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  • Essay / The Devaluation of Necessities - 1247

    Although money is a substantial necessity, its value dampens the value of more important things that may be considered invaluable, such as relationships and self-respect. “Money is the root of all evil” is a quote often used to contrast human behavior and how money negatively affects it. In the complex novel "The Great Gatsby", author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many literary devices that enhanced the reader's understanding of the major universal idea: the relationship between the harmful influences of fortune, characterized by wealth . In the novel, society highly values ​​wealth and it has a negative impact on individuals. Fitzgerald developed in depth this universal idea of ​​the devaluation of the necessities of life such as time, relationships and dignity, which he emphasizes using various literary elements such as character development, conflict and motivations, because these aspects can all be adequately linked to the same general idea of ​​the novel. Money is often how we measure the value of the materialistic objects of this world, but in the novel it is ironic how money has caused the characters to lose knowledge of the value of non-materialistic objects that the money can't buy. In the lives of many main characters, wealth has negatively altered their lifestyle, as they no longer see things with value. An example of this is Daisy's character development throughout the book. At the beginning of the novel, Daisy was described as a young, wealthy, and innocent woman at the time Gatsby Gatsby, later known as Gatsby, first saw her. Daisy portrays a distinct personality as the book progresses. Everything about her seems perfect, from the middle of paper......individual accustomed to the life of the poor. Fitzgerald had used Gatsby as a prime example of a character devaluing wealth by examining this novel from the perspective of character development analysis; Gatsby creates an artificial character devaluing everything that had immeasurable values ​​such as self-respect, family and his past life. The motivation that started this whole conflict was Daisy; a demi-mondaine. An additional factor that would add to Gatsby's artificial personality would be the major conflict; devoting his life to a futile passion to rekindle his old affection, which led him to defy the odds of fate. Money is the only thing that sustains value in society because often the rich are respected, but how much is money really worth when its purpose is to fill the void but ironically leaves a sacred void ??