...she never loved Tom. Why else would she stay with a rich, handsome man? For the wealth and the way other people will see her. -Introduction of example #3: Although the characters in both books are hopeful to make their dreams a reality, in the end their dreams do not come true. -Example / Quotation: “Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away” (Fitzgerald). "Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock" (Fitzgerald). "O.K. Someday—we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and—" "An' live off the fatta the lan'," Lennie shouted. "An'...
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...2013 Project Title: Critical Analysis of Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald Introduction The Great Gatsby is may be the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s greatest novel. This novel offers damning and insightful views of the American nouveau riche in the 1920s. It is an American classic and a wonderfully evocative novel (Bloom, 2010). The author seems to have a brilliant understanding of lives that are characterised by greed and incredibly sad and unfulfilled. The Great Gatsby is at once a romantic and cyclical novel about wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the Jazz Age (Bloom, 2010). Fitzgerald’s work is magnificent as he paints a grim portrait of shallow characters that manoeuvre themselves into some complex situations. The use of symbols and articulate language makes the novel to be best appreciated by mature readers; and this enables them to analyse literature and think critically (Bloom, 2010). The plot Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a love story of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby’s quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The initial meeting of the two lovers takes place two years before the novel is written. Daisy was then a legendary young Louisville beauty while Gatsby was an impoverished officer. The two fell in deep love, but while Gatsby serves abroad; his lover Daisy marries the bullying, brutal but extremely rich Tom Buchanan (Fitzgerald & Stuart, 2005). After the end of the war, Gatsby dedicates himself to find wealth by any...
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...The American Dream: Why the American Dream is A Dream The American dream is solely based upon the hard work to achieve prosperity, success, and the upward movement in social class. Everyone's American dream is specific to personally set goals. While reading the book The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many examples that symbolize the American dream. Two main details from The Great Gatsby will focus on Gatsby's hopes and dreams, as well as, obsession with wealth. F. Scott Fitzgerald has a very illusory message pinned on the American dream. He feels that the American dream can drive a man to do extraordinary and unethical things. “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies” (Friedrich Nietzsche). People will chase a better tomorrow that is always just a tad out of reach. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby does many ludicrous and unethical things to achieve the American Dream. Gatsby throws extravagant parties every weekend in hopes that Daisy Buchanan will show up amongst the large crowed. "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay" (Fitzgerald 147)....
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...The Great Gatsby begins with a general description of the characters life before they met Jay Gatsby- where before he may have been living an unfulfilled life, Gatsby changed that. This led to his accusations of 'being a politician' which suggests that after meeting Gatsby his mannerisms changed. While the beginning primarily focuses on the introduction of the main character and his privilege, it soon goes into his life before, and leading up to the meeting of the infamous Jay Gatsby (also, in the lead up to meeting the character, Carraway focuses on details of Gatsby's mansion - 'with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool' and the parties - 'men and girls came and went like moths'.) However, the narrator tends to digress off the main subjects - the vivacious parties and social gatherings that the story focuses on- to fill in the gaps, and, again assure the reader that he isn't spending his life in luxury and had been working alongside the extravagant parties he'd attended. The form of The Great Gatsby is a narrative as Nick Carraway is giving a direct storytelling to- indeed, what he deemed most important- the goings on in his life. There are many aspects of love in The Great...
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...The Great Gatsby is considered one of the greatest American classics written. The story of Great Gatsby is so full of emotion and details, that convey what is happening,without the use of dialogue. One of the most powerful descriptive storytelling techniques that Fitzgerald uses to set, portray, and bring out the feeling and mood of a scene is the weather. The weather can be very impactful not only on the physical obstacles characters might face, but also can portray the mood of what is happening. For example a thunderstorm might depict that something bad may happen, or it can reference that characters might get into a fight. Snow can show something might be calm, peaceful, and pure or it could show that there are “cold” feeling between characters or convey the feeling of nothingness. Fitzgerald uses several descriptions of weather throughout the novel that help to set the tone and direction with which a scene is going....
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...Essay on “The Great Gatsby” by Francis Scott Fitzgerald The book ”The Great Gatsby” written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, processes lots of different themes. One of those themes is the so-called “American dream”, a dream of success. One of the main characters, Jay Gatsby, you could say is living this dream. His life is extravagant and filled with all the material goods money can buy, Yes Jay Gatsby has it all, or does he? All of this is seen from our narrator’s point of view Nick Carraway, who also along with Gatsby is one of the main characters. In my essay on ”The Great Gatsby” I have chosen to keep my focus on chapter 3, the chapter takes place at Nick Carraway’s first party at Jay Gatsby’s Place. As mentioned earlier the narrator of the book is Nick Carraway, with a 1st person limited point of view, so we hear every thought Nick Carraway has “I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house …”. The fact that we hear every thought Carraway has helps us relate and understand the way he acts. Negatively 1st person narrative is unreliable to the reader, because we only se the situation from one point of view. It’s also a disadvantage because the main character isn’t aware of all events. And therefore as a reader we are very eager to hear what’s going on and what the other characters are thinking. In the book there is also use of direct Talk between the Reader and the narrator “Reading over what I have written so far, I see that I have …”. Because of this we get...
