What Does Greed Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Post World War One, America was in an unprecedented economic boom which beckoned the poor to become rich and the rich to get richer. Life blossomed out of the war, but the flower it became was completely different than the ones before it. People questioned their morals and values leading to doubt in old beliefs such as nationalism and religion, in turn leading to a focus on materialism and the individual to fill the void. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby delves into the lives of the growing social elite, a class which defined the “roaring twenties” with their seemingly endless wealth and exuberance in life. However, while Fitzgerald’s interest in the rich was obvious, he had very clear criticisms of their extravagant, but shallow life styles. He emphasizes how wealth has diminished the …show more content…
At a lull in one of Gatsby’s parties, Nick finds himself omnisciently viewing a group of East Egg members where he …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides insight into the flashy and glamorous lives of the 1920’s social elite. In the decade after The Great War while America was in an economic surge, the average citizen was in a social crisis. Values and institutions held to great prowess prior to the war now were obsolete, leaving a void that would be replaced with money. Through detailed descriptions and his character's’ decisions, Fitzgerald asserts that this focus on wealth has left the upper class dry, heartless, and unable to confront their own fears or doubts. As Fitzgerald himself came from this lost generation, he does not criticize the rich for being afraid or astray, but for using their wealth as a shield from their problems. His final quarrel lies in that if the shield were to be removed, Fitzgerald believed only a shell of a man would