A Bridge too Great: The difference between Gatsby and I
Jay Gatsby, dissatisfied with his life in North Dakota, uproots himself on the quest for a new identity. He believes that money will bring him happiness: “Each night he added to the patterns of his fantasies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace” (Fitzgerald 45). Every night, while he was still James Gatz, he fantasized over one day being part of the upper class. Fitzgerald utilizes him to exemplify that money is not the cure to all ails, in fact, it does not result in happiness at all. Gatsby, despite obtaining millions of dollars and having a house on West Egg, is depressed.
This aligns with my viewpoint that money does not create happiness, but rather, people and experiences do. The question that I pose to myself is that if I could be given two billion dollars right now and everyone would know about would I take it? My answer honestly is no. Having that money would not make me happy, it would make me miserable. People would treat me differently, I would never know if someone was genuine or if they just wanted my money. On top of that I wouldn’t have earned it myself, so I…show more content… Gatsby is willing to sacrifice all his possessions in his quest to gain Daisy’s affection. Too often in society do we prize material things over emotion. We get caught up in what others think and of our status. As I previously stated a large part of who I am is based on human emotions. Emotions have no currency, they cannot be purchased, but our rather fostered and developed by our actions. I agree with C.S. Lewis statement that love accounts for a large part of our happiness; “Nor do I question for a moment that Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our natural lives” (Lewis, 53). Affection is what results in happiness, not material