“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” This quote by Benjamin Franklin shows, like in The Great Gatsby, money can’t buy happiness. First, the author describes Tom Buchanan as the wealthiest character and the biggest bully. Daisy Buchanan becomes greatly influenced by money and because of it, she makes careless decisions. The author then uses Gatsby to demonstrate the negativity of money and how it can affect a person. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald negatively portrays money and ultimately says money is corrupt.
Fitzgerald demonstrates the corruption of money through Tom Buchanan. To begin, arrogance is an unfortunate quality associated with people of power and wealth, and Tom is no exception. Tom thinks highly of himself and uses wealth to show how much better he is than everyone else. Tom said, “‘Now, don’t think my opinion on these matters is final . . . just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are’” (Fitzgerald 11). He also believe his money lets him justify his racial slurs. Tom goes on to say that white is the dominant race and it’s up to them to watch out of other races will have control (Fitzgerald 17). In addition, Tom demonstrates “old money” throughout the story. The families of “old money” have fortunes that date back to the 19th century or even before. Tom and Daisy become rich due to the inheritance of their families’ wealth. Tom’s wealth made him feel entitled, even back in college. Nick even stated that even people at New Haven hated Tom’s guts (Fitzgerald 11). In conclusion, Tom believes just because he is wealthy, it solves all his problems. For example, after the deaths of Myrtle and Gatsby, Tom and Daisy just pick up and leave the messes they made. Tom believes that since he’s rich Daisy won’t leave him for Gatsby. “‘She’s not leaving me!’ Tom’s words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby. ‘Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring her put on her finger’” (Fitzgerald 140). Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald demonstrates the negativity of money through Tom Buchanan.
Money drives Daisy’s careless decisions throughout the story and is a part of who she is. From the beginning, Daisy feels she needs money and deserves it. When Daisy was younger, she didn’t marry Gatsby because he wasn’t rich. This is apparent when Gatsby tells Tom, “‘She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me’” (Fitzgerald 137). “It [Daisy’s voice] was full of money―that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it . . .” (Fitzgerald 127). This describes that Daisy is so consumed in her money that her voice has become a sign of it. However, even though Daisy has all this money, she still isn’t happy. She cheats on Tom with Gatsby. This shows that though Tom provides her with all the money he has, she still longs for love with Gatsby. She’s unhappy when she’s with Tom, even though he provides her with all the money she wants. Money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy more concrete concepts. No matter how many clothes or expensive jewelry Daisy owns, or how big of a house she lives in, she’s still not happy. In the end, Daisy makes careless decisions and chooses money over love. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then treated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . . .” (Fitzgerald 187-188). After Gatsby dies, Daisy leaves with Tom with no indication of where they left to. Even though Tom has constantly cheated on Daisy and after all he’s done to her, she chooses Tom over Gatsby. It (Subject?) doesn’t seem to matter to Daisy that Gatsby loves her. In conclusion, Daisy allows wealth to drive her to make careless decisions.
Gatsby’s rash pursuit of wealth plays a part in his downfall. Early on, Gatsby visioned a life with money. When he was younger, he knew he wanted to become successful. Gatsby came from a poor family and decided to leave home in pursuit of wealth. Even Gatsby’s father knew he had a big future. He makes this evident when he says: “‘Of course we was broke up when he run off from home but I see now there was a reason for it. He knew he had a big future in front of him. And ever since he made a success he was very generous with me’” (Fitzgerald 181). To continue, Gatsby is a prime example of someone who demonstrates “new money”. People with “new money” tend to be flashier. Gatsby drives a fancy car, a Rolls-Royce. He also lives in a massive mansion all by himself with servants to his left and right. It is (subject?) believed that Gatsby has obtained his money from illegal activities. “‘He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong’” (Fitzgerald 141). Finally, Gatsby thought his pursuit of wealth would ultimately win back Daisy. He buys a big house across the bay from Daisy and longs for her, hoping to see her again. Gatsby also throws nonstop parties to try to lure Daisy back, in hopes she’ll attend. Gatsby spent his whole life pursuing wealth and Daisy, which only lead to his death. Just as money cannot buy happiness, it cannot buy love. Gatsby spent his life believing money would lead him to happiness, but his dreams only lead to his downfall.
F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters to negatively demonstrate that money is corrupt. The author first describes how money can negatively affect a man such as Tom Buchanan. Daisy becomes consumed in her money and allows it to affect her decisions. Lastly, Gatsby is negatively affected by money and fails in his pursuit. The quote by Benjamin Franklin relates to how the author negatively portrays money.
