ipl-logo

How Is Wealth Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

1489 Words6 Pages

ESSAY The Immorality of Wealth The timeless effect of wealth represented throughout The Great Gatsby and Crazy Rich Asians. Mitchell Reid MONEY MAKES THE world go round. A saying that encapsulates how society deems wealth and consumption as fundamental elements of life. Today the type of car someone drives is as relevant as their name. The wealthy desire new cars, clothes and planes as this constant conspicuous consumption validates and displays their wealth. Despite this lifestyle being idealised by billions, various texts represent wealth as a prison sentence speckled with gold and million-dollar assets. While being generations apart, the novel The Great Gatsby (1925), written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the feature film Crazy Rich Asians …show more content…

Fitzgerald makes Gatsby’s agenda transparent to the reader, demonstrating his character lacks morals. Nick Carraway is a character Gatsby takes a great interest in solely because of his connections to former lover Daisy. "He wants to know… if you'll invite Daisy to your house…and then let him come over." (page 76). Fitzgerald strategically characterises Nick to be passive and easily manipulated to clearly illustrate how Gatsby is unphased by manipulating him. The character Tom acts in a similar manner. His love affair with Myrtle exemplifies how he constantly manipulates and abuses her. "Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand." (page 39). This disgusting behaviour is reflective of the Jazz Age culture and how the wealthy characters had a sense of superiority towards those who are not wealthy. This mentality encapsulates the wealthy’s lack of morals. The way the lower-class characters are manipulated and abused throughout The Great Gatsby amplifies how the wealthy lack basic morals and human …show more content…

Chu strategically surrounds Rachel with wealthy characters who dehumanise her to emphasise their lack of morals. "Hey Cinderella. What's wrong? You gotta return your dress before midnight?" Eddie’s comments towards Rachel evokes imagery within the audience and reduces her character to that of a filthy peasant chasing a fairy-tale ending who does not belong in upper-class Singapore. This emphasise how the upper class lack basic respect. Chu ensures that various characters treat Rachel similarly to emphasise this. Amanda is a character who is envious of Rachel’s relationship with Nick and befriends her to slander and diminish her. "... Hook, line, and SINK HER." Amanda utilises her cunning charisma to destroy Rachel's confidence and position her to feel unwanted. Chu utilises this to emphasise how most wealthy characters intend to manipulate and harm Rachel emotionally. Crazy Rich Asians encapsulates how the characters constantly abuse their wealth to mistreat

Show More
Related

  • Daisy's Treatment Of Women In The Great Gatsby

    1053 Words  | 5 Pages

    These examples highlight how the main characters in The Great Gatsby mistreat each other based on class and wealth, reflecting the pervasive influence of social hierarchy in their

    Read More

  • Examples Of Middle Class In The Great Gatsby

    1057 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fitzgerald’s extension of the long sentence makes Tom seem aggressively controlling and creates an arrogant and selfish tone. Nick has no reply while Jordan makes a joke, which further shows that others outside the upper class expect the wealthy to act like this. Tom acts this way towards everyone including Myrtle who he is having an affair with. He gives her money to make her quiet even though he thinks the dog “‘[is] a bitch,’ said Tom decisively. ‘Here’s your money.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Disillusionment In The Great Gatsby

    522 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people were disillusioned, but believed that there was good in the Negotiable Legal Tender, which consisted of profits of American Industry and American salesmanship. “There was an epidemic of outlines of knowledge and books of etiquette for those who had got rich quick and become socially at ease” (Doc C). People felt that they had to become wealthy to be accepted into the society of the superior class. However, in the Great Gatsby, the new rich and the old rich were both separate classes even if they had the same amount of money. “My house looks well doesn’t it?...

    Read More

  • Wealth In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1451 Words  | 6 Pages

    Many people are under the impression that being wealthy does not have a negative impact on their lives; in fact, they believe that it can get them anything they want. In order to accumulate a substantial amount of money, they often end up making immoral decisions that have an unfavorable outcome in their lives as well as in the lives of others. This situation is presented to readers in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in which he utilizes characters such as Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson who all have the ideal belief that money is the answer to all their problems. Fitzgerald demonstrates that having such values and such a strong desire for money can result in the blurring of what is right and what is wrong leading to irreversible consequences.

