A Comparison Between Fitzgeralds Great Gatsby and Veblens The Theory

Fitzgeralds Great Gatsby and Veblens The supposition of the Leisure Class The American Dream is real Americans are able to rise out of leanness and into leisurely lifestyles with a bit of luck and a lot of substantial work. Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby and Thorstein Veblens The Theory of the Leisure Class both address issues of military position and wealth that arise from peoples credit lines of the American Dream. But the authors differ in their beliefs intimately the nature and motives of peoples pursuits of wealth. To begin with, Fitzgerald disagrees with Veblens notion of pecuniary ambition as macrocosm intrinsic behavior (a goal in and of itself). He does this by transport that Gatsbys flamboyant lifestyle is as extravagant as it is only because it is goal-driven (Gatsby wants to condense Daisys attention). Fitzgeralds ideas about the consequences of conspicuous leisure and conspicuous consumption are no less critical of Veblens theory. Fitzgerald convey s that those who engage in pecuniary emulation demand superficiality into their social lives and relationships-a consequence which Veblen fails to even consider. Furthermore, Fitzgerald disagrees with Veblens belief that pecuniary emulation is consuming (it demands ones focus) by subjecting characters much(prenominal) as Gatsby and Nick to different levels of non-consuming materialism. Fitzgerald believes that the pursuit of wealth for the purpose of invidious distinction is not what Veblen claims it is--that is, that the pursuit is uncomplete intrinsic, fulfilling, nor necessarily consuming. Fitzgerald sees pecuniary emulation as voluntary, non-intrinsic human behavior. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen writes that wealth ... ...burse and use money-probably because he was a multimillionaire. Because of the biases inherent to the password of wealth, one must consider all of societys sentiments in order to win a comprehensive basis from which meaningful discourse can spring. Resources such as The Great Gatsby and Theory of the Leisure Class allow that nonesuch basis to become ever more tangible. Works Cited and Consulted Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster Inc., hot York 1991. Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Extremes. New York Pantheon, 1994. Mizener, Arthur, ed. F. Scott Fitzgerald A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 1963. Raleigh, sewer Henry. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. Mizener 99-103. Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (New York and London Macmillan, 1899