Essay/Term paper: Gatsby

Essay, term paper, research paper:  The Great Gatsby

Victor *********
10/12/96
Block 3

" Whenever you fell like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this
world haven't had all the advantages that you've had. " These words by Nick
Carraway's dad should be taken into consideration when looking at one of the themes
of the first chapter: the destroying effects of wealth. This theme will focus on Daisy
and Tom Bucchanon. Some examples of this theme are Tom's mistress, his overall
attitude of people, and Tom's and Daisy's overall feeling of each other.
Adultery can often be an effect of too much wealth. Tom showed this by the
fact that he had another woman in New York. It showed the destroying effect of wealth
because Tom felt that since he had enough money, he didn't need to be faithful to
Daisy. Instead, the superficial power of money has led him astray from his wife. The
fact that you have money doesn't mean you can do whatever you please.
A marital relationship should be heavily based on love. I got none of that love
from Tom's and Daisy's marriage. Their constant irritating remarks, and interruptions
make it seem that there is no love between them. They seem like a couple in their 80's
who are sick and tired of each other. The fact that they came from rich families
probably attributed to their snobby behavior.
The attitude in the first chapter showed a lot of the ugliness attributed to wealth.
Tom especially showed little and at times no sign of a pleasant attitude while Nick
visited his home. He always found a way to throw in that he was better than Nick, "I've
got a nice place here." and when he blurted out that he had " never heard of them "
(the company that Nick was working for) just to make him fell superior to his wife's
cousin. Very rarely does money bring out the good in people and Tom is probably why.
In this essay, I told about the effects that came from the destructivness of
wealth. Tom felt that because he had $money$, he could treat his wife anyway he
wanted to and it was OK. None of these effects would be accepted in this time without
some action by people, but people back then seemed too afraid to speak up about it.
Over time, I think people have learned to reject this status, but it will be a while before it
is totally gone.