The Color of Money in The Great Gatsby
A major aspect of The Great Gatsby was the effect that money has on each one of the characters. Money influenced Daisy’s love, it influenced Tom life, influences Nick’s wants, Jordan’s standards, and money also pushed Gatsby to get what he lost.
The effect money has on Daisy is noticed from the beginning. She is married to a wealthy man in which she says she loves. The love for her husband is not the same love that she has had with other men. This love is influenced mainly by the amount of money he has. She has experienced true love, but not with husband or a wealthy man. The story tells us about her love with a poor man when she was younger living in Tennessee. Daisy came from a wealthy family so it was expected of her to marry a wealthy man whether or not she really loved him. Not only did money influence the people that she was interested, but how she looked at anyone that did not have money.
Money also influenced Daisy’s husband Tom. Tom has always been wealthy. He was born in to the wealth, and raised in it. Tom’s money was considered to be old money that also said that he was influential. Tom looked at people that did not have money as if they were no ones. Tom had a mistress that did not have money, but he would have never thought of marrying her because she was poor. Tom treats people how ever he wants because he has the money and they do not.
Nick is a man that has a fair amount of money, but he is struggling to live the life that he is trying to make it in. Nick thinks that money is the only thing in the world. He is struggling to make more so that he can live the life that he wants. Nick visits his cousin Daisy in hopes that her husband might somehow get him a job that pays good money. The house that Nick lives in also tells how much money he has. The house is fairly small, but it is in the West Egg that is an area which was for the people that have money. Nick was content to live in the West Egg although the people that really have money would live in the East Egg.
Gatsby and Greed In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters.
Daisy marries Tom only because he has money. Daisy is in love with material objects. She uses her money to get away from reality, and when she feels threatened, she hides behind her money. Furthermore, she says, "And I hope she'll be a fool-That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. "(Pg.
During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result of the greediness and desires of the main characters to become rich and wealthy. These character placed throughout the novel emphasize the true value money has on a persons place in society making wealth a state of mind.
Tom is richer than Gatsby, and has a far lesser chance of losing his money; because of the simple fact that he did not need to participate in anything illegal to gain his wealth. In fact Tom did not need to participate in anything to receive his wealth. Gatsby, because he was not born into a wealthy, well-to-do family, is in a lower class, despite being almost as wealthy as Tom is. While Gatsby treats Daisy far better than Tom does, Daisy still favors Tom because it is far easier to live with someone who has a predictable pattern to their actions than someone who is all over the place. All of these coincide with each other to cause Daisy to think that she loves Tom more than she does Gatsby.
Our story unravels early on in The Great Gatsby, Nick's very wealthy cousin, Daisy, simply has it all: she is beautiful and graceful; her bank account is large; she's traveled and knows people no matter where she goes. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, is without a doubt very lucky to be with her; but there's a ripple in this perfect couple: he's cheating on her. Not only is Tom cheating on her, but he's cheating on her with someone of a far lesser class; which makes the reader question why he's with her in the first place. Daisy had a very good reputation among the elite; she had never done anything that would have embarrassed her. "They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely perfect reputation" (82). This illustrates how well put together Daisy is, he has used her, and continues to use her not only for her wealth, but also for her firm social standing. She could, literally, make or break Tom depending merely on whether or not she stayed with him; of course he'd remain with her, she defined his social standing.
The Great Gatsby set in the glistening and glittering world of wealth and glamour of 1920s Jazz Age in America. However, the story of the poor boy who tried to fulfill the American Dream of living a richer and fuller life ends in Gatsby’s demise. One of the reasons for the tragedy is the corrupting influence of greed on Gatsby. As soon as Gatsby starts to see money as means of transforming his fantasy of winning Daisy’s love into reality, his dream turns into illusion. However, other characters of the novel are also affected by greed. On closer inspection it turns out that almost every individual in the novel is covetous of something other people have. In this view, the meaning of greed in the novel may be varied The greed is universally seen as desire for material things. However, in recent studies the definition of “greed” has come to include sexual greed and greed as idolatry, understood as fascination with a deity or a certain image (Rosner 2007, p. 7). The extended definition of greed provides valuable framework for research on The Great Gatsby because the objects of characters’ desires can be material, such as money and possessions, or less tangible, such as love or relationship.
