Rohit Khemlani

Mr. Pangier

A2 Literature

27 March 2017

Gatsby and the Wells of Wealth

True wealth is not measured in money or status or power (Cesar). Then, what is

wealth? Does wealth play a significant role in success, by being wealthy is one successful?

According to Google, wealth is An abundance of valuable possessions or money. Then if an

abundance of valuables are possessed, does one immediately become successful? I am certain the

majority of students would agree that having wealth does not necessarily mean you are

successful. Wealth is simply a component of life that makes it easier for one to be successful. By Commented [1]: revpetetive

being wealthy one can have an easier approach to the final outcome, however success is not all

about the final goal. It is more about the process that one goes through in order to achieve their

final destination.

In The Great Gatsby, there are several instances where the author acknowledges his

definition of success. One of these instances is when Nick mentions: There are only the

pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.(Fitzgerald 59), it is clear that this quote is

representing the levels of success. If one considers themself to be the busy or the tired, they are

simply making excuses to avoid taking the harder path to success. If one believes that they are

the pursued, they have not acknowledged the most important well of wealth - Inspiration.

Inspiration is probably one of the most important aspects towards achieving success. It is what

keeps people going, and leads us to such great extents in order to achieve success. So if one
believes that they have already become the pursued, then they should start focusing on how they

could be successful in other aspects of life.

One should never be afraid of trying to achieve success, as mentioned by J.D. Salinger;

I think that one of these days," he said, "You're going to have to find out where you want to

go. And then you've got to start going there (Salinger 203). If one never takes the first step, how

do they expect to achieve it? As said by many, Remember, you miss 100% of the shots you do

not take!.

A successful life is not when one has accumulated wealth through barely any failures. A

successful life is where one has failed countless times while achieving the same amount of

wealth through a meaningful route. As Bill Gates once said: Its fine to celebrate success but it

is more important to heed the lessons of failure (Gates). Failure make us who we are. When one

fails they find how to fix their mistakes and become successful, finding a more meaningful way

towards life and make a better use of it.

A successful life is where one went through a harder and a more knowledgeable route

than the ones who took an easier route. Taking an easier path is not necessarily a meaningful way

towards success. One must challenge themselves in order to deserve success. What is the

meaning of life, if you are not going to make the most of it?

Word Count: 506

Works Cited
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown, 2014. Print.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Royston, Hertfordshire: Large Print hop, 2014. Print.

Bernier-Grand, Carmen T., and David Diaz. Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Las Vegas, NV:

Two Lions/Amazon Children's, 2013. Print