Examples Of Modernism In The Great Gatsby
Diamonds, Dollars, and a Dollop of Dough
“Our wealth is often a snare to ourselves, and always a temptation to others.” While some today might agree with these words of accomplished author Charles Caleb Colton, during the Roaring Twenties, America’s rapid economic growth quickly led to an obsession with materialism. This issue and the corruption that accompanied it was commonly discussed in the literature of the time. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters of Daisy and Tom Buchanan as well as their connections to Modernism in order to criticize the hedonistic nature of the traditional upper class during the Jazz Age.
Daisy’s wealth allows her to be careless and reckless, which is seen through her selfish treatment of her …show more content…
As Nick is talking with Gatsby about the car wreck that has occurred, Gatsby reveals that Daisy lost her nerve while driving, instantly killing Myrtle (143-144). The car she was driving is described as being, “a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns” (64). In other words, Daisy’s lack of control in a vehicle that exemplifies wealth causes the death of a lower class woman. Furthermore, Gatsby takes the blame for her actions, claiming that he was at the wheel (143). This only adds to the point that the corruption of the upper class allows them to avoid ramifications. Later, when Nick asks Tom what he told Wilson the afternoon of his death, Tom replies, “I told him the truth … He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car” (178). While Tom does attempt to justify his actions saying he did it out of necessity, it’s clear that it is completely ungenuine when he says in the next line, “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him” (178). Not only this, but Tom and Daisy’s actions directly lead to Wilson hunting down Gatsby and the death of both of them, while Tom and Daisy remain unscathed. Thus, Fitzgerald is impugning the complete
“Our wealth is often a snare to ourselves, and always a temptation to others.” While some today might agree with these words of accomplished author Charles Caleb Colton, during the Roaring Twenties, America’s rapid economic growth quickly led to an obsession with materialism. This issue and the corruption that accompanied it was commonly discussed in the literature of the time. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters of Daisy and Tom Buchanan as well as their connections to Modernism in order to criticize the hedonistic nature of the traditional upper class during the Jazz Age.
Daisy’s wealth allows her to be careless and reckless, which is seen through her selfish treatment of her …show more content…
As Nick is talking with Gatsby about the car wreck that has occurred, Gatsby reveals that Daisy lost her nerve while driving, instantly killing Myrtle (143-144). The car she was driving is described as being, “a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns” (64). In other words, Daisy’s lack of control in a vehicle that exemplifies wealth causes the death of a lower class woman. Furthermore, Gatsby takes the blame for her actions, claiming that he was at the wheel (143). This only adds to the point that the corruption of the upper class allows them to avoid ramifications. Later, when Nick asks Tom what he told Wilson the afternoon of his death, Tom replies, “I told him the truth … He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car” (178). While Tom does attempt to justify his actions saying he did it out of necessity, it’s clear that it is completely ungenuine when he says in the next line, “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him” (178). Not only this, but Tom and Daisy’s actions directly lead to Wilson hunting down Gatsby and the death of both of them, while Tom and Daisy remain unscathed. Thus, Fitzgerald is impugning the complete