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The Great Gatsby Materialism Essay

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Today America is a consumeristic society, but this very American idea of materialism started and changed American Lifestyle 1920’s. Industry was exploding and new innovations such as credit, shopping malls, refrigerator, vacuum cleaners, and radio. These inventions were the “must have” items that everyone was now required to own. But this idea of needing more and not worrying about the consequences, led to the Great Depression, one of the hardest economic times in American history. This idea of mass consumerism and materialism is also apparent in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s character was largely influenced by his wealth and his need for more. Illustrated by Gatsby’s need for Daisy Buchanan that resulted in his decline and ultimately his death. …show more content…
People foresaw that current conditions could lead to a disastrous future, similar to Gatsby’s mindset of wanting to repeat his past with Daisy and ignore everything that is happening now. He denies that repeating the past is impossible and stubbornly disregards all advice that goes against his plan to get Daisy. Ultimately this denial of reality and the impending issues causes Gatsby's downfall and his death. The biggest obstacle to Gatsby getting daisy was the difference of wealth because of the societal norm ‘Rich girls don’t marry poor boys’. Furthermore segmenting the idea that wealth, was more important than its effects. Once he achieved wealth and finally had similar social status to Daisy, Gatsby assumed that he could relive the past with Daisy. Because Gatsby was living in the past, he was ignorant to the idea that Daisy had changed and found a life with Tom. This ignorance of major issues led to Gatsby's quick demise after his ignorance led to a whiskey fueled fight with Tom and Daisy, a hit and run, and Gatsby’s

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