...The Great Gatsby (Novel) Author Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Purpose To show the author’s conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age Relationship with the Author and the Characters Fitzgerald and Carraway Thoughtful young man from Minnesota Educated at an Ivy League school Moves to NYC after the war Found the new extravagant lifestyle seductive and exciting Fitzgerald and Gatsby Idolizes wealth and luxury Falls in love with a beautiful young woman while at military camp Narrator Nick Carraway; he also implies that he is the book’s author Point of View Both first and third person Presents only what he himself observes Tone Ambivalent and contradictory; sometimes he seems to disapprove Gatsby, and sometimes he romanticizes and admires Gatsby, describing events in nostalgic and elegiac tone Background Year written: 1925 (the Jazz Age) American economy soared; great prosperity for majority Prohibition (18th Amendment in 1919) ‘bootleggers’ Money is everything Plot Nick Carraway moves from Minnesota to New York (West Egg) to learn about bond business West Egg: wealthy and fashionable area; where the “New Rich” live Nick has social connections with East Egg, where the “Old Rich” live Nick’s classmate at Yale, Tom Buchanan, lives with Nick’s cousin Daisy in East Egg Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, in the Valley of Ashes Valley of Ashes is a gray industrial dumping ground At one party, Nick breaks...
Words: 863 - 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
...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in its overarching cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The reckless jubilance that led to decadent parties and wild jazz music—epitomized in The Great Gatsby by the opulent parties that Gatsby throws every Saturday night—resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned, as the brutal carnage that they had just faced made the Victorian social morality of early-twentieth-century America seem like stuffy, empty hypocrisy. The dizzying rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained...
Words: 1678 - Pages: 7
...The Great Gatsby, which people consider as Fitzgerald’s best literary work, portrays the journey of a man in acquiring success and love throughout the Jazz age. The protagonist is Jay Gatsby who attempts to win Daisy Buchanan’s love a high-class woman by using illegal ways to become wealthy. This paper uses themes as a literary device as it relates to The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. The most important underlying themes of the novel however are honesty and dishonesty, American dream, class, violence, gender roles, and moral decay. Theme of honesty and dishonesty: As compared to other works, the theme of honesty in Fitzgerald’s novel fails to distinguish compassionate characters from the uncompassionate ones. Honesty and dishonesty is a major...
Words: 2349 - Pages: 10
...Clever and captivating, F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is perhaps the most critically analysed American piece of the past century. Arguably this is because Fitzgerald uses many diverse literary devices to fascinate the reader. Gatsby and Daisy embody the theme of complicated relationships, which Fitzgerald uses to make the reader question the legitimacy of Daisy’s feelings and Gatsby’s persistence in chasing his dream. Fitzgerald involves symbolism in many ways including a green light at the end of Daisy’s dock to symbolise Gatsby’s dream and comment on the greed of the people of the roaring twenties. The American Dream is a theme through which Fitzgerald is able to comment on the moral decay of the Roaring Twenties society. Fitzgerald uses the theme of complicated relationships between characters as a symbol of misjudgement, this is especially evident for Gatsby and his relationship with Daisy. When Gatsby and Daisy began their love, Daisy was a symbol of wealth and the upper class of American society. Circumstantially it was the case that for Gatsby to fulfil his dream he would have to work to once again be worthy of Daisy’s love. It is hard not to question whether during their time apart Gatsby had glorified Daisy and it is uncertain as to whether she was worth it. Gatsby strongly desired the past to be repeated. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow...
