Every person has a yearning in her heart, a desire for

greater happiness she needs to fill. Whether it be love, power,

knowledge, or social status, every person at one time strives to

fill an emptiness through material gain. Materialism is " the

tendency to prefer material possessions and physical comfort to

spiritual values"(Isaacs 924). Today's society is occupied with

materialistic things. The Great Gatsby is a prime example of

this. This materialism of society is shown in F. Scott

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby through the following characters:

Jay Gatsby and Tom and Daisy Buchanan.

Fitzgerald found the wealthy glamorous and destructive.

Although he was wealthy, Fitzgerald was never accepted. He was

always on the outside looking in. His obsession for "material"

characterized him as an author and a man (Magill Critical 966).

He thought his money would make him a better person. Fitzgerald

felt as if the loss of "vision" was as bad as the illusory

quality of ideals of culture (Magill American 367).

Materialism is one of the main themes in The Great Gatsby.

"America had produced an idealism so impalpable that it had lost

New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1980.

high social status. When she speaks, her voice is full of money

(Magill Masterplots 2652). The warning is to not base ones life

Lehan, Richard D. F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Craft of Fiction.

riches change the past and can recapture love (Martine 9). Both

feels as if he is worthy of her love. He still loves her as much

Fitzgerald. Broomall: Chelsea House, 1999.

Bryfonski, Dedria. ed. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism,

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Approximate Word count = 1184
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)