Materialism in F-scott Fitzgerald's the great gatsby
/ Jean Bosco Nizigama ; Dr Eric Sipyinyu Njeng, directeur
. - Bujumbura : University of Burundi, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, department of english language and literature, 2013
. - IV-97 f. ; 30 cm.
This work studies materialism as a belief that prevails in the 1920 s American society. Through the analysis of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it aims at showing how materialism is the dominant motivation behind the characters' actions and relationships. The novel is a true reflection of the post-World War One era which experienced unprecedented material excesses and the ambition to amass more wealth because the majour preoccupation for the vast majority of Americans. In this context, this search for wealth was done out of the law and consequently accentuate social inequality and moral deterioration. Written against the background of the Marxist and Psychoanalytical frameworks, the work concludes that wealth buys a number of limited things but destroys more than it rewards. An exploration of the novel brought us to the realization that materialism is also an issue of concern in most African societies, a closer reading of the novel therefore permits us to throw light on the material problems of our own contemporary society.