...Gatsby: The Deadly Deceiver What makes someone truly happy in life? Is it money? Power? Love? The reasons for happiness vary from person to person. But how much happiness does someone need? Are people ever truly satisfied, or does the constant "selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food", otherwise known as greed drive people(Oxford 1)? Why are some wealthy people unhappy, when they have so much? In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby's deceptive personality, bamboozling Nick, and fabricating the truth, to explain how greed leads to a deterioration of life. Gatsby's shady history was deceiving, and effectively portrays how greed can ruin a life. The many rumors circulating about Gatsby such as "he was a German spy during the war" illustrate that no one really knew who Gatsby was(Fitzgerald 48). Through his deceptive ways he never rebuffed nor verified the claims, which led to more curiosity. Gatsby did this so that his name would radiate through town and Daisy would hear his name. Gatsby used this deception to fuel his greed for Daisy. His reputation suffered, but he was willing to sacrifice his own reputation just to impress Daisy, no matter the cost. This deception represents greed of the 1920's. Gatsby is a figure of greed, because even when he had all the wealth in the world, he was never truly satisfied. Fitzgerald wanted people to realize that greed is rampant in society, and he wanted people to be happy with what...
Words: 1394 - Pages: 6
...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that takes a different spin on the stereotypical American dream. To say “through the novel, Fitzgerald puts across the idea that the American dream has been corrupted by the desire for materialism” would be accurate. Because “we see that Gatsby had a pure dream, but became corrupt in his quest towards that dream,” this is how the American dream was viewed as corrupt. Throughout the novel Gatsby displays many examples of how his quest towards the dream that was once pure, slowly becomes more and more corrupt. The first showing of corruptness in Gatsby’s dream, which is to marry Daisy, is his unethical means of obtaining a fortune. The stereotypical American dream is working hard for honest money. However, this is not the case for Gatsby. Gatsby attains his fortune through the illegal means of bootlegging. In the novel, the narrator Nick describes Gatsby, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a Son of God—a phrase that, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (The Great Gatsby Chapter 6 pg). This quotation shows how Nick saw Gatsby as trying to transform himself into the ideal person. He even goes as far as to...
Words: 1143 - Pages: 5
...The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story surrounding the decay of the American Dream in the 1920’s; a time when virtually anyone could achieve the dream. Jay Gatsby, the main character, encompasses every fault in the warped idea of the American Dream in the booming 20’s making The Great Gatsby, the perfect title for the story. The American dream is commonly defined as “The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. (Dictionary) Almost any American would describe the American Dream as a stable income, a sustainable job and the chance to provide the opportunity for the following generation to do even better. In the booming 20’s, that dream was available to almost every...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...purple to symbolize the truth and principles within and about the American dream. The colors mentioned the most and used to enforce a greater meaning in the Great Gatsby are: green, yellow, red, blue, grey and white. Each color is a crucial detail in the book relating to intentions and foreboding. Throughout the history of literature colors have been used as motif. *add quote about color motifs in literature* Red commonly means power, danger, passion and love. Yellow is associated...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
...Running head: THE GREAT GATSBY ESSAY #2 1 The Great Gatsby Essay #2 Logan Daniel Laabs Madonna University English 3020: Major American Writers (Tuesdays) THE GREAT GATSBY ESSAY #2 2 The Great Gatsby Essay #2 The Great Gatsby takes place over the summer of 1922 and is set in the area around Long Island, New York. At first glance Fitzgerald makes a superficial statement about romanticism; Gatsby’s love for Daisy and how that love was destroyed in 1919 when Gatsby left for the war and instead married Tom Buchanan. The better part of the story shows Fitzgerald’s real theme, the decline of the American Dream in the 1920s during a time when prosperity and material excess was at an all high. Fitzgerald renders the 1920s as a time for low social and moral values which is demonstrated by the greed, pessimism, and need to ascend to power. An example of this is the large parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night in order to impress others. The American dream seems to fade away with the need for wealth and pleasure dominating more moral objectives. This seemed to only intensify after World War I when young Americans came back home after witnessing brutal carnage. Another factor that lead Americans to desire wealth was the rise in stock market, which could have lead many people to easily acquire a small fortune themselves. Furthermore, crime was at an all-time high due to the flourishing underworld were bootleg liquor was in massive demand by the rich...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...novel The Great Gatsby. It outlines the theme and develops the characters as the story progresses. In this essay I will show how certain symbolism connects to the characters and then I will explain the theme of the book in my eyes. Symbolism is used in one of major ways in this book either a color or a object representing something. The first piece of symbolism that is very important and widely used in the book is the color white. In the novel we are constantly hearing about white this and that but you ever stopped thought about how it is different for each character? Tom for example it is the fact that he is cheating on his wife and the constant covering up of that fact. For Gatsby it is the covering up of his past and how he truly came into his money. For Daisy it is the growing hatred for her husband which is unconventional at the time that is why Daisy says “it is best for a girl to be a pretty fool”. How it connects to the theme is that people are constantly scanning and finding a way to feign and con people out of what they want but maintaining the image of innocence....