Words: 998 - Pages: 4
...The Great Gatsby, which is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story that portrays the day-to-day life occurrences that encircles the society in a deeper sense. The novel displays the problems that curb everyday life, such as issues affecting various marriages, the upcoming of a society or change of social class of individuals. The novel has enlightened irresponsibility as one of the critical topics that Fitzgerald wants his audience to consider and look at deeply. This paper is aimed at discussing the critical topic of irresponsibility, which is prevalent throughout the novel, making it the most appropriate topic to discuss by developing an argument on it, from a personal interpretation of the novel and thereafter raising a complex argument that is defendable. Consideration should also be given to the examination of the deeper layers in the critical themes, symbols, characterization, or conflicts taking into consideration irresponsibility as the critical topic to base the argument on. Lastly, this paper clearly shows the main point to substantiate, which include irresponsibility in marriages, moral decadence, as well as social class. Personal interpretation and defendable argument Fitzgerald has extensively outlined the level of irresponsibility that existed in the early times that followed World War I. Irresponsibility has been depicted mostly in the relationship and marriages, which constituted the infidelity that the married couples in the novel were subjected...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
...“Dreams are renewable no matter what our age or condition, they are still untapped possibilities within us and now beauty waiting to be born.” -anonymous This quote is portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. The novel begins when the main character Nick Caraway moves to a town in long island call west egg. He lives in modest home amongst extravagant mansions. His neighbor, Jay Gatsby, throws lavish parties almost every night. His cousin Daisy, and her husband tom, also lives in the west egg community. Once nick get an invite to one of Gatsby’s parties he become thirsted into the wealthy lifestyle of the people around him. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald used the colors of white and cream, the color yellow, and the green light to illustrate the theme that desire facilitates moral decay and is therefore a destructive emotion. The colors white and cream capture the characters external innocence and purity, but since it is false beyond the skin, it is just a disguise covering the desire and moral decay. The white room shows how Daisy and Jordan can appear pure and lovely from the outside. When nick arrives at Daisy and Tom’s home he notices, “ The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house,”(8). At the start of the book we are introduced to Daisy and Jordan, the author used the white color of the room to illustrate how pure the characters appear from Nick’s first...
Words: 1224 - Pages: 5
...born. The Great Gatsby is a commentary on the pursuit of the American dream in which the characters who are most rigorously working to achieve the American dream meet their ultimate demise. Fitzgerald argues through this text not that the American dream is dead, but that the American dream is not something that ends well. He suggests that American dream has negative connotations like materialism and the decay of morals. Lastly the text argues that the aristocracy prevents the American dream from being fully realized. Myrtle Wilson is our first American dreamer in the text. She is introduced as “Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and,...
Words: 938 - Pages: 4
...that the American dream is withering and that the real dream is being lost in the 1920s during the time of the booming America. In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses symbols as a way to show something to the reader. He uses the Green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg as symbols. Gatsby himself starts from the bottom and then hits the top through his writings. The American dream in Fitzgerald’s eyes is that anyone regardless of who they are can achieve their ultimate goal in America. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes a symbol of the American dream. It symbolizes America's possessive personality with wealth and how everyone during the 1920s were so blinded by greed that they did not focus on the true goal which is the American dream. Gatsby throws parties every Saturday night at his place. In that it ultimately corrupted the American dream as desire for pleasure and money tainted the more worthy goals. The valley of ashes...
Words: 519 - Pages: 3
...F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” may initially seem like a tragic story of thwarted love between a man and a woman, but upon closer inspection it is obvious that the novel is much more than just that. The Great Gatsby is essentially a story that reveals the corruption and overall decay of what was affectionately known as The American Dream. The American Dream is described in Chapter 9 as originally being about moral values and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, it is written in the American Constitution that every individual has the right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This right appears to have taken a twisted turn in the early 1920’s. Fitzgerald portrays this time of decay of social and moral values; these values being discarded for greed and pursuit of selfish pleasure. Jay Gatsby, the title character, is a man who more than anything craves the past. In his past, he fell in love with young Daisy and quickly became obsessed with her. The only problem, that he immediately realized, was that she would only associate or take interest in those with high social status and wealth. To gain her affection Gatsby lied about his family and social status, claiming that he was born into a wealthy family and was going to be attending Oxford after the war on their wealth. “’I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now,’”(Page 65). Once convinced by Jay’s claims, young Daisy agreed to wait for Jay while he was out fighting the war...
Words: 1522 - Pages: 7
...Authors utilize visual imagery to enforce the symbols in a novel. The Great Gatsby tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a man who lives his life around the one desire: to be with the love of his life Daisy. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald employs a wide array of different colors to symbolize Gatby's desires, the innocence and moral decay of wealthy people, and the limitations of social class. The color green appears prominent throughout the whole novel and underlines Gatsby's quest for a future with Daisy. Nick Carraway, the protagonist, observes Gatsby standing at his dock and says, “Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.”(16). The reader later finds out this green light belongs to the Buchanan's dock and Gatsby's reaching out for the light indicates his lust to be with Daisy. The green light also represents Daisy and advises him to “go” towards her. Fitzgerald describes the light as “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (171). The light directly connects to the hope Gatsby has. Gatsby finally meets Daisy again and Nick describes the change he sees in Gatsby's mindset, “Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of the light had now vanished forever.” (60) Gatsby and Daisy are having an affair and because of this the light does not have a deep meaning to him anymore. It now symbolizes the end of his desires. The green light...
