Why Is A Large Income Important In The Great Gatsby

Jane Austen once said, “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” While some may agree with this statement, I wholeheartedly disagree and find this assertion to be false for a plethora of reasons. Not only does this quote challenge the overall theme of what is truly worth loving in life in Leo Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need,” but it also demonstrates the unfortunate perspective that an overwhelming number of people have throughout the world today. Pahom, the protagonist in Tolstoy’s story, believed that having an abundance of land would make him happy and allow him to live a better, more comfortable life. The outcome of this story proves otherwise. Not to mention, other literary works, in addition to Leo Tolstoy’s parable, stress the fact that money is not the key to happiness such as The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. Money and materialistic items can only bring so much happiness to one’s life. Love, however, is the

force within our hearts that drives us and gives us meaning; where there is love, there is life, laughter, and true happiness.
In the parable, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” Pahom’s deep desire to obtain as much land as possible and his misguided actions, results in the loss of both his life and view of what is truly important. In more than one way, the land he craved with every fiber in his being destructively consumed his existence and brought him no happiness. On the other hand, I do feel that a sizeable amount of money, or in this case, land, can have a positive effect and bring joy to one’s life, but that wondrous feeling of bliss is brief and short-lived; it is not the key to achieving genuine contentment. In fact, Pahom never attained any true form of happiness throughout the entire story. Furthermore, his greed cost him a life he could have easily filled with love, laughter, and happiness. With this being said, how can one say that the best recipe for happiness is a large income?
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, several events occur that display money’s inability to buy happiness.

For instance, Daisy Buchanan, who is one of the most significant characters within the book, marries an exceedingly wealthy man known as Tom Buchanan. Even with all of Tom’s money, Daisy is undeniably miserable and unhappy because she is married to a man she is not in love with. Another example of money failing to bring happiness is illustrated through Gatsby and his story. Jay Gatsby believes that if he becomes a rich, eccentric man, builds an empire, and throws extravagant parties, Daisy will take notice and love him once again because in his mind, there is absolutely no way that Daisy could love him unless he is exceptionally wealthy. Unfortunately, her love for materialistic items is fleeting as she ends up picking Tom in the end leaving Gatsby with nothing but a shattered heart and soul. Overall, money is unable to bring any soft of happiness to any of the characters within the story and to people in real

life.
This quote personally speaks to me and is relevant to my life and many other people’s lives in many ways. When I was approximately eleven years old, my father lost his job and we were financially broke, which naturally resulted in a series of arguments and heightened emotions; several aspects of my life changed during that difficult time. For instance, all of the members of my family leaned on each other and as a result, we became closer as a family. We also could no longer watch television or turn the heater up or eat out of the house, thereby opening my eyes to how dependent we were on money. Regardless, I found that even with no money and little food, I never for one second felt unhappy or empty because I was loved and had people in my life that I loved in return. In addition, several people these days, especially the younger generation, are forced to look up to unfit role models such as the Kardashian’s and Jenner’s who devote their lives to materialism. With such enormous social media followings, they have complete influence over people. Unfortunately, it seems that their millions of followers are beginning to view the world in which they see it, with money being the key or best recipe to happiness. Reflecting back on my life and personal experiences, I can deduce that money does not define our happiness or fill our hearts with the love that we need.
Overall, while money can buy materialistic items, it cannot obtain happiness or create a sense of fulfillment. Jane Austen’s quote is entirely invalid and merely represents the delusion that our society has created by stating that a piece of paper can define whether or not one has joy in life. All three of the examples above provide evidence that no matter how much money you possess and no matter how many materialistic objects you can buy, nothing can bring genuine happiness in the way that love can.