Examples Of Money In The Great Gatsby

Can money give you happiness? People often think the source of all happiness is money. They spend their life making every decision based on money in an attempt to become wealthy. Jay Gatsby believes he can get Daisy to love him again by becoming rich, that money would make him happy, and that he could live a life with dishonest morals as long as he had money. In F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby's desire for wealth is a fatal flaw because it prevents him from finding true love, being truly happy, and living an honest life. Throughout the book, Jay Gatsby believes the only way he will get Daisy to fall in love with him again is by becoming rich. “Gatsby’s motivation for assuming his fortune is to impress and regain Daisy, whom

“A careful reader of The Great Gatsby will see that Fitzgerald thought this single-minded pursuit of wealth could lead to disaster, both psychological and material” (Gross 150). Jay Gatsby spent his whole life trying to win Daisy’s love by becoming wealthy, but his endless pursuit of wealth ultimately led to his death in the end. “His murder results from the careless attitudes of the elitist class, of which Gatsby desperately wishes to be a part of” (Wyly 45). Gatsby is murdered because of the carelessness of the upper class which he has spent his whole life trying to be a part of. After many years of working very hard, Gatsby is able to attain the wealth he has always dreamed of. He moves to West Egg right across from Daisy to attempt to impress her with his huge house. He throws elaborate parties in the hope that Daisy will come to one of them so they can rekindle their relationship. Gatsby eventually gets the chance to meet Daisy at his neighbor's house. After talking with Daisy he invites her over to his house so he can show her around his house. This shows how obsessed with money Gatsby was because he did not want the day to end without showing Daisy how big of a house and how much money he has. “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald

“He continues to confide in him because he finds Nick to be a genuine friend- again, something he severely lacks, as his poor funeral attendance suggests” (Best Character Analysis: Jay Gatsby - The Great Gatsby). After Gatsby gets what he wanted out of Nick he realizes he is actually a good friend and so he continues to be friends with him. Throughout the book, Gatsby also lies about his past. He lies about his childhood and says he grew up in a wealthy family because to him it would be embarrassing to admit he used to be poor. He also lies about how he earned all of his money. He will not tell anyone the truth about how he attained his wealth, which leads people to come up with rumors about Jay Gatsby. In Chapter 4, he spends more time with Nick, telling him about his service in WWI as well as a made-up story about his past as the only surviving member of a wealthy family. Not only is Gatsby friends with Nick for all the wrong reasons, but he also lies about his past to him. This shows how Gatsby put all of his morals and values on the back burner because he thought money and Daisy were more important. He thought if he told the truth to Nick about being poor in his past and his history with Daisy that he would not be willing to help him. Jay Gatsby did not live an honest life because of his obsession with wealth and