The Great Gatsby is about old money vs. new money

The argument

The Great Gatsby is about wealth, and specifically about the divide between old money and new money that organises everything else in the novel. The geography states the theme before any character does. West Egg, where Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway live, is for people with new money, and they are looked down upon because they only came into wealth recently. People with old money, like Daisy and Tom Buchanan, live in East Egg, and they are viewed as the upper class because their wealth has survived through generations. The two groups are equally rich and unequally ranked, which is the novel's central observation: what confers status is not how much money a person has but how long the family has had it. The plot then turns on that distinction rather than on character or feeling. Daisy chose Tom Buchanan over Gatsby because of his wealth. Tom didn't work for his money like Gatsby did, which is precisely what places him in the upper class — the inheritance that makes his fortune unearned is what makes it respectable, while Gatsby's having earned his marks him as an outsider. The characters are only motivated to stay wealthy and keep their lavish lifestyle, and the choices they make follow from that motivation. Tom's own behaviour confirms the reading. He is vain and constantly attempts to flaunt his fortune, and his established connections through old money are what let the flaunting register as status rather than display. Gatsby's response is to spend: the extravagant parties are an attempt to buy his way across the divide. That they fail is the point. Despite those parties, Gatsby will never achieve the status that Tom has, because his wealth is new. In The Great Gatsby, wealth defines social class, and the kind of wealth defines it absolutely.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Jay Gatsby is not motivated by money. He uses wealth as a tool to impress Daisy in hopes that she would want to be in a relationship with him again. He spends his time and money throwing large, grandiose parties hoping it will catch her attention. Nick Carraway is also unconcerned about his wealth. He has enough money to live comfortably while enjoying the perks of having connections in the upper-class. Even though he has to work, his job in the bond business earns him high status.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] The counter reads the same plot points as being about attachment rather than class position: Gatsby is not motivated by money but uses it instrumentally, throwing large parties in the hope of drawing Daisy's attention and renewing the relationship. [Rejecting P3] Wealth is not the organising concern for every major figure — the counter offers Nick Carraway, who is unconcerned with his own money, has enough to live comfortably, works in the bond business and enjoys upper-class connections without the status anxiety the premise treats as the novel's engine.