    Read More

  • Money In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    734 Words  | 3 Pages

    He punches and breaks Myrtle’s nose, purely for the fact that she was saying the name “Daisy”. I believe this is because of money, because of not having a goal or dream to aspire to, because you can have anything that you want. You become bored and uncaring. Tom has likely never had to work a day in his life, as his money is inherited from his parents, yet he is able to get anything he wants because he has money, while someone like George Wilson, a mechanic, works harder than everyone else in the book, yet is the poorest. Money has affected Tom’s character, relationships, and morality, in an apparent negative

    Read More

  • Theme Of Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby

    1071 Words  | 5 Pages

    The theme of moral decay in the Great Gatsby reveals how people are willing to become criminals for money, power, and self gratification,

    Read More

  • Wealth And Social Status In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    636 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tom is aggressive, strong, and supercilious because if Tom finds something wrong about you he will do an investigation about you and attempt to expose you or harm you. In addition, throughout the novel, Tom shows his violence towards Myrtle, a woman that Tom cheats on his wife with. As is consistent with Tom's disturbing disposition and temperamental character, he is filled with self-righteous rage when Myrtle danes to speak Daisy's name.¨ making a short-hand deft Movement, Tom broke [Myrtles] nose with his open hand" (89). Tom tells her to stop, and when she doesn't, he strikes her. Tom's reaction to this is decisive and unreasonable; per his usual erratic behavior, he physically strikes out at those problems which will not abate on their own and is fearful of any disobedience in the world surrounding him.

    Read More

  • Disillusionment In The Great Gatsby

    1564 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Great Gatsby is a novel that challenges the idea that true happiness comes from perfection” (Jeanpierre). The reoccurring false ideal of a perfect reputation, wealth, and success is expressed in The Great Gatsby using

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Theme Essay

    916 Words  | 4 Pages

    The world stereotypes rich people as rude, stuck up and selfish. Ever wonder why? Studies from Yale, The New York Times, TED and more have concluded, money changes everything. Whether it’s attitude, morals or values, money can affect and change all aspects of someone’s life. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, has a theme showing this claim clearly.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

    212 Words  | 1 Pages

    Wealth Wealth is not only an abundance of valuable possessions but it's also a entity with the power to bring out distinct characteristics in people. Wealth is the cause of many conflicts in society today because some people often change their personas when they acquire wealth. This not only affects them but it also affects the people they associate themselves with. Wealth also causes change in character lifestyle, and breeds a carelessness to the lives of people who have an abundance of it. F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby delineates the theme wealth can breed carelessness using the 3 literary devices of symbolism, irony, and imagery, to generate meaning in his Roman à clef.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Old Money In The Great Gatsby

    606 Words  | 3 Pages

    Money is the driving factor in the world. The impact that money can have on people is shown throughout Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. His characters are part of many different social classes, but money is not the only thing that impacts their lives, how they receive it is also critical. The means people use to obtain their wealth has a large impact on how they conduct themselves.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Trying To Buy The Past In The Great Gatsby

    1767 Words  | 8 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is illustrated as someone who tries to use money to buy true happiness and love simply to relive the past. Wealth is defined as the value of everything a person owns.

    Read More

  • Old Money In The Great Gatsby

    960 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts two different kinds of wealth, “old money” and “new money.” “Old money” refers the the families who have been wealthy for generations and are likely to be hypocritical and judgmental of others that are not in their class. Examples of “old money” include Tom, Daisy and Jordan. They do not flaunt their wealth as much as the people of “new money” and tend to be respected by others making many social connections with other respected members of society. On the other hand, people of “new money” are flashy and tend to have extravagant items in order to show the world of their prosperity and compensate for their lack of inheritance.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Gratification In The Great Gatsby

    1086 Words  | 5 Pages

    Often times we associate material gain with enjoyment and fulfillment, but we fail to understand the side most affected by the uninhibited pursuit of gratification. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the wealthy do just that; they climb the steps of social class by stepping over those who are poorer. In the novel, the lower class face degradation caused by the wealthy’s selfish desire for pleasure and satisfaction. Specifically, the Valley of Ashes symbolizes Fitzgerald’s criticism for that very inconsiderate pursuit of self-gain, which creates dire consequences for the poor.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Class In The Great Gatsby

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rachel comes from a middle-class background and is completely out of her element in the world of the super-rich. She's constantly being judged and criticized by Nick's family and friends, who view her as unworthy of their son and their social circle. But what's interesting about this book is that it also explores the class divide within the Asian community. Nick's family is Chinese and their wealth comes from old money, while some of the other characters in the book are nouveau riche from places like Thailand and Indonesia. There's a sense of competition and one-upmanship between these different groups, and it's fascinating to see how they interact with each

    Read More

More about How Is Wealth Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

Open Document