Karl Marx believed that money was the force which created the human experience. According to Marxism, getting and keeping economic power is the motive behind all social and political activities, (Tyson 53). Marx believed that a persons material (economic) condition is fundamentally connected to their historical (social and political) condition. Therefore, an individuals actions and/or creations cannot be understood without understanding their material and historical situations.
Capitalism, the fundamental economic structure in America, would be considered one such situation. In a capitalist society it is necessary that objects have value other than the use for which they were designed. If an item did not have an exchange value the system itself would be void. Thus, in order for money to be made, a dollar value must be assigned to an object; in other words, it must be commodified. The culture in America is based on this capitalist ideal. For example, the idea behind the American Dream, in which, financial success is simply the product of initiative and hard work, (Tyson 56) is a direct result of capitalism The Marxist take on the American Dream is that the intrinsic appeal of its potential blinds [Americans] to the enormities of its own failure, (Tyson 58). The flaw in this system, according to Marx, is that, since it perpetuates itself by hiding its failure, many hard working people are improving a system that benefits only a few.
In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby the characters are driven by the inherent values in their commodities. These characters, however, extend their view of what is a commodity to include people and the relationships that are subsequently created. Almost every one of the books main characters is guilty of treating people as commodities. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are the best example of this quality; they exchanged marriage vows for social and material security. Therefore, their love for each other spawned from their own quest for personal gain. Also, Jay Gatsby is guilty of viewing Daisy as a commodity, as well as, using Nick as a commodity to get to her. He is enamored by Daisys money from the moment he meets her and plans to use money to ultimately redeem her love. Lastly, George and Myrtle Wilson are guilty of the same in their relationship with Tom Buchanan. George uses Tom get a car from which he can turn a profit and Myrtle uses him to achieve the social status into which she will never rise on her own.
Tom Buchanan represents the highest social stratum of any of the characters. Not only is he incredibly wealthy, but his wealth was inherited; so, he can be considered old money. Because of his social standing, Tom sees the world as though there was not a thing to be desired that he could not acquire with his position. He was able to acquire Daisy by exchanging his good looks, material security, prestigious heritage, and a $350,000 pearl necklace for the qualities which made her an appropriate wife for someone of his standing. Tom was also able to acquire Myrtle Wilson, albeit for a much smaller fee, in exchange for her doting admiration of him and her sexuality. He rents an apartment for her, buys her fancy dresses, and allows her to throw parties for all of her friends. Her fascination with extravagance, though, emphasizes her lower socioeconomic standing and negates the possibility that Tom would ever leave his wife for her. Further, the fact that she even believes that Tom would leave Daisy for a poor, uneducated woman underscores how nave she is to the upper crust of society which Tom occupies. Much like the puppy he buys for her, Toms use for Myrtle simply functions to stroke his ego and provide something for him to play with to pass the time. Ironically, Tom makes the connection himself when he tells Nick that Gatsby ran over Myrtle like youd run over a dog, (Fitzgerald 187).
Daisy Buchanans view of life is similar to Toms. First of all, she would never have been interested in Jay Gatsby if he had been forthcoming about his upbringing. Gatsby says himself that, she thought [he] knew a lot because [he] knew different things from her, and that, he let her believe that he was a person from much the same strata as herself, (Fitzgerald 157). This makes Gatsby appear as though he deceived Daisy. Although the text does not state explicitly that he lied to her, allowing her to believe in a false assumption is nearly the same. Consequently, enchanted by young love, Daisy unknowingly falls in love with an occupant of an inferior social stratum. However, since Daisys main objective in love is achieving material and social security, when Tom Buchanan comes along she is more than pleased to marry him. In her marriage to Tom, Daisy gained a commodity which held both exchange value and sign-exchange value for her. She accepted the pearls that he gave to her as the exchange value and Toms social and material status was her sign-exchange value. Daisy tries to make herself out to be a, beautiful little fool, (Fitzgerald 21) but she is savvier than she lets people believe.
Daisy can again be accused of commodification when she reunites with Jay Gatsby. She was shocked to see him when he appeared at Nicks house, however, she does not become amorously focused on Gatsby until she sees his house: With enchanting murmurs Daisy admired this aspect or that of the feudal silhouette against the sky, (Fitzgerald 96). Now that she sees everything that he has gained, a relationship with him does not seem impossible to her anymore. In a sense, he has finally gained the sign-exchange value that Daisy looks for in a man.
