In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby there are numerous connections between different landscapes and the common theme that money does not buy happiness.
The first landscape where the theme money doesnt buy happiness is presented is in the Valley of Ashes. George and Myrtle Wilson live in the Valley of Ashes. George owns an automobile garage and works very hard so he and Myrtle can have a better life. Even though George works very hard Myrtle doesnt appreciate everything he does for her and this is displayed in the scene where Myrtle gets killed. For example before Myrtle and George get in the fight, right before Myrtle is killed, a young Greek man named Michaelis strolls by the garage. He says to Wilson that he looks sick and should get some rest, but Wilson answers by saying, I would miss a lot of business if he did. After this Myrtle and George get into a fight and she gets angry and runs out into the street and is stuck by a car. If Myrtle would be thankful for everything George did for her, they wouldnt have gotten in the fight, and Myrtle wouldnt have gotten killed. Another example is Dr. T. J. Eckleburg who watches over the Valley of Ashes. Nick Carraway describes his eyes as, The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are blue and giganticThey look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles. The color yellow in the book symbolizes the wealthy and the corruption of what wealth does. It is the color of corruption. The last example is in chapter four when Gatsby gets pulled over for speeding in the Valley of Ashes. Gatsby plainly waves a card at the policeman and the policeman responds by saying, Right you areKnow you next time Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me! (72). Gatsby tells Nick that the cop owed him a favor, obviously involving money. Even though being rich may come in handy at times for Gatsby he is not happy with the life he lives.
The second landscape where the theme money doesnt buy happiness exists in West Egg. West Egg is considered the new rich and is the home to Gatsby and Nick Carraway. People who live in West Egg are believed to not yet be socially adapted to the lifestyle that is lived in East Egg. Nick Carraway describes West Egg as, The less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. (9) Later on Nick realizes that Gatsby goes to great extents with his money and realizes that people who take advantage of their money are never happy with the life they live. Gatsbys house, located right next to Nicks, is the place to be on a Saturday night. He throws over extravagant parties with free food and booze and there is never a guest list. Gatsby does this all just to impress Daisy who he hopes to be with. He thinks that if Daisy comes to the parties and notices the wealth Gatsby has, that she will like him. Gatsbys dream doesnt come true which proves that he did all that with his money for nothing because he isnt happy. Gatsby also tries to win Daisy through his clothes. When Gatsby reunites with Daisy for the first time she begins to cry when Gatsby shows her his collection of English shirts. His "beautiful shirts . . . It makes me sad because I've never seen such beautiful shirts before" (98). It seems silly to cry over simple shirts, but they represent the luxurious manner of Gatsby's wealth and his ability to try and buy Daisy's love.
The final landscape there the common theme is illustrated is in East Egg. East egg is the home to the old rich and ones who have never been cautious with their money. Daisy and Tom Buchanan live on East Egg. Tom and Daisy support the East Egg theory because they are accustomed to the lavish lifestyle money offers. Jordan Baker also lives on East Egg. Early in the story, Jordan is accused in the newspapers to have "moved her ball from a bad lie" in the semi-finals of a golf tournament. Witnesses later said they might have been wrong. This was most likely due to the encouragement Jordans money. After this happens Jordan is seen as a dishonest person by many and is not happy with her image. Jordan thought she was helping her reputation by using her wealth, but it actually just hurt her more. In the final chapter of the book Nick describes Tom and Daisy as, Careless peoplethey smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together. In the book both Daisy and Tom have affairs, but in the end stay together because of the lavish lifestyle that they both live. Daisy cannot imagine being with someone else because with Tom she can buy whatever she wants and do whatever she wants. Although buying anything is fun for her, she obviously isnt happy if she cheats on Tom. Finally the last example is when Daisy ran into Myrtle; she didnt even attempt to stop the car. Before Tom knows who killed Myrtle he is so upset that he states, He didnt even stop his car!(149) Daisy should have stopped after she hit Myrtle no matter if it was an accident or on purpose. This shows she doesnt know how to take responsibility for her actions. Her whole life she has just bought her way out of trouble and thought she could do the same in this case.
According to Websters dictionary wealth is defined as an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources, and even though many of the main characters have wealth, it is proved throughout these examples in the book that money cannot buy happiness.
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