Wealth In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1922, in the middle of the roaring twenties era, giving an impression of society at the time. The novel enforces an idea of how life was lived and the struggles of accomplishing the American dream that came forth in 1920’s. There are many prime factors of the failure of the American dream within the novel such as, the need for achievement of wealth is so strong that religion and morals are overlooked which, leads to destruction within their lives, the inequality of social classes lead to the destruction of hope and causes the dream of success to be unattainable, and by being in a state of poverty, any hope or dream becomes unreachable due to the state of living. The American Dream promises

A person’s wealth determines many things, such as their social standing within society, and happiness and often many unmoral decisions are sometimes made in order to achieve more wealth. Since wealth is deemed to be more of a significant factor in their lives. Early in the novel, the characters express that the value of money is greater than the value of their religion of morals. Myrtle Wilson who is a middle-class woman married to George Wilson who have a desire to become extremely wealthy a, claims that “‘[She] thought [George] knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe’” (37). Showing how Myrtle thought that George was not able to provide what she needed in a marriage and later claims that “‘the only crazy thing was when I married [George]. I knew right away I made a mistake. (37). Showing her regret for marrying a middle-class man that appeared physically wealthy upon meeting but later discovered that he was not. Myrtle’s nastiness if a prime example of how character put their own morals and religion below their need for wealth by regretting her marriage and her love towards a man. It is also evident that characters within the novel will

The novel is filled with symbolism showing poverty and hopelessness. One of the reoccurring symbols of poverty is the valley of ashes. It symbolizes the failure of the American Dream and the poverty that the lower class citizens suffer from, due to its grey, opaque layer of hopelessness filled ash that covers the homes of the poor citizens who will never be able to achieve their dream of wealth. Within the novel, the valley of ashes is described as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke” (23). This description further explains the hopeless filled town that the lower class citizens live in that unmotivated them to search for opportunity. Also, the ash disallows any hope or dreams to come forward. The ash that covered the valley blocks any hopeful dreams and leaves the citizens with nothing. Poverty within the small, nameless town, the valley of ashes, has caused many citizens to lose hope because of the grey and depressing atmosphere. George Wilson, who owns a rundown car shop, was given “a gleam of hope [that] spring into his light blue eyes (28). That after was snatched away from the hard reality that they live. Leaning tom feeling lifeless and be treated like a ghost by his wife. The concept of the American Dream promised opportunity, disregarding what