Another character in the novel that is not exempt from commodification of relationships is Jay Gatsby himself. From the beginning, Gatsbys attraction to Daisy Fay is more about how fancy and rich she looks than anything else: It amazed himhe had never been in such a beautiful house before. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors and of romances that were not musty and laid away already, (Fitzgerald 155). It is apparent here that Gatsbys young mind romanticizes Daisys lifestyle and that falling in love with here was secondary. Because of his initial encounter with her, Gatsby assumes that money is her currency of love and come to a false conclusion that it is the only thing he will need to win her back. Coming from much the same socioeconomic stratum as Myrtle, one thing that Gatsbys position as a man of new money will not give him (the Daisy demands) is a secure social position. He is unwilling or unable to comprehend that it is not money alone that matters, but money combined with secure social position, (Donaldson).
Jay Gatsbys spending habits reflect his naivety with what having money represents. Gatsby spends his money on lavish, showy, gaudy things that scream out to whom ever will hear that he is wealthy. Gatsbys motive in buying things is to attain their sign-exchange value. This is evident by the fact that he does not attend his own parties, read the books in his library, or swim in his swimming pool, but only occupies his bedroom which is the simplest of them all. His acquisition of material things is merely for the purpose of the upward social movement that he believes they give him. What he does not account for, however, is that Daisy will not be impressed by the gaudiness. In the end, Toms old money is more powerful, despite his frequent infidelities, than Gatsbys new (incidentally dirty) money.
Jay Gatsby is guilty of commodification again with respect to his relationship with Nick. He uses Nick, first, to set up a meeting with Daisy, second to provide reason to meet with her from time to time and third as a look-out so he and Daisy will not get caught. Nick, however, does not seem to mind; rather in the end he regards Gatsby with a sympathetic and affectionate eye. After all, Gatsby may have acted lavishly, extravagantly, and commodified every relationship along the way, but he did so with the purest intentions: to win over the woman he loved. Further, his naivety with regard to the decorum of the upper crust of society was mostly to blame for his actions, not impure motive. In the end, it is apparent that Jay Gatsby is yet another person who was let-down by the promise of the American Dream; Nick recognizes this.
Another person that is let down by the American Dream is George Wilson. George lives with his wife Myrtle above the garage that he owns which is situated in the Valley of Ashes. The symbolism of the ashes is poignant because they represent what is left of his dreams. George works hard as a business owner, but is unable to get ahead. Subsequently, his wifes fidelity strays in search of someone with more sign-exchange value. Myrtle believes that she has hit the jackpot in her relationship with Tom. It is true that she must cross a vast social divide to reach the territory of the upper class, but, her smoldering sensuality enables her to attract Tom, (Donaldson). Sensuality, however, is not sufficient enough to put her near Toms level of social status. Regardless, Tom keeps her on by letting her believe that he will marry her one day. Although Myrtles character is unlikable, it is possible to pity her in much the same way as Gatsby. She is nave and simply guilty of trying to move up into a new world about which she knows nothing.
The Great Gatsbys tragic ending is a poignant exclamation point on the novels underlying theme: money cannot buy happiness, fulfillment, or, most importantly, love. George Wilson, Jay Gatsbys murderer, understood this fact. He loved Myrtle without any sign-exchange value and was willing to kill to prove it. What is unfortunate, though, is that at the novels end it feels as though Gatsby is starting to understand this fact as well. He finally uses one of his commodities (his pool) for its actual use value; this is a sign that he had given up the faade he had carried for so long to impress Daisy. Nick wonders if, Perhaps he no longer cared. He goes on to explain that, If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream, (Fitzgerald 169). When George Wilson shot and killed Gatsby, the person that everyone had grown to know was already dead. Dead to his old, obsessive dream, Gatsby was awake to a different new world.
Works Cited
Donaldson, Scott. "Posessions in The Great Gatsby". The Southern Review Spring 2001: 187-211.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925.
Giltrow, Janet. "Style as politics in The Great Gatsby". Studies in the Novel Winter 1997: 476-491.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006.
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