F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is largely concerned with the American obsession with wealth. Throughout the novel, the concept of the American dream is equated with the attainment of wealth. Even Gatsby's desire to win Daisy's love is ultimately shown to be a symbol for this dream. Fitzgerald does not glorify the American obsession with wealth in The Great Gatsby; in fact, he condemns it by emphasizing the tragic downfall of the book's title character. In this regard, Brand has noted that The Great Gatsby is "a mythic critique of the American dream" (1100). The overall message of Fitzgerald's novel is that wealth and material gain are elusive, transitory, and unreal. In addition, Fitzgerald makes the point that the desire for wealth is often a corrupting influence. Thus, in the words of Fidel-Honigman, The Great Gatsby "analyzes acquisition and possession of material wealth in terms of deception, disillusion, and futility" (155).
There are numerous symbols and images in The Great Gatsby which serve to highlight this theme. For example, the illusory nature of wealth is shown by Fitzgerald's description of the city as "sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money" (69). This is immediately followed by an image of death, as Nick and Gatsby drive past a funeral procession. The corrupting influence of wealth is symbolized by the ashes and dust which settle over the city. In addition to images such as these, the characters who live in the upper-class neighborhoods of East Egg and West Egg are shown to be motivated by desires for wealth as well as for making obvious displays of that wealth. An air of pretentiousness can be seen, for example, in the descriptions of the various socialites who attended Gatsby's parties during one summer (Fitzgerald 61-63).
Perhaps the strongest characterizations of corrupted wealth are seen in Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald describes them as "careless people" who...