Essay Option 2
Hayleigh Backs
5th Hour
“Literature is the question minus the answer.” Well, that fits perfectly with The Great Gatsby.
In The Great Gatsby, there is a huge controversy over the rich and the poor. Are the rich happier
than the poor? Or, are the poor happier? The novel’s plot is based around these questions.
Many of the characters in the novel are rich, beautiful, and have everything they could ever
want. But, do they have everything that they need? For example, love. Did Daisy marry Tom
because she loved him, or did she just marry him so she would be financially secure her whole
life? If she married him just for money, is she happy? There are many unanswered questions in
the novel, however, there is clear evidence that Daisy did not marry Tom just for love. I think,
Daisy respects Tom in a weird way, but she doesn’t love him. And that is why she is unhappy.
She is married to a man that she does not love, and never will.
Then, we have Jay Gatsby, probably the wealthiest character in the novel. He throws parties
almost every weekend, and he is the talk of the town. He has cars, houses, popularity, but is he
happy? No. He’s miserable. He has been chasing after Daisy all his life, and now that he realizes
that she has moved on, all of his goals in life seem shallow and empty. I think, after Daisy
decided not to be with him, he didn’t know what to do with himself because he knew all of his
hopes dreams were gone. And, in the end, when he gets shot, hardly anyone came to his funeral.
All of the people that went to his fancy parties didn’t care about him one bit, they just cared
about his money. It’s sad, really. He really didn’t have anyone that loved or cared for him,
despite his wealth.
Then there is Nick Carraway. Carraway confuses me a little bit though. I mean, his family is
very wealthy, but he chooses to make his own money, and live more humbly? Interesting.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that Carraway is one of the happiest characters in the
book, yet, he has so much less than Gatsby or Daisy. So, why is he happier? Well, he has people
that legitimately care about him. Not just people that hang around him for his money. Nick
Carraway seems to understand what’s really important in life, and because of that, he has a better
life.
So, who’s happier? The rich, or the poor? The rich can get whatever they want, but not
whatever they need. And the poor have what they need (sometimes), but not all that they want.
Well, my understanding from the book is that, obviously, the poor are happier. However, I like
how the author spreads, and breaks up, different social classes within the characters, and how
their different situations affect them. I mean, the author really, slowly but surely, makes you
think about how happy each character is. I especially love the ending, after Gatsby died, where
Carraway contemplates Gatsby’s happiness, and how sorry he was for him. Carraway really
explains everything well, and, in the end, you understand all of the characters mindsets, whether
they’re shallow, humble, or just plain miserable. Everything the characters did in that book is
done for a reason. The author wanted to show, through the characters’ actions, the true image of
what the wealthy, and the poor look like.