Why did Gatsby Change his Name? Wealth’s Illusion and True Happiness

Wealth’s Mirage: Gatsby’s Pursuit of Love and the Emptiness of Riches

You can be the richest of the rich and still be unhappy. Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He got his name from a famous ancestor Francis Scott. He was married to Zelda Scott just days after his first novel was published. He died on December 21, 1940, of a heart attack. His Third story, ‘The Great Gatsby,’ was the achievement of his career. The novel was written in the 1920s jazz age, how a millionaire Gatsby was in love with Daisy when Nick moved to the west egg.

Money can buy anything but happiness.

One way Fitzgerald proves his point that ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ is through his depiction of the east egg and the west egg. Money only matters to Gatsby because he thinks it can win Daisy back. “Your wife doesn’t love you, “said Gatsby….. “she’s never loved you, do you hear “he cried. “She only married you because I was poor, and she was tired of waiting on me. It was a terrible mistake, but, in her heart, she never loved anyone except me.” This shows he needed money for his happiness, but since he didn’t have any, he was lonely. “The modesty of the demand shook me. He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths so that he could come over some afternoon to a stranger’s garden” This shows Gatsby only bought a mansion to win Daisy because he was lonely and loved her but didn’t want anyone to know he was lonely. The quote ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ represents Gatsby well because he was sad Daisy was married to Tom because he had money. He also felt she broke her promise to him.

Loneliness Amidst the Revelry: Gatsby’s Desolate Search for Connection

The characters in the novel all show hits of being lonely from the choice of words the author uses. One character by the name of Jay Gatsby says, “The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permute the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo and introductions forgot on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.” This shows that Gatsby doesn’t care who comes to the parties he just doesn’t want to be lonely. Also, it says “a sudden emptiness seemed to flow now from the windows and the great doors, ending with complete isolation the porch, his hand up in a formal gesture of Farwell.” This states that the guest is leaving, so the illusion of delectation is no longer seen. There is so much sadness coming off Gatsby that Nick senses it as if it had visibly manifested itself in the air around Gatsby’s house. All these characters find and lose people just to realize that they are next to them; all of them are mostly throughout the novel.

Why Does Gatsby Change His Name? Chasing Dreams and the True Cost of Wealth

The green light symbolizes Daisy’s east egg dock; it represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. It says, “the single green light” on Daisy’s dock that Gatsby gases wistfully at from his own house across the water represents the “unattainable dream,” the “dream that must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. This states that Gatsby’s “American dream” is to pursue to “change the past.” Also, Nick highlights the importance of the green light “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter. Tomorrow will run faster… and one fine morning so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” this sums up the significance of the American dream in the novel. We aim to achieve it, and no matter how hard we try, it’s always out of our reach, but we still strive, and one day, it will become a reality.

Money can’t buy happiness, no matter how rich you are. I agree because you can be so rich and lonely. They don’t have friends, families, pets, or anything but a big house and a lot of cars and waiting for someone to be with them. This story tells you not to be with somebody because they’re rich because nothing comes out well in a relationship that is based on money. It doesn’t matter if you’re poor; you will love your significate other because of them, not how much money they got. Thought this novel, Nick realizes a lot of this that is going on between money and relationships.

References

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Scribner, 1925.
2. Bruccoli, Matthew J. “Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.
3. Tredell, Nicolas, ed. “F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby—A Student’s Guide.” Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

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