Kevin Antony English
Period 8 3/1/2017
Money vs. Happiness
Money can influence the happiness in a relationship. Some relationships’ happiness is built on how much money they have. An example of the situation of money and happiness is represented in the story, The Great Gatsby by F. Scot Fitzgerald, between Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Although they are from prominent families, Daisy and Tom share a loveless marriage. Although many people think money can provide happiness, it has caused many conflicts with peoples’ emotions.
People can be brought together due to their social status. Daisy and Tom Buchanan were married due to their social status of being from “old money”. They stay together even though their marriage is loveless. In chapter one Daisy states, “I’m paralyzed with happiness” (on Page 8). She uses this as irony to hide how she truly feels and that she may feel trapped in wealth from the relationship not with happiness. It also most likely is due to the fact how other people from their social class might criticize or view them as. Tom also looks down on people from lower social statuses because of his supercilious nature, which makes things more startling because Tom has an affair with Myrtle, who is a middle class citizen.
The dilemma between wealth and happiness is difficult and both Daisy and Tom are faced with this decision. Both of them are not happy with their relationship, but their wealth makes them stay with each other. Tom finds happiness with Myrtle but if Daisy was really happy with Tom she would have felt some sort of way about his affair and done something about it but their relationship was more about pleasing people from their social class, not with themselves. Being happy as well as being wealthy is possible but very rare.
The Great Gatsby shows many examples of the relationship between money and happiness and how it influences a relationship. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are only married due to their old money status. If Daisy and Tom loved each other for who they were, they would have had wealth as well as happiness. But since that is not the case. Tom escapes the “relationship” by having his affair with Myrtle. Daisy is unhappy in Chapters 1 and 2 but do to the fact that people from their social class would criticize her so she still remains to stay in the relationship with Tom. Wealth can truly provide happiness only if there is love between both of the partners.
