Blog #7

No one has everything they need.  Everyone has needs they need fufilled. Poor people need money, and rich people need meaning in life. Some needs are a little more immediate than others, but the point is that everyone needs something. No one is complete and whole by themselves, or surrounded by material possessions. Scott F. Fitzgerald reveals this concept to the readers of his book, The Great Gatsby, by writing about the rich, spoiled gentry of pre-Depression 1920's America in New York City. This was the golden age of Republican ideals- money was in the hands of a few, select, extremely rich families, and the rest of the population lived under the soles of their feet. Jay Gatsby, an extremely rich man who earned his money through illicit sales of bootleg alcohol, shows the contradiction of these ideals and real life- he has all he would ever need in life to be "happy," but he is not because he doesn't have the love and companionship of the woman of his dreams. Juxtapose Gatsby to any poor person married to someone they love wholeheartedly, and you would see the poor person is happier, despite economic difficulties. The real argument of The Great Gatsby is that money and material possesions don't make us happy, love does.