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...Opinions, Changes When The Great Gatsby is first introduced, the narrator, Nick, describes how his dad once told him, "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven't had the advantages you've had” (Fitzgerald). He then goes on to say as a consequence, he's "inclined to reserve all judgments” (Fitzgerald). This is rather ironic due to the entire novel consisting of many opinionated views and comments from the viewpoint of Nick, toward others, especially toward Jay Gatsby. Throughout the novel Nick has positive and negative thoughts toward Gatsby and seems unsure of his overall opinion of him. His is continuously indecisive and contradictive. Eventually however, his mind is set, that Gatsby is actually a down to earth, fine young man, seeking for his righteousness to be seen. Nick sets the scene by telling the story of how he had moved to New York "in the spring of twenty-two” (Fitzgerald), and had accepted an offer to share a house with a man in the office. He describes how he decided to "go east and learn the bond business” (Fitzgerald), and how his father had agreed to finance him for a year. Nick’s pretentious West Egg house is next door to Gatsby’s eyesore mansion. Nick is clearly unlike his West Egg neighbors, Gatsby included, where they lack many social connections; Nick is from Yale and has many. When Nick first describes the 'hero of the story,’ Gatsby, he makes his opinion of Gatsby very clear. Gatsby states how he wanted "no...
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...In what ways does Fitzgerald and Williams present the importance of hopes and dreams? Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Arthur Miller’s ‘A Death of a Salesman’ focus their main ideas on the importance of hopes and dreams. Death of a Salesman, produced in 1949, has become a classic of modern American theatre. It is a story of an average salesman with a dream of being rich and well-liked. Willy believes whole heartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream. In the 1940’s The American Dream was as simple as it gets, to have a perfect, successful life with a common nuclear family, a house in the suburbs, a nice car and a life without conflict or family strife. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a highly symbolic reflection on 1920’s America as a whole, in particular the disappearance of the American Dream in an era of material excess. On the surface, ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a story of the eternal love between a man and a woman. However, in reality the main theme of the novel involves a much larger, less romantic outlook. The 1920’s was an era of decayed social and moral values, which means that the idea of The American Dream was different to what it is now. When World War 1 ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who fought the war became intensely disillusioned. The rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden increase in the national wealth and a new found materialism, leading the younger generation to pursue a life of extravagance...
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...often consider the lower class less pleasing, and often less than human than themselves. Through a Marxist reading of The Great Gatsby, we can see how Fitzgerald portrayed the “elite upper class” as lacking a sense moral responsibility. To these characters nothing is of value unless it furthers their elite status, they show little concern for anyone but themselves and place little value on human life. Marxist theory asserts that in Capitalism, desired people are perceived as desirable objects. Often in Gatsby, human beings are treated as objects to be obtained. When we see Daisy’s daughter she is brought out as a show piece. Daisy shows her off and then sends her away with her nurse even though the child asks to stay with her mother. Daisy treats her like an object talking about her as though she were an inanimate object. She wants her daughter to look perfect, like a "little dream" (Fitzgerald123). Her daughter is nothing more than another way to establish her social status. Daisy demonstrates that clearly wealth and class are important rather than just wealth or love. Gatsby himself seems to be obsessed with wealth and image and obviously takes any measures necessary to attain them. He is very proud and boastful regarding his mansion and Rolls Royce, “It’s pretty, isn’t it, old sport…Haven’t you seen it before?” (Fitzgerald 68) In pursuing Daisy, Gatsby seems more concerned with showing her his house and...
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...The Great Gatsby: Gatsby’s Party To some people, life is one big celebration. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Nick (the narrator) recalls the many parties his neighbor, Gatsby, has “hosted” and the type of people who attended. Through the use of polysyndeton and metaphors/similes, the author conveys Gatsby’s parties as lavish and the people as reckless. For instance, Gatsby’s orchestra hired for the party was “no thin five-piece affair, but a whole pit-full of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums.” Through the use of polysyndeton, Fitzgerald exaggerates the amount of instruments in the orchestra, capturing how huge it is. As a special guest to Gatsby and his parties, Nick reveals...
