Many people see money as the solution to everything in life. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald proves this idea to be wrong. Throughout the story, money seems to be the exact opposite of what people see it as. This novel exposes how wealthy people live by showing their arrogance, as well as how wealth can make people careless, revealing the fact that money is not everything.

The arrogance of rich people is revealed in this novel. In one scene, Gatsby, a rich man, throws his shirt carelessly. The narrator, Nick, states “he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher”. By throwing his shirts, Gatsby is trying to show how rich he is in order to impress Daisy. He wants to prove that all of these expensive shirts he throws mean nothing to him, thus showing his arrogance. Another example of arrogance is shown in Tom, who is rich as well. Nick describes Tom, saying he seems to indirectly be telling Nick “Now, don’t think my opinion on these matters is final, just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are”. From Tom’s looks alone, Nick can already see how arrogant he is. He thinks he is so tough because of all the money he has, so he puts on this kind of expression on his face. Wealth can sure make people cocky.

This novel also explains how money can make people careless. For example, when Nick goes with Gatsby for a ride, Gatsby drives recklessly. A police officer pulls him over, but Gatsby just flashes a white card, making the officer say “Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me!”. Gatsby drives so carelessly because he knows he can get away from trouble with the police because of his wealth. Knowing he will not get a ticket, he drives however he wishes to, not caring about the dangers of driving in such a manner. In the same way, Nick realizes how careless Tom and Daisy are because of their wealth.

He clearly states “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and they retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made”. This message is very deep because the truth about Tom and Daisy’s carelessness is revealed so clearly. Their carelessness is what caused Daisy to accidentally kill Myrtle while driving, not knowing she would hurt her own husband. These two examples unmistakably show how wealth can truly corrupt a person’s mind.

Rich people live quite differently from the way an average person lives. They see themselves as higher than others, and they always try to prove how rich they are. People are wrong in thinking money is the cure for anything. There are many things people cannot get with money. Some of these include love, precious moments, and the world. Money is not as great as everybody sees it to be; there are many things money cannot buy.