Introduction
It is hard to disagree that one of the key topics in Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is money and its role in people’s lives. All key characters in the book are relatively rich, but it is possible to find similarities and differences in how they perceive money. What is more, their motives to be wealthy can also be somewhat unlike. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to discuss what money means for Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway and how this theme is essential for developing topics like the American dream and love.
Similarities in Views
To begin with, it is possible to say that Gatsby and Carraway find money to be an important part of their lives. For the two men, being wealthy means achieving other purposes and buying what is considered ‘unsaleable’ (Zheng and Zhang 81). Nick “bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities,” and they promised him “to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas knew” (Fitzgerald 6). This quote shows how Carraway admires money as a concept, willing to become one of the wealthy people by earning his fortune.
As for Gatsby, he needs his wealth to earn the love of Daisy Buchanan, but similar to Carraway, for whom money has not yet become integral and valueless, Gatsby does not entirely associate himself with other rich persons. Thus, even during his parties, he prefers “standing alone on the marble steps” (Fitzgerald 40). As a consequence, one may notice that Gatsby and Carraway, although having unequal amounts of money, use them to achieve their purposes but cannot yet enter the rich society completely.
Differences in Views
At the same time, these two young men have specific differences in how they perceive money. First, one may see that for Gatsby, wealth itself is only needed to get Daisy. Therefore, the readers can assume that, if not for this purpose, Gatsby would most likely not strive for such a huge fortune (Muhammad et al. 35). However, Carraway’s goal is precisely to become richer and get accepted into the higher society as an equal person (Froehlich 260). He admires others’ money, while Gatsby does not but only wants Daisy to admire his richness (Fitzgerald 71). Finally, one may notice that Nick can distinguish between the real, which is friendship and true love, and tricky or illusive, which is money and other people’s affection (Zhang and Xiao 975). In other words, he is the only one who appears to value Jay not because of his mansion and parties but simply because they are friends. It shows how Carraway manages to move away from putting money at the center of his life, but Gatsby fails to do that and dies thinking about his unreached goals.
Importance for the Larger Topics
With the help of Carraway’s and Gatsby’s views on money, Fitzgerald develops other topics like love, friendship, and the American dream. The author shows how all other characters reveal their materialistic natures when interacting with the two main characters and discussing wealth (Fitzgerald 71). Money allows for a better understanding of what the American dream means for Jay, as well as getting an idea about Carraway’s and Gatsby’s connection. Finally, richness is needed in the novel to demonstrate that some people, such as Daisy, value it more than love, while others, like Gatsby, can get a fortune only to achieve love.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that there are indeed numerous similarities and differences in the two characters’ views on wealth. While they both aim to earn a fortune to then use for their own purposes, the impact of money on the two men is different at the beginning and end of the novel. Finally, without this topic, Fitzgerald would not discuss the themes of friendship, love, and social attitudes so successfully.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 1925. Web.
Froehlich, Maggie Gordon. “A Crowded Summer of Money and Magic.” The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review, vol. 19, no. 1, 2021, pp. 257-261.
Muhammad, Ananda Astrini, et al. “Representative of Hedonism Ideology in a Novel of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.” International Journal of Education and Humanities, vol. 1, no. 1, 2022, pp. 30-38.
Zhang, Cong-wen, and Ming-wen Xiao. “Economic Dynamics and Consumer Culture in The Great Gatsby.” Journal of Literature and Art Studies, vol. 12, no. 10, 2022, pp. 968-980.
Zheng, Dongxia, and Ruwen Zhang. “Interpretation on the Reliability of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.” Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 23, no. 1, 2021, pp. 80-83.