In his rich world, their deaths are insignificant (Valverde 5). Tom is able to move on, both mentally and physically, without any repentance or contrition (Valverde 5-6). Tom Buchanan’s undisguised sense of entitlement morally corrupts him and leaves him as a shameless and unscrupulous man.
Daisy Buchanan is another character in the novel who demonstrates that money can deteriorate the virtues of a person.

Having married a wealthy man, Daisy possesses all of the finer things in life. Nevertheless, these fine material objects are unable to conceal her shallow and superficial nature (Cowley 20). Not only is her affluence powerless to hide these negative qualities but, in actuality, it accentuates Daisy’s artificial nature by highlighting the importance that she puts on meaningless things such as fancy parties and fashion. She pettily judges people and objects by their material value (Bewley 23). When Daisy observes Gatsby’s cache of fine shirts, she is impressed by this grand demonstration of materialism: “‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such -- such beautiful shirts before’” (Fitzgerald 93-94). Daisy’s admiration for these trivial objects shows that she is consumed by the materialism of the era, and that she values the love of money over true love (Bewley 23-24). For this reason, Daisy is unwilling to divorce her well-established and influential husband to marry Gatsby. Her decision to remain committed to Tom does not stem from any moral righteousness or recognition of the sanctity of marriage. In fact, Daisy has demonstrated her disregard for higher moral principles by her dishonorable action of

adultery.
Unfortunately, money is the driving force in Daisy’s life, and it has become the very essence of her person (Bewley 23). She exudes moral bankruptcy through nearly every aspect of her character, including her voice: “‘Her voice is full of money,’. . . That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money -- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. . .” (Fitzgerald 120). Daisy’s entire persona revolves around preserving her social status and her desire for riches. For this reason, despite once loving Jay Gatsby, she allows him to take the blame for Myrtle Wilson’s death. Daisy is unwilling to risk losing her fortune by admitting blame and confessing her recklessness. Finally, Daisy’s true depraved character is revealed by her lack of reaction to Gatsby’s sudden and preventable death. She leaves her home in East Egg without providing a forwarding address, and she does not have the decency to attend the funeral for the man whom she loved. Being blinded by her materialism, she completely loses her moral compass and sense of ethics. In fact, “Daisy is the symbol of immoral values of the aristocratic East Egg set” (Keshmiri 2).
Despite his illusory greatness, Gatsby succombs to criminal corruption and moral confusion in his quest for achieving the American Dream. Similarly, affluent Tom and Daisy Buchanan lead morally bankrupt and criminally reckless lives. These characters demonstrate that traversing the path to achieve and maintain great wealth and status, while remaining principled and honest, is nearly an impossible task (Keshmiri 2). Materialism acts as a powerful and villainous foe, and unavoidably affects a person’s outlook on life. Unfortunately, corruption is virtually an inevitable result of pursuing a dream fueled by money and materialism (Keshmiri 4). Even the most well-intentioned person typically cannot escape corruption once its subtle and imperceptible claws have grasped its victim through the lure of materialism. Money truly is the root of all evil.