Old vs. New Money

Over the years the ways money has been earned and spent has changed dramatically. In the Great Gatsby money was spent carelessly and earned through many ways such as being a professional athlete for Tom Buchanan and through bootlegging or selling alcohol illegally for Jay Gatsby. The characters often
hosted elegant expensive parties and drove very nice cars and wore very fashionable clothing.

Today money is earned and spent with a little bit more responsibility then in the 1920's. Most wealthy people today drive nice cars as they did in the old days but rather then buy a lot of gold products like Gatsby did, they own real estate and other investments. The stock market is also a popular place for people to invest there money today. Bootlegging led to many men becoming rich in the time of the Great Gatsby, but today alcohol is legal so there would be no profit in that industry. Money has changed a lot over the years and so has the way it is earned and spent.

source: The Great Gatsby novel

The Great Gatsby film versions

There are many versions of the film The Great Gatsby out there that all reflect the famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. These films all have different actors and actresses and portray the events that took place during the book but in different ways. This novel was a classic and the movies were made to give more of a visual of what was being talked about in the text.

In all of the films Gatsby is seen as a very rich man but also mysterious. Daisy is a young beautiful girl who is full of energy and excitement. Jordan Baker is charming but also has something about her that Nick loves. Tom Buchanan is a big hulking man that has an afair with the unhappy Myrtle Wilson. The Gatsby mansion is beautiful and the parties thrown are very elegant and enjoyed. There were many movies made that each used there own way to act out the drama that unfolds in the novel.

Source: The Great Gatsby novel

Selfishness

All throughout The Great Gatsby there is an overall them of selfishness portrayed. The plot consists of several incidents where a character is unable to take into consideration how their actions might affect those around them. Yet, only two specific incidents are the most apparent. The first of the two is when myrtle starts the vicious cycle of infidelity that occurs within the novel. Myrtle is a lower class woman, and hates her life above the auto shop. She literally feels caged in, and utilizes Tom as her escape. She fails to take in consideration how this might make Daisy, his wife, feel. From this point, Daisy subconsciously becomes aware of her husband’s unfaithfulness and allows herself to be reassured it is an acceptable disgrace to cheat on your spouse. So Daisy begins to cheat as well. If Myrtle would not have taken that leap from faithful to unfaithful, the next occurrence of selfishness might not have even ever occurred.

When Daisy allowed herself to succumb to infidelity as well, Nick becomes enraged. Although Nick is guilty as well, Daisy inconsideration causes him to realize just how much he really loves her and cannot stand to be without her. When he reveals these feelings to Daisy she is taken aback for she was not expecting them. With much thought Daisy also realizes she is still madly in love with Nick as well. With her new realization, Daisy is now infuriated with Nick’s unfaithfulness and channels her anger into his mistress, Myrtle. Daisy murders Myrtle. Even though it is a tragedy, strange and awful events are expected when individuals let selfishness flood into their lives.














Source: The Great Gatsby