The 1920s was a time filled with economic success in the U.S., with the stock market booming and millions of people chasing after a luxurious lifestyle. As a result, corruption and greed became widespread to reach high society. In the Great Gatsby, the different class divisions, including old money, new money, and those in the Valley of Ashes, serve to divide individuals by background and wealth. Additionally, each character throughout the novel faces their share of problems; however, using money and sacrificing morals as an escape to their difficulties seems to be a recurring motif among all of them.
In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the motif of greed and corruption in the different social classes to suggest that moral degradation in individuals is a result of not just the quantity of money one has, but rather the obsession with it.
At the top of society, old money is defined by wealthy individuals who have inherited their money from a well-established family rather than earning it.
Often, people characterized as old money reach the climax of their life at an earlier age compared to others and search for other ways to find excitement in life. One such example of this is Tom, who has reached the climax of his life at the young age of 21. Nick believes Tom is destined to, “drift on forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (Fitzgerald 8).
Tom seeks the excitement of his youth and yearns for the “dramatic turbulence” of a football game which now, is an irrecoverable thrill of his past.
Consequently, his solution to alleviating the boredom of his monotonous life becomes, being unfaithful with his wife Daisy and forming an extramarital relationship with Myrtle. His obsession with money and class structures causes him to make generalizations about people, and because of his old money status and prestige, he shows disdain to others below him, like Myrtle, and takes advantage of them. Ultimately, it is the result of boredom and a feeling of superiority harbored by those in old money that causes them to have a decline in morals.
Similar to old money, new money is distinguished by wealthy individuals; however, the money is not inherited; instead, it is earned. This minute, but significant difference, is what creates the condescending view of new money by old money. Without the social connections that those in old money have, new money instead compensates with lavish displays of wealth to feel a part of high society. One such character that this represents is Gatsby, whose ultimate goal is to bring back the past and be together with Daisy and he uses money to do so.
This money, however, is made through the dishonest business of bootlegging alcohol, which he hides throughout the novel to assimilate himself as old money in an effort to impress Daisy. Nick describes Gatsby’s use of wealth to win over Daisy when he explains, “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel…” (Fitzgerald 99). He throws all these “shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel”, made with some of the most expensive cloths and by the best manufacturers around the world, at Daisy in an attempt to impress her. However, in the end, his wealth could not win her over. Gatsby was so consumed with the idea that money could be used to win over Daisy that he did anything to get more of it to impress her, even if it meant partaking in the illegal business of bootlegging alcohol. In summary, it was Gatsby’s obsession with money and trying to bring back the past with Daisy that led to a decline in his morals.
Lastly, those in the Valley of Ashes, or no money, can be classified as middle or lower class individuals who have failed at the American Dream. The Valley of Ashes is located between West Egg and New York City and painted as a gray, desolate land filled with smoke and ashes. This undesirable location is what sparks an incentive in individuals stuck in the Valley of
Ashes to escape no money and move up the social ladder. An example is Myrtle who is obsessed with money and desperately tries to disassociate herself with her husband Wilson since she says, “The only crazy I was was when I married him… He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married” (Fitzgerald 39). She did not marry Wilson for love since she focuses on the fact that he “borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married”; instead, she married him in the prospect that he would become wealthy since she focuses on the materialistic aspects of the wedding. However, when she realizes Wilson cannot provide the luxurious life she wishes for, she sacrifices her morals, seeks out Tom, and has extramarital relations with him. In brief, moral degradation occurs in the Valley of Ashes because of the desperation to move up in society for the prospect of a more comfortable life and to live the American Dream.
Overall, in The Great Gatsby, the motif of greed and corruption is shown through the different class structures where F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that moral degradation occurs as a result of an obsession with money. In old money, wealth and prestige gave them the power to do what they pleased without much consequence which as seen in the novel was abused by characters such as Tom.
Additionally, in new money, wealth was lavishly displayed to feel a part of high society and to match up to old money as seen in the character Gatsby, who was dishonest and shady about his past to impress Daisy. Lastly, those in no money use any means they find possible to move up in society as seen through Myrtle, who cheats on her husband Wilson with Tom in hopes of escaping the Valley of Ashes and living the luxurious life she yearns for. Money may be viewed as just a piece of paper, however; it can have a corrupting influence when not controlled properly and can lead to unethical decisions.
