The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that explores the lives of wealthy individuals during the Roaring Twenties. At the center of the story is Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant parties at his lavish mansion. Gatsby’s wealth serves as a symbol of the American Dream and the pursuit of happiness. Throughout the novel, various characters offer their thoughts and opinions on Gatsby’s wealth. Here are some quotes that shed light on this fascinating aspect of the story.
“Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” – Nick Carraway
“He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.” – Nick Carraway
“I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited—they went there.” – Nick Carraway
Read these quotes about Gatsby’s wealth
“His mansion was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion that gave its bright, optimistic appearance to the whole neighborhood.” – Nick Carraway
“I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her, old sport. I even hoped for a while that she’d throw me over, but she didn’t, because she was in love with me too.” – Jay Gatsby
“They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” – Nick Carraway
“He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.” – Nick Carraway
“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” – Nick Carraway
“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” – Jordan Baker
“I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.” – Jordan Baker
“He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. One of them was that, after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago.” – Jay Gatsby
“That’s my Middle West…the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark. I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.” – Nick Carraway
“They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” – Nick Carraway
“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” – Nick Carraway
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” – Nick Carraway
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” – Nick Carraway
“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” – Nick Carraway
“I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her, old sport. I even hoped for a while that she’d throw me over, but she didn’t, because she was in love with me too.” – Jay Gatsby
“They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” – Nick Carraway
“He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.” – Nick Carraway
“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” – Nick Carraway
“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” – Jordan Baker
“I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.” – Jordan Baker
“He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. One of them was that, after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago.” – Jay Gatsby
“That’s my Middle West…the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark. I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.” – Nick Carraway
These quotes offer a glimpse into the allure and complexity of Gatsby’s wealth in The Great Gatsby. They reflect the characters’ perceptions and experiences of his opulent lifestyle, capturing the essence of the era and the themes explored in the novel. Whether it is Nick Carraway’s observations or Gatsby’s own reflections, these quotes provide valuable insights into the significance of wealth and its consequences in the pursuit of happiness.