Words: 359 - Pages: 2
...Men who set their future goals based off past experiences, will end up destroying those dreams by themselves. “Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald attempts to correct Americans’ misconceptions about the American dream” (Dilworth 119). The Great Gatsby was written during the “Jazz Age” and prohibition era. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died on December 21, 1940 in Hollywood, California. He attended Princeton University in 1913 and in November 1917, with graduation looking unlikely, he decided to accept a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He later went on to marry Zelda Sayre and had a daughter named Frances Scott Fitzgerald (born in 1921). In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
...Symbolism of Houses and Cars in The Great Gatsby Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of symbolism, which is portrayed by the houses and cars in an array of ways. One of the more important qualities of symbolism within The Great Gatsby is the way in which it is so completely incorporated into the plot and structure. Symbols, such as Gatsby's house and car, symbolize material wealth. Gatsby's house "[is] a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy" which contains "a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy" is a symbol of Gatsby's large illegal income (Fitzgerald 9). Gatsby's large income isn't enough to keep him happy. He needs "The house he feels he needs in order to win happiness" and it is also the perfect symbol of carelessness with money which is a major part of his personality (Bewley 24). Gatsby's house like his car symbolizes his vulgar and excessive trait of getting attention. Gatz's house is a mixture of different styles and periods which symbolizes an owner who does not know their true identity. The Buchanan's house is symbolic of their ideals. East Egg is home to the more prominent established wealth families. Tom's and Daisy's home is on the East Egg. Their house, a "red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay" with its "wine-colored rug[s]" is just as impressive as Gatsby's house but much more low-key (Fitzgerald 11) (13). East egg and Tom's home represents the established wealth and...
Words: 1128 - Pages: 5
...negatively in literature. It was not until he 1920's, a time of moral decay, that women became more independent. Women began to take on more prominent roles in society, leaving their domestic lifestyle behind. However, despite all of these changes, omen were still seen in a negative light. As they began detaching themselves from this "proper and prim" manner in society, new stereotypes were placed upon them. Females were immediately labelled as dishonest, materialistic and unfaithful. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is successfully able to depict women as immoral and irresponsible beings through the use of Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle. Daisy is presented as one of the most enigmatic female characters in The Great Gatsby. Perhaps her most noticeable quality is how materialistic she appears to be throughout the novel. This idea is most clearly presented when Gatsby decides to give her a tour of his house. Daisy begins weeping stating "It makes me sad because I've never seen such-such beautiful shirts"(Fitzgerald,89). This presents the reader with an idea of how much material items really mean to daisy as she was brought to tears by the sight of beautiful expensive clothing. Her materialism is pointed out once again when Gatsby says "She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me" (Fitzgerald,124). Although love did seem important for Daisy, it did not seem to surpass the fact that Gatsby was not rich. In the end Daisy's materialism kept her away from...
Words: 338 - Pages: 2
...In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, there is an obvious hiatus between the different social classes. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man who resides in West Egg. Before Gatsby moved to West Egg, he had a relationship with Daisy Buchanan, who is Nick Carraway’s cousin. Gatsby went away from Daisy so he could fight in the war. While Gatsby was away, Daisy married Tom Buchanan and eventually moved to East Egg, where all the old money is. Gatsby moves to West Egg, where all the new money resides, so he could get back with Daisy. Between West and East Egg is an area called the valley of ashes, which all the working class and poor people live. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism and characterization to create the theme of the disconnect between the social classes. Fitzgerald uses symbolism for the valley of ashes to display the disconnect between the social classes. The valley of ashes is a poor area which connects West Egg to East Egg. It is full of “men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The valley of ashes symbolizes the poor people who live in the dirty...
Words: 1495 - Pages: 6
