...The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, gives a vast insight to 1920’s America. This period is also known as the Roaring Twenties on account of the lavish lifestyles that many in the United States led. The Great Gatsby is the story of Nick Carraway, a resident of West Egg New York, and a main character and the narrator of the novel, and his aspiration to fit in with the wealthy crowd that he is constantly surrounded by. Throughout the novel, many parallels are drawn between Nick and Jay Gatsby to F. Scott Fitzgerald and the people in his life. Fitzgerald is very similar to Nick and Gatsby in that he too had the lifelong struggle of fitting in with the wealthy upper class. The elitist mood of The Great Gatsby directly parallels...
Words: 258 - Pages: 2
...loved one; the seeking of acceptance, such as gaining social approval; or to seek personal desires, such as those in Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. When a sudden, unexpected event such as the death of a loved one occurs at a point in one's life, it causes a very solemn impact to one's mentality. A void is formed and a sense of emptiness will overcome you, memories of a past relative or friend constantly bombarding your everyday life. In mournful situations such as this, people tend to change to mold themselves to the decease's teachings or personality in order to preserve his or her legacy. On a more social viewpoint, lies the common situation of peer pressure or to seek the acceptance of others. It is human nature to seek acceptance by one's peers and this is usually a source of change. Known to many as peer pressure, one will adapt and change to the norms that will allow him to be accepted by others. This often leaves one of the greatest changes on one's life as it is how he or she will learn to act. Change can also be sought after in order to be more appealing to that of the opposite sex, as can be viewed in Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. In this novel, the character Jay Gatsby undergoes a transformation to seek his long lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Daisy decides that a rich girls don't date poor boys, which is the driving force that motivated Gatsby to pursue the vices and riches of life to appease Daisy. In conclusion, change is a process of growing up that can...
Words: 402 - Pages: 2
...The Tragic Flaws of Hamlet and The Great Gatsby In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main characters both go through tragic flaws. Their love does not end up the way they want but they keep on trying to make it perfect. Hamlet and Gatsby both have a job they want to do but cannot pursue that goal because they have men that are standing in their way. They also have secrets that they keep from their fellow friends and family and no one knows the actual reason for their misbehavior. Hamlet and Gatsby both suffer tragedies as they try to live their perfect, dream life. Hamlet and Jay Gatsby are both in love with the women that means everything to them. Hamlets love for Ophelia is so insane that her father Polonius thinks that he is mad and lovesick. While Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and see what the real problem is, they see Hamlet being violent with Ophelia after she tries to return his gifts. “The origin and commencement of his grief sprung from neglected love” (3.1.179-180). Polonius still believes that the reason behind Hamlets behavior is still crazy and caused by his love for Ophelia. Hamlet never really admits that he is in love with Ophelia until he sees her being buried at her funeral. “I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” (5.1.263-265). Hamlet goes into deep sorrow when he sees Ophelia is dead and says that his love for Ophelia is greater than the love of forty...
Words: 1610 - Pages: 7
...Disillusionment and failure in The Great Gatsby In the book The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the theme of disillusionment, love, lust and failure in order to portray the “American dream”. The American dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Many believe that the American dream is “earned”, but what they don't know is that there is a lot of “behind the scenes” money making deals that occur. And these deals put you at the top without even asking. For example Gatsby wasn't the perfect man that he was imagined to be. Jay Gatsby's real name was, James Gatz and the change seemed right when he “reinvented” himself. Gatsby didn't like being the son of farmers and was embarrassed about where he was from. “His imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” He changed it at the age of 17 because of his transformation when he met Dan Cody. This one of the main reasons he hid his background from people. The other was that in reality Gatsby was indeed an unrepentant criminal, who bootlegged his way through the Prohibition to create his wealth and pursue his dream. The prohibition was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920 to 1933. To make his way to the top and to pursue the “American dream” Gatsby basically illegally sold alcoholic beverages...
Words: 1566 - Pages: 7
...Throughout Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the central character – Jay Gatsby experiences the adverse elements of wealth. Fitzgerald illustrates money as the creator of dubious assurance though Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. Additionally, he construes money as a temporary title by examining individuals’ actions before and after Gatsby’s death. Furthermore, he also portrays money as disingenuous matter that disrupts personal principles. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates the negative aspect of money such as creating a false sense of security, causing of momentary admiration and disrupting one's morals. Money often creates an erroneous impression of security for many. Money gives Gatsby a deceitful confidence. During...
Words: 1518 - Pages: 7
...critical theory today critical theory today A Us e r - F r i e n d l y G u i d e S E C O N D E D I T I O N L O I S T Y S O N New York London Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2 Park Square Milton Park, Abingdon Oxon OX14 4RN © 2006 by Lois Tyson Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number‑10: 0‑415‑97410‑0 (Softcover) 0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑415‑97410‑3 (Softcover) 978‑0‑415‑97409‑7 (Hardcover) No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Tyson, Lois, 1950‑ Critical theory today : a user‑friendly guide / Lois Tyson.‑‑ 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0‑415‑97409‑7 (hb) ‑‑ ISBN 0‑415‑97410‑0 (pb) 1. Criticism...
Words: 221284 - Pages: 886
