Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby” is a noteworthy input for the world of literature. This novel raises lots of social problems which were pervasive in the 1920s and even remain ongoing in our modern-day community. The themes such as glory, luxurious life, total poverty are among the most noticeable topical lines in the book. Fitzgerald creates a vivid line of comparison amidst the poor and the rich. Although the discrepancy between various social classes always exists, during the 1920s this gap was extremely huge. By these materialistic circumstances, the author builds up the problem of carelessness in the novel. This topic is interwoven with the whole plot and most of the described characters. Because of the immense amount of money, people such as Jay Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy Buchanan lose the understanding of human values. Being blinded by the wealth and fortune, characters feel indifference to the others as well as have the lack of desire to care even about the closest people.
Jay Gatsby is a protagonist of the novel. He has difficult life experience in the past, but it does not make him more intelligent in the adulthood. He has earned money, but it does not bring him happiness. Jay organizes amazing parties, but he does not enjoy attending them. The citizens have never seen him, and they start thinking that Gatsby has earned money illegally. However, the man does not care about others except Daisy. Their relationship is a vivid example of people who are immersed in the luxurious life and do not care about others. Gatsby wants to be with her, but he does not care about the negative changes which their secret relationship may trigger.
Daisy and Tom are the striking examples of citizens who are lost in the wealth. They do not care about anything because they think that money will solve any problems. It looks as if two people do not feel any loving emotions to each other because they do not know how to love. Kindness and care to others are not their strong features of character. Wealth has taken people away from the realities of life allowing the couple to enjoy the instant satisfaction which their money enables them to experience. However, when some serious problems arise, Daisy says that she has not even loved Tom during the time of their loaded marriage. She says this intimidating phrase in front of others, and it does not make her feel ashamed. Daisy does not think about Tom’s feelings because she has not learned to enjoy life without spending money. Human emotions are strange for her because all that Daisy likes doing is appreciating materialistic values.
The theme of carelessness in the Great Gatsby is illustrated to show how wealth can change people. It does not mean that money is a negative symbol in the novel, though. Fitzgerald wants to pay reader’s attention to the existing problem of the financial and emotional contrast between the community of the poor and the rich.
Author: Marshall Vasquez