Words: 599 - Pages: 3
...vacuum cleaners, and radio. These inventions were the “must have” items that everyone was now required to own. But this idea of needing more and not worrying about the consequences, led to the Great Depression, one of the hardest economic times in American history. This idea of mass consumerism and materialism is also apparent in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s character was largely influenced by his wealth and his need for more. Illustrated by Gatsby’s need for Daisy Buchanan that resulted in his decline and ultimately his death....
Words: 1064 - Pages: 5
...Dream, which itself is an idea that seems simple, but is strangely hard to define. At the root of it, is the sense of a society’s greed for success obtained by hard work, honesty, and modesty. If in fact this Dream were in the reach of anybody, then society would exist as a community where "all men are created equal" and everyone would have the opportunity of social mobility by doing the best for themselves as they could. But the reality of American society is cruel. A once high, mighty, and pure ideal has become degraded and buried by the merciless greed for money. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, many of the characters, believed in the Dream and that wealth and social mobility was within his or her reach. Fitzgerald illustrates three specific social classes: old money, new money, and the lower class, with old money and new money taking center stage. Gatsby, himself, represents new money: he climbed the social and economic ladder and succeeded by way of shady dealings of bootlegging. On the other hand, Daisy Buchanan, the love of Gatsby’s life, represents old money. She received everything she has on a silver platter; she earned nothing but her inheritance. Gatsby, aware of this segregation, attempts to act as though he is “old” money in order to be accepted by Daisy’s class. By illustrating social-economic class differences through Gatsby and his desire for Daisy, Fitzgerald depicts the mistaken hype of the corrupted American Dream and the unreachable gap of economic...
Words: 1249 - Pages: 5
...Dream, which itself is an idea that seems simple, but is strangely hard to define. At the root of it, is the sense of a society’s greed for success obtained by hard work, honesty, and modesty. If in fact this Dream were in the reach of anybody, then society would exist as a community where "all men are created equal" and everyone would have the opportunity of social mobility by doing the best for themselves as they could. But the reality of American society is cruel. A once high, mighty, and pure ideal has become degraded and buried by the merciless greed for money. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, many of the characters, believed in the Dream and that wealth and social mobility was within his or her reach. Fitzgerald illustrates three specific social classes: old money, new money, and the lower class, with old money and new money taking center stage. Gatsby, himself, represents new money: he climbed the social and economic ladder and succeeded by way of shady dealings of bootlegging. On the other hand, Daisy Buchanan, the love of Gatsby’s life, represents old money. She received everything she has on a silver platter; she earned nothing but her inheritance. Gatsby, aware of this segregation, attempts to act as though he is “old” money in order to be accepted by Daisy’s class. By illustrating social-economic class differences through Gatsby and his desire for Daisy, Fitzgerald depicts the mistaken hype of the corrupted American Dream and the unreachable gap of economic...
