Money Can't Buy You Happiness

The concept of money being able to buy happiness is another prevalent modernist theme found in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Money is unable to create a sense of fulfilment in any of the characters in the novel.

Gatsby moves from North Dakota to Long island and builds his empire in order to fulfill his dream of impressing Daisy and reclaiming their past love. He throws lush parties in hopes that Daisy will be in attendance at one of them In Gatsby’s mind, the only way Daisy will love him is if he is rich. It turns out he’s right, as Daisy does swoon over his extravagant cars, and climbing social status. However, materialism is short lived and she eventually chooses Tom over Gatsby. Proving that in the end, money couldn’t buy Gatsby happiness.

At the end of the novel, Nick sits on the shoreline, reflecting on Gatsby’s life, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it,” he speaks admiringly of Gatsby’s pursuit for money, “He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night” (Fitzgerald, 149). Gatsby left his happiness in North Dakota, in pursuit of wealth.

Wilson and Myrtle also fall victim to the concept that money can obtain happiness. Myrtle is extremely materialistic, and Wilson is a meek man with a mechanic shop. When Wilson discovers his wife, Myrtle having an affair with Tom he decides to skip town, stating, “I’ve been here too long. I want to get away. My wife and I want to go West” (Fitzgerald, 123). Wilson believes that making some fast cash and fleeing is the only way to be happy. When in actuality, focusing on money in order to be able to runaway won’t mend his relationship with his wife, restoring his happiness.

The notion that money can’t buy happiness jumps off the pages and into modern society. Recently a study was conducted in the UK, in which the difference in the levels of happiness between similar sized and populated towns within a 20 mile radius was tested. In London, which consistently ranks as the wealthiest area of the UK, 30 out of 35 boroughs were below the UK average for wellbeing. While in Northern Ireland, the third poorest area, 24 out of the 26 districts surpassed the national average (Marks, National Wellbeing Statistics). This further explains why famous individuals including Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain and Cleopatra, all of which were exceptionally wealthy, were unable to find happiness, resulting in suicide.