Jay Gatsby v. the Celebrated Lifestyle

The obsession with acquiring knowledge about celebrities and their lifestyles is applicable to the famous Jay Gatsby. Gatsby leads a celebrated lifestyle where he throws extravagant parties, which everyone wants to attend, and he lives in a grandiose house. But along with his celebrated lifestyle comes the curiosity from everyone who attends his parties and the gossip about who he is. During one of Gatsby’s parties, a girl commented that “somebody told her they thought he killed a man once” and another girl mentioned, “It’s more that he was a German spy during the war” (44). These women share some sort of concern about who Gatsby is and feel the need to voice absurd rumors.

Like Gatsby, modern day celebrities, deal with the obsessions people have about them and the rumors that are spread about their lives. People are always curious about what a celebrity is wearing, who they are dating or divorcing, and what type of scandals they are caught up in. Most people gain information on a star’s life through magazines such as OK magazine, Star Magazine, US magazine, or even TV shows such as Entertainment News. These magazines and shows publicize the private information regarding a star. In recent news, Amanda Bynes was arrested for a DUI and she had LILAC hair in her mug shot. Similarly, Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian were caught wearing the same outfit, but who wore it best? All these updates are almost laughable because people are actually concerned with celebrity’s lives. But why? Why do people allow themselves to become wrapped up in these absurd rumors that don’t affect their lives?

While at Myrtle’s flat in New York, Nick notices “several old copies of Town Tattle lying on the table together with a copy of Simon Called Peter” (29). Myrtle, a woman who is trying to make her way to the top of the social ladder through Tom, reads the Town Tattle in order to be up to date with the wealthy lives of others. Gossip is commonly associated among the wealthy because they have nothing better to talk about than what other people are doing. Myrtle, as a part of her passing, tries to be a part of the gossip and the Town Tattle suffices as her resource. As a way of integrating herself into the upper class, Myrtle tries to imitate what wealthy women did and read. Because gossip is a symbol of leisure among the upper class, Myrtle believes that if she participates in the gossip, then she’ll be one of them.

Gatsby’s house is also representative of his celebrated life because it is overwhelming and majestic. Like most celebrities, Gatsby tries to show off his wealth with flashy objects, including his Hotel De Ville replica of a house. As a member of the “New Rich”, Gatsby feels the need to advertise his wealth. His house was a “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (5). His attempts to show off his wealth are very clear in the design of his house because it is obviously very regal, but it also doesn’t quite fit in with the scenery. Similarly, celebrities in the 21^st century tend to advertise their wealth with mansions fit for a family of fifty. There are also TV shows, MTV Cribs, that allow people to be taken inside a celebrities house and to see where they live.

But because Gatsby shared the acclaimed life of a celebrity, he also experienced the loneliness of a celebrated life. Although Gatsby held huge parties with hundreds of people, there was a lack of interest in Gatsby himself. When Gatsby died, there was zero interest in him from all those who were obsessed with who he was. During Gatsby’s funeral, Nick and owl-eyed glasses notice how no one has attended the funeral because they “couldn’t find the house” and owl-eyed glasses notes “why my God! They used to go there by the hundreds” (175). Sadly, Gatsby did not actually have any friends because everyone was just using him to get a foothold in the upper class. Although everyone was extremely interested in his life, no one actually cared when he passed away and he was completely forgotten by most people. When a celebrity dies, there are always people who are sympathetic and upset because they are fans of the famous person. But the fans only appreciate the music, or movies the person made, rather than whom they actually were. Although it is made out that celebrities have thousands of grievers, this is false because people wouldn’t be so upset if it were just another normal person who passed away. When Michael Jackson passed away, multiples of people were upset, but only because a great musician had died. Not because this amazing person whom everyone was close to had lost their life. The sad reality is that like Gatsby, no one cares that a genuine person is gone, just that they won’t have any more parties to attend, or that no more great albums will be made.