Contaminated motives
Contaminated motivesContaminated Motives
The very essence of money creates an urge of human nature to obtain it, and have an excess of it. Fame and money go hand in hand; if you have one, you have the other. One also must understand that money equals power; people aspire to money. When people come into wealth and begin rising to the top of the social ladder, history dictates they usually become corrupted, and sometimes compromise their personal values. Do they believe this is for the common good, or merely for personal benefit? In the novels Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby, the protagonists, Pip and Jay Gatsby respectively, believe their prospers are used for the common good, but in reality many values are being compromised. The clich�, “Money cannot buy happiness” exemplifies the opposite of what Pip and Gatsby believe, in that both utilize their money in what they believe to be a valiant attempt to bring the women they love into their lives. Along the way to achieving this “goal”, they violated ethics, which in turn changed them as people. Although money serves as a driving force for individuals, it does not counter the negative effects that are induced during the process. Therefore, money is the root of all evil.
Despite the two novels possessing slight differences, they coincide in many aspects. When Pip acquires the money from the unknown benefactor, he moves away under Jaggers guidance and barely ever returns to his hometown. In the beginning, his reasons for coming back were to visit Joe, Biddy, and Miss Havisham, but eventually he changes and seeing the people previously so important to him appears to become a chore. This is ironic because not even a year ago he looked up to Joe, and regarded him as a father, now he refuses to see him on account of Joe being a common blacksmith. This is one of the first changes that we see in Pip after his knowledge that he will have “great expectations” and become educated. Pip’s entire reason for becoming a gentleman is to attract Estella, and make her return the feelings of love that he holds for her. Ultimately, it appears that Pip is willing to cast away his old life and friends, to become a gentleman and, in essence, obtain Estella. This perfectly illustrates an immense change in Pip when he compromises his beliefs to accumulate money, stature, and inevitably, Estella.
Jay Gatsby also utilizes money as a stepping stone to get what he wants. Back when he was serving in the army, he realized that he could never marry Daisy until he gained financial and social stability. His feelings for Daisy are so strong that he practices many illegal acts he learns via Meyer Wolfsheim who even, “fixed the 1919 World Series”. Dan Cody and Wolfsheim showed Gatsby how to make a fortune by way of illegal business, and it appears they lead him to believe it was acceptable to...
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