Words: 1249 - Pages: 5
...publication, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby continues to be critically acclaimed as the Great American Novel, with millions of copies being sold annually. Fitzgerald’s slim novel perfectly encapsulates the highly sought-after American Dream in a way that hadn’t been written before in the era of its publication. The story of greed, envy, jealousy, and wealth implores readers to re-read and decipher its deeper-meanings, and serves as a worthy contender for the title of the Great American Novel. Fitzgerald began his novel in his late twenties, pouring his heart and soul into the soon-to-be masterpiece. Finally, after numerous revisions and edits, Fitzgerald’s third novel was...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they're all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error” (Florence King). This quote brings to light the fact that the American Dream is nigh impossible to achieve. This is simply because people are so caught up in dreaming about what other people have obtained rather than taking the necessary steps to live the dream themselves. American author F. Scott Fitzgerald has an unparalleled impact on the idea of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s novels This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby have consistent themes that feature small aspects of the American Dream that conflicts him. Both the main male characters, Armory Blaine and Jay Gatsby showcase men in 1920s America who have come into wealth, yet their money and shiny trinkets do not bring them happiness, even though that is what both characters legitimately yearned for. Together, Gatsby and Blaine expose a perception of the American Dream that F. Scott Fitzgerald investigated thoroughly throughout his life. The idea that when a society is consumed by materialism and the promises it could bring the real American Dream is lost in the shuffle. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1869 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The author was named after his second cousin Scott Francis Key, who wrote the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner”. As a young boy he went to two Catholic schools the most prestigious of the two being the Newman school where he graduated high...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...things. Everyone sees things differently and will interpret it that way; to one person the American Dream is just that, a dream and when they wake up it will be a nightmare, and to another it is an ambition, that just makes them want it more. By definition the American Dream is: “a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” So, the question remains, is it still alive today, and is this really how people are living their lives? As sad as this answer may be, the truth is, probably not, like all good things they must end. The American Dream is a great thing to wish for however, it has been lost in time with the unwillingness to pursue it. The saddest thing is that some people believe the American dream is something that exists today; whereas some people in society have no idea that this dream exists. What ever happened to the zeal that drove America to the top? What happened to the aspiration of striving for greatness and becoming that greatness? That may be a question no one knows the answer too or it is an answer that people are unwilling to give. George Carlin once said, “The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Realistically the American Dream is the idea of working your average 9-5 blue or white-collar jobs just to provide for...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...in The Grapes of Wrath and the latter is a description of the failures of capitalism in The Great Gatsby. In The Grapes of Wrath the Joad family is traveling from Oklahoma to California, a distance of about 1,500 miles, in search of work to sustain their family. Their home in Oklahoma is taken by the bank because the farm is unusable after the dust bowls have started. The novel The Great Gatsby follows the lives of a few rich people and shows the way their money has the ability to do. Both Fitzgerald and Steinbeck condemn the idea of the...
Words: 1344 - Pages: 6
...In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s in America as an era of “decayed social and moral values,” evidenced in its greed and pursuit of pleasure. The reckless elation and enthusiasm that led to wild parties and jazz (like the extravagant, over-the-top parties Gatsby throws in the novel) resulted in the corruption of the American dream. The American dream was originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness, and the desire for money and status have corrupted this dream, as it has Gatsby’s. The Great Gatsby is a symbolic contemplation of America in the 1920s regarding the collapse of the American dream in an era of prosperity and wealth. The ending of World War I in 1918 soon led to Prohibition and the Jazz Age, which was a period of fun and carelessness for young Americans. Like Gatsby, even a person from the lower class could potentially make a fortune, but the American aristocracy (old wealth) looked down upon the “newly rich.” In the novel, the East Egg and West Egg were the homes to the two separate classes of wealth, the East populating the old wealth (such as the Buchanans) and the West populating the newly rich (Gatsby). In this society, simply being wealthy wasn’t always good enough; people made distinct separation even in the upper class. Gatsby had always admired the luxury and sophistication that wealth could bring. He preferred to be around those with wealth and class, like when he joined Dan Cody on his yacht and when...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...The Great Gatsby Essay Karema Williams December 12, 2013 The Great Gatsby based in the 1920’s written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A Victorian story centered on wealth and power. During the 1920’s many people were born into wealth, money that’s been in the family for generations. Although, some inherited their wealth others were forced to work extremely hard for minimum pay, start a business or engage in illegal activities in order to secure wealth. The social stigma in the 1920’s was predicated on wealth. If you weren’t privileged to be born with wealth you weren’t socially accepted. Those who became wealthy by working or illegal activity still weren’t allowed to shake hands with high society; leaving the privileged in a league of their own. This novel remains a timeless piece do to the human behaviors in the 1920’s that can be seen almost 100 years later. For example social drinking, smoking, partying, infidelity, a division amongst economic backgrounds, lies, love, betrayal and death (Fitzgerald, 1925.) During the 1920’s which has been referred to as the jazz years, during an era when women were encouraged to marry men of power and wealth. Many became obsessed with money, material processions and the glamorous lifestyle in hopes to maintain a spot in high society. High socially partied and socially gathered with the likes of their own, invitation only affairs. Throwing expensive parties and dressing to impress; catering the best food possible, serving illegal alcohol throughout...
Words: 1638 - Pages: 7
