In the novel The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald shows how materialism can destroy relationships, and can destroy lives. America is notorious for our people being so materialistic; we value our property more than our families. Hundreds of thousands of families each year are destroyed, due to materialism. Our nation is in a downward spiral, we want to be better than everyone else. Materialism can only get worse; it leads to debt, divorce, bankruptcy, and even suicide. Americans are so caught up in what they posses, and what they want to osses they are destroying there families.
Men will go out and get one hundred thousand dollar cars to impress there friends, rather than helping there children through college. Women will spend thousands of dollars on clothes, and not pay the bills and lose there house. Even children get there first taste at materialism, when they are able to buy something for themselves. People are so caught up in objects, rather than spending time with there families. There are over 24 million families in debt in America today. In The Great Gatsby Daisy was attracted to men with wealth and xpensive things.
She in love with Gatsby before he went to war, but then she met a rich man named Tom and fell in love with his stuff. She was not in love with Tom she was in love with his money. Materialism can cause people to think very unclear. Myrtle was only in love with Tom because he gave her gifts every time he saw her. People are very greedy and selfish in this book. In that time and day if you were not rich, you were not part of the crowd. The average family income is forty five thousand dollars a year, and spending sixty thousand.
People are so caught up in what they want, rather than what they need. The average American owes eight thousand dollars in credit card debt. The eight thousand dollars that was spent on useless toys, cars, things of no value, could have been used to save for vacation, or to be able to go out to a nice restaurant. This country is going all downhill from here. The people of America do not know what there getting themselves into by buying everything they want instead of what they need. Daisy was only interested in all the material things Gatsby owned, not him.