F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - The Power of Money Essay

In the preface to Major Barbara, the playwright George Bernard Shaw observes that "money is the most important thing in the world--it represents health, strength, honor, generosity and beauty," but, the poet continues, "it also destroys people as certainly as it fortifies and dignifies others" (Shaw 28). Shaw recognized that many people look toward money, the ultimate representation of materialism, in search of the power that enables them to live. But, money can play many parts in the drama of life. It can represent or give the illusion of wealth, prestige, nobility, and power. Those that seek to harness its powers must also strive to conquer its ability to destroy and corrupt. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the repeated image of money, no matter in what form or through whom it is portrayed, is used to such an extent that it becomes central to the development of the story. The abstract idea of money can be expressed in many ways. Perhaps the most straightforward way is through the acquisition of grand possessions. In the first chapter of the novel, Nick, the first-...