Ultimately, Mark Twain’s ageless classic, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should remain taught in schools. There are many lessons to be taught and learned by reading and understanding Huckleberry Finn. Although some sources may say that a child can pick up this book and think it is ok to lie, ok to steal and ok to be blasphemous, this is not the case (Culture Shock). If future students are unable to read and comprehend the book they will be less off than other students. Society should not ban a book from schools that allows students to learn about our ancestors just because it is offensive to some individuals.
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
In the novel “The Great Gatsby” the main character named Jay Gatsby a poor kid once, who change his genuine name to wind up another man “James Gatz—that was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career” (Fitzgerald 104), Gatsby battled all his life to accomplish one objective, to finally be together with the love of his live Daisy Buchanan in his adventure he took troublesome decisions that impact his life and future with Daisy.
Benjamin Franklin once said “Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness." This is arguably one of the most cliché quotes of all time. If money cannot provide happiness, then what exactly can it do? The characters of Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan open a door to a world in which money was the sole motivation for their success and the only reason for their power. When the reader uses a Marxist critical lens during chapter four of F. Scott 's Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, the social hierarchy reveals how Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan utilize the importance of money and social power to manipulate others in their lives.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: a great lesson in American History or a novel that is too controversial for young readers? Throughout history there have been times when certain groups, organizations, and people have challenged books due to material presented in these books that conflict with their beliefs or values. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, was first published in 1885, since that time it has been one of the most challenged and banned books in America (CENSORSHIP). At the heart of this challenge is whether to allow books such as Huckleberry Finn part of schools and their curriculum. The debate on whether to allow Huckleberry Finn into school curriculum comes from the strong language and social issues present in this book (Powell). While there are some who argue that censorship of Huckleberry Finn in schools is necessary to protect students, others argue that Huckleberry Finn marks an important part of American History and issues that were present at that time.
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive. Although the society that we are living in is different than the one the Emerson's essay, the idea of fitting in still exists today. Although society and our minds make us think a certain way, we should always trust our better judgment instead of just conforming to society.
The idea of money being able to bring happiness is another prevalent modernist theme found in The Great Gatsby. According to Sparknotes, Fitzgerald acts as the poster child for this idea. He, himself in his own life, believes this as well. He puts off marrying his wife until he has enough money to support her (SparkNotes). Fitzgerald’s delay to marry his wife and Gatsby’s quest to buy Daisy’s love are parallel (Gatsbylvr).
In The Great Gatsby Gatsby acquires all of his wealth so that in his mind he will be good enough for Daisy. Daisy never disagrees with this assumption and also has a very wealthy husband, leading one to believe that money is as important to her as other aspects of her partners. This crass materialism is still quite present today, perhaps even more so than it was then. If you look at many of the current wealthy and successful people of today you’ll regularly see someone who hasn’t done anything to contribute to society or even their own personal fortune. This idea is even reinforced by news outlets, an author from CNN stated, “For a variety of reasons, men earn more money than women, it's a wise move to marry someone who can provide for you and your family.”(Wakeman). These types of statements only serve to fortify the belief that poor boys can’t marry rich girls.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010 and was designed to insure millions of people, who did not have health insurance, reduce out-of-pocket expenses for families and reduce costs for small businesses. In essences, when enrollment opens in 2013, the ACA law will target the 42 million Americans that according to a Census Bureau Survey are uninsured (Klein, 2014). Indeed, Obama Care from a utilitarian point of view is a huge improvement in medical services to a larger proportion of the population, that prior to this law did not have insurance available to them, including improved availability of health care services and reigning in out of control insurance companies.