Tom used his money in every way he could to impress the people around him. I think the way they got their money reflects in both Tom and Gatsby’s attitudes. Tom is from “old money” meaning he was born into a wealthy family and inherited it. Because of this, Tom is very shallow and has a rude personality. He does not care about other people as long as it does not affect him.
He always had some resolves like this or something’”(173). Gatsby works and works for his wealth, his whole life spent in a quest for monetary success and eventually Daisy after “he wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath”(110). And although he has these things for a small amount of time, it is important to look at the situation after Gatsby is killed. One of the most important factors of his funeral is that: “Nobody came”(174). He did not truly make any friends through his wealth, and his money is no use to him now that he is dead.
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and people, and then retreated back into their money and their vast carelessness.” These words, from narrator Nick Carraway come near the end of the novel; by this time, a pretencious world of glitz and glamour has been smashed apart, and all that remains is disappointment, death and destruction. It is a sentence that may describes the kind of selfish people that many of you may know, who are careless with other peoples’ feelings and perhaps you even cleaned up after them. Carraway is an observant and insightful narrator. He is an outsider to wealthy class from the East or West End crowd and he is able to give us an overall perspective of the lives of those who chase the American dream at all costs.
Americans spend their time chasing money and making sure they have power and the best luxury things ever made. They forget about the value of life and spending time with family. One the other hand the Amish are a small group traditional Christians. They don't use technology like other Americans. They believe anything can be done without technology; they are simple people who don't like help from outsiders.
When Franny from “Franny and Zooey” by J.D. Salinger is feeling like the world isn’t what she wants it to be, Zooey tells her that everyone was their older brother Seymour’s fat lady. “Do it for the fat lady,” he always said, which means do it because everyone deserves their respect. Because of these two lines, Franny and Zooey tend to expect too much back from the rest of the world, but the philosophy behind them could change the world. When Seymour told Franny and Zooey to do it for the fat lady, they both pictured the most grotesque, disgustingly obese woman then could think of.
When Gatsby couldn’t do anything for them anymore, they ran off. So there was no better or worst, both the “new rich” and the “old rich” had their pros and their cons. While ones have a sense of superiority and don’t work for their money, the others are insensible and interested people, since money was something they weren’t used to
She would basically day-dream about being rich and wealthy. Mathilde crave for richness caused her pain and downfall in her life. Mathilde is also very manipulative; she would always manipulate her husband to get him to buy things for her. Mathilde was invited to a formal dinner but she didn’t have any dress for the occasion. Her husband was willing to give her money to get a dress and Mathilde didn’t hesitate to take it.
It is ironic because Gatsby’s dream-like life is not as perfect as it sounds. Gatsby earns his fortunes through illegal activities and is very dishonest to the society around him. The "old money" folks see right through his appearance and thought of him as remise. And when he starts to crumble, all of his friends turn out to simply be people who take advantage of his generosity and riches. Then there is third way of looking at this adjective, “great”.
Buchanan’s opinion, the only way to survive is through a wealthy man. This exposes one of Daisy’s many weaknesses: her dependence on others. When she comes to the realization that Gatsby would have given her more than Tom, she begins to cry: “‘They're such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It makes me sad because I've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before’” (Fitzgerald 118-119). His clothing symbolizes the wealth and happiness Daisy could have had, which is why she is distraught when she acknowledges Gatsby’s success.
West Egg is the complete opposite of East Egg. It is home to the “new rich,” for people having made their money recently, not having the social connections with the East Egg set. West Egg is characterized by extreme wealth and poor taste. Nick’s West Egg house is next door to Gatsby’s mansion. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man who started out with no money, only a plan for accomplishing his dream.