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...Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald Sean P. Conway Teacher Period 27 April 2013 Class System in the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald Topic: F. Scott Fitzgerald Purpose: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories show the demise of the “American Dream” by Demonstrating that the American class system determines your manner, Lifestyle and character 1. Introduction: Fitzgerald believed the American dream was false and distorted. 2. Stories showed the decadence of the Jazz Age but with a jaded view 3. 1920s a. About the time period b. “The Jazz Age” c. Wealth d. Social values e. Fashion 4. Works by Fitzgerald a. This Side of Paradise b. The Great Gatsby c. The love of the last tycoon 5. Symbolism a. Great Gatsby i. Green light ii. Valley of ashes (poor’s lack of values, unfaithful’s lack of morals) iii. Beat up car b. This Side of Paradise i. Speed and cars ii. Alcohol as means to forget c. The Love of the Last Tycoon i. Car ii. Sheep /people iii. Light/darkness as reality/fantasy 6. Theme a. American dream b. Class system c. Relationships 7. Conclusion The death of the “American Dream” was a notable part of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. His use of symbolism and extensive writings on the large gap between the social classes demonstrated why he felt this way. According to his...
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...Introduction Some people don’t see the meaning In symbolism, and frantically I feel it is highly overlooked . Symbolism is important because it helps you have a deeper meaning of your story. Oh, but there is more. So kick back, read on and let me open your mind into the world of Symbolism, and why it helps you infer what a book it’s about, how you practice symbolism in your head, or just knowing what some of the symbols mean! It’s easy to figure out what a book is about when you read. But what if I told you you could get a glimpse of what it’s about before even turning a page! For instance in the novel twilight on the cover you see a red apple, as you may know the book is centered around a human girl who falls in love with an immortal vampire....
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...I. INTRODUCTION a. Background of Choosing the Work of Art The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. Fitzgerald was the most famous chronicler of 1920s America, an era that he dubbed “the Jazz Age.” Written in 1925, The Great Gatsby is one of the greatest literary documents of this period, in which the American economy soared, bringing unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation. Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1919), made millionaires out of bootleggers, and an underground culture of revelry sprang up. The chaos and violence of World War I left America in a state of shock, and the generation that fought the war turned to wild and extravagant living to compensate. The Great Gatsby is 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. So, choosing The Great Gatsby and had the characters as its focus in this paper because it covers Marxism where each character’s purpose in life is money, and the essence of desire is wealth. It is clear within the text that...
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...Assessment Secondary Methods June 27, 2011 Rachel Wurmlinger, Facilitator Instructional Unit Plan 1. Overview of Unit A. Title – 20th Century Socialite: The Great Gatsby B. Focus – English/Language Arts; 11th grade (Honors): The focus of this unit is to introduce students to the characteristics and elements of contemporary American literature and to allow students to relate the themes of the novel, The Great Gatsby, in a meaningful way to increase understanding. C. Length – 1.25 instructional weeks (six 50-minute sessions) D. Goals – Students will understand that American literature contains unique and specific elements by reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Also, students will recognize themes in Fitzgerald’s work by examining modern pop cultural products (multimedia samples, newspaper articles, music videos, etc.). 2. Lesson Plans 1-5 Lesson Plan #1 Title: The American Novel Time: 50-minute session Standards: Georgia Performance Standards: ELA11LSV1 (indicators a-h)—Actively participates in whole group verbal interactions. ELA11LSV2 (b)—Analyzes techniques used in media messages for a particular audience and evaluates effectiveness. Objectives: 1. After watching an introductory presentation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (TGG), students will be able to identify the characteristics of the American novel with 100% accuracy. 2. After viewing You Tube video and working in small groups to...
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...Gatsby’s eternal and unconditional love for Daisy in The Great Gatsby F.S. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby illustrated* the undying love that Jay Gatsby had for Daisy. This story shows the struggles Gatsby had gone through to obtain his fortune. His main purpose was to re-live his perfect relationship with Daisy. His strong unwillingness to accept the fact that Daisy was no longer the way he perceived her years ago, lead to the deterioration of Gatsby’s relationship along with the passing of Myrtle, and most importantly, his own death. [14] Gatsby used his money and power to attract Daisy and fell into the false illusion he created himself that he had ‘won’ Daisy. Eventually, this generated to their failed relationship. Gatsby, believing that Daisy loved him and only him, provoked* a powerful altercation between him and Tom, which ultimately lead to Myrtle’s death. [8] However, Gatsby who thought that he could repeat his once amazing love with Daisy, was stuck* into a world of delusion which caused* him to make irrational decisions that finally lead to his tragic death. Gatsby presumed that his newly attained money and fame could buy Daisy, but that was not always the case. Jay Gatsby would host some extravagant parties [2] and, “... he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night… but she never did.” Gatsby wanted* to show his wealth and fame by having crazy parties at his mansion right across the bay from Daisy’s house. He was hoping she would walk...
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