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Maheema Chowdhury

Mrs.Walker

English 2H, Period 5

20 February 2018

The Truth Behind Materialism and the Glittering Facade of the American Dream
If there was such money to buy happiness, the world would be on its pivotal journey in

achieving unparalleled joy and fulfillment of dreams. However, in a modern-day society far from

ideal, the only existing currency are green pieces of paper many regard as tickets towards

attaining materialistic needs. Though this notion continues to prevail today, its upheaval dates

back to as far as the 1920s when the enormous rise of the American economy enamored a

lifestyle of luxury, wealth, and grandeur. For many aspiring novelists during this time period, F.

Scott Fitzgerald was known for his accurate depiction of this unique setting, most famously

referred to as ‘The Roaring Twenties’. In his most notorious novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald

describes the negative effects of a social class system divided by wealth in order to reveal the

melancholic downsides associated with the pursuit of prosperity.

As can be indicated from Fitzgerald’s use of color archetypes presented throughout the

irony within Gatsby’s journey towards claiming Daisy’s heart, it is clear Gatsby’s fulfillment of

the American Dream is not enough to win over the love of his life. Because Gatsby’s true origin

traces back to a poor farmer family, his insatiable motive for wealth intensifies due to an

attachment to a past relationship with the rich and beautiful Daisy Fay Buchanan. Prestigious and

admired by many, Fitzgerald paints an image of collective innocence and purity to further

enhance Daisy’s characterization as a princess “high in a white palace” and “the king’s daughter,

the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 100). Gatsby, knowing his low social strata is not merely enough to
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match up to Daisy’s status, becomes a man of reinvention and achieves financial and social

success through years of organized crime and bootlegging. In hopes of rekindling his romance

with Daisy, he attempts to impress her with his acquired material wealth and wears a “white

flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” in order to symbolize his ‘new money’ notoriety in

society (Fitzgerald 71). Although Gatsby devotes his entire life to grandeur and luxury, he fails to

attain Daisy’s love when his criminal activity is revealed by her husband, Tom Buchanan. Not

only does Fitzgerald’s use of irony apply to Gatsby’s complex character of forever moving

forward while remaining squarely focused on the past, but it is also proven in his lack of success

in obtaining a wealthy woman through wealth itself.

As can be concluded from Gatsby’s inauthenticity, his personal traits are largely affected

by the consequences of materialism. In many aspects, Gatsby’s pursuit to wealth result in his

slow deterioration to a man of dishonesty. His insincerity becomes prevalent during his reunion

with Daisy when he takes her on a tour of his richly accredited estate and finally reveals his

bedroom; it is “the simplest room of all” (Fitzgerald 77). For such a lavish man like Gatsby

himself, it is ironic that his “period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk” and the “pale

gold odour of [the] kiss-me-at-the-gate” do not match the lack of adornment within his personal

space (Fitzgerald 76). Upon describing Gatsby’s mansion, Fitzgerald’s elaborate and fluid syntax

creates a sense of royalty and prestige in terms of the purple and gold hues that remain

consistent. However, the absence of this particular mood in Gatsby’s bedroom indicate that its

significance cannot be overlooked. Fitzgerald suggests Gatsby is, in fact, perfectly content

without the materialistic providings his wealth has to offer. Because one’s bedroom often reflects

his or her interests or personal traits, the simplicity of Gatsby’s bedroom reveals his true

character and, ultimately, his true motives behind his wealth; Gatsby does not view money as a
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mark of his success, but rather as a tool to paint a false image of himself to prove himself worthy

of the high social standards many notorious people in his society carry.

Not only does Gatsby’s financial success fall short of Daisy’s love, but respect from his

weekly party-goers seem to lack as well. Under Gatsby’s efforts to gain Daisy’s initial

recognition, he hosts lavish parties in which thousands of nameless, unidentified people on

Gatsby’s station wagon scurry like a “brisk yellow bug”, only to travel to its frivolous

atmosphere containing buffets laden with “turkeys bewitched to a dark gold” and an orchestra

playing “yellow cocktail music” (Fitzgerald 37). Fitzgerald’s consistent use of yellows and golds

to describe the extravagance of Gatsby’s festivities emphasize a society focused on excess.

Nearing the end of the novel, Gatsby is wrongfully accused of killing George Wilson’s wife,

Myrtle Wilson, and is gunned down for a crime he did not commit. The abandonment by the

thousands of “friends” and business associates who relished in his overly abundant parties on

the day of his death reveal that the successful man who appears to have everything, in reality, has

nothing. Gatsby’s death exposes the ugly truth behind the glittering facade of the American

Dream; the path to success is often corrupted by the emptiness and excesses of rampant

materialism.

Through Fitzgerald’s elaborate use of irony and color symbolism, he not only creates a

surreal atmosphere of the stark wealth division in social classes, but he also highlights the

melancholy associated with the pursuit of prosperity. As can be seen, this particular notion

directly applies to the entirety of Gatsby’s journey towards claiming Daisy’s heart. Because his

low social strata as a farmer was not ideal for someone as rich as Daisy, Gatsby commits a great

deal of organized crime in hopes of gaining a wealthy social status to impress her with a finer

lifestyle. Years of continuously dedicating his life to throwing lavish parties and leading a
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lifestyle of extreme grandeur go to waste when Daisy finally rejects Gatsby for her husband,

Tom. Despite Gatsby’s materialistic efforts to rekindle their past relationship, it is clear money

was not enough to possess her hand in marriage nor was it enough to earn her respect or

sympathy. Not only does Gatsby’s insatiable motive for wealth fail him of winning the love of

his life, but it also affects his personal character and moralities. One can argue Gatsby is a man

characterized by dishonesty and fraudulence due to his simplistic bedroom within his over-the-

top West-Egg mansion. This ironic contrast suggests Gatsby is rather content without his

acquired material wealth and thus, does not feel the need to indulge in its luxury even in his

personal dwellings. Gatsby’s true character becomes questionable as his motives behind the use

of his wealth is certainly not for his own happiness, but is manipulated as a tool to conform to the

impossible social and financial standards the wealthy possess. Coupled with Gatsby’s loss of

Daisy as well as his own identity, his material wealth also prevents him from possessing

authentic friendships when presented with the fact that nobody, other than Nick Carraway,

attends his funeral. Although thousands have greedily enjoyed Gatsby’s tremendously opulent

parties, not one shows up to honor their host, mostly due to the fact that no one bothers to find

out who he really was in the first place. Its irony is coupled with the fact that although Gatsby’s

original intent was to obtain his golden girl by fulfilling the American Dream, he loses Daisy and

ends up in a grave with little to no people grieving his death. By sharply emphasizing the dark

contrast between the different social stratas, Fitzgerald reveals that although money offers a

lifestyle of beauty and grandeur, one can never attain true happiness through material wealth

alone.