...The Great Gatsby In the United States Declaration of Independence our nation founding fathers came up with the idea that “all men are created equal” in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However there has always been a great divide in our country’s society and class, with the top one percent nearly owning all of our nation’s wealth. With the majority of society being of middle and lower class population some of which are struggling to make ends meat living paycheck to paycheck. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby which takes place in the early 1920’s. There is also a great divide in class and society. You have the wealthy and arrogant east egg and west egg citizens who have either had money in their family past down from generations of inheritance also receiving a fine education at an ivy league school or you have the new money and live in west egg earning a living as a bootlegger or involved in other mob activities like Jay Gatsby who was raised on hardships growing up. But like most people in today’s society you have the valley of ashes which resembles our middle and lower class of people who may be hard working people yet they don’t have the financial benefits of being born into wealth. The American Dream of living a prosperous life and being rich and earning a high level of importance in society just to impress people or attract someone to you is something that all of the characters surrounding Nick Carraway have in common. They idealize fame and fortune...
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...the scene, visits his second cousin, and describes the parties thrown by Jay Gatsby next door. The narrator, Nick Carraway, recently returned from World War I, finds a job in New York City and rents a small house in West Egg, a small town on Long Island. His cousin Daisy and her husband Tom live nearby in East Egg, and Nick is a frequent visitor to their house. Jay Gatsby, Nick’s next door neighbor, is a wealthy newcomer who throws large parties weekly, during which his guests discuss the latest rumors about who Gatsby is, how he achieved his wealth, and what crimes he might have committed. Conflict Tom has a mistress. Daisy meets Gatsby and they begin to have an affair. Despite their wealth, their child, and the front they put on for society, Tom and Daisy’s marriage is a sham. Everybody knows that Tom "has a woman," who even calls him at home. Sure enough, before long, Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, a married woman named Myrtle Wilson whose husband, George, runs an auto garage. Nick learns that Myrtle believes Tom wants to leave Daisy but can’t. This is clearly a lie. Tension rises as we recognize the potentially explosive nature of this situation – especially with a man like Tom around. Our fears are confirmed when Tom is physically abusive to his mistress. The second piece of the conflict emerges later, but it’s a doozy: About halfway through the novel, Jordan Baker reveals that Jay Gatsby fell in love with Daisy some years before. He’d like Nick to invite Daisy...
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...The Great Gatsby People spend a portion of their lives trying to better themselves. Many people set goals as motivation for something they would like to achieve. Having goals was definitely a factor in the lives of Jay Gatsy, Tom Buchanan, and Nick Carraway. Jay Gatsby has the goal of being a success and getting Daisy for his own and admitting she has never loved Tom. Tom Buchanan has the goal of running down Gatsby and proving his illegal ways. Nick Carraway also has the goal of being a success but his main goal is to keep his morals and honesty. All three men work to achieve their goals. Some succeed fully while some only succeed partially. The goals of these three men play a major role in the novel The Great Gastby. Jay Gatsby had the goal of becoming a success and getting Daisy for himself and having her admit that she has never loved Tom. Jay Gatsby has only partially met his goals. Jay Gatsby met Daisy when he was a poor solider with the name of James Gatz. At first he thought of her as just a woman to use but than he discovered he loved her. She was part of the blue bloods and her social class did not approve of them together, her parents would not even let her say goodbye to him when he left for war. Gatsby knew in order to have Daisy he would have to make himself rich and successful. This motivated him to change his name to Jay Gatsby and make a whole new person out of himself. Gatsby became involved in illegal activities such as bootlegging and became rich. He than...
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...The Great Gatsby: Summary: Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg, Long Island, a wealthy area populated by the new rich, people who made their fortunes due to the economic upswing of the Roaring Twenties. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a huge mansion and throws extravagant parties on the weekends. Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island and the home of the upper class. Nick drives out to East Egg one evening to have dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, a former classmate of Nick during his time at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a random, vulgar party in the apartment that Tom bought because of his affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose. As the summer progresses, Nick eventually gets an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary parties. He encounters...
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...The Tragic Tale of the Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, the hero’s journey begins when he meets his very mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, on the small island of West Egg during a party. As Nick Carraway received an invitation from his unknown neighbor, he became curious and made it his mission to understand who this infamous Gatsby really was. As the Narrator, Nick witnessed the past unfold between his cousin, Daisy, and Jay Gatsby when he purposely invited the two of them for a cup of tea. After Daisy and Jay rekindle their love for each other, they both become oblivious to the fact that Daisy is married, causing Nick to see things through different perspectives. While Nick becomes an active observer, he quickly earned Gatsby’s trust which resulted in understanding the past of his no longer mysterious neighbor. As Daisy’s husband realized his wife’s heart had different intentions, the hero began to say, “Tom was evidently perturbed at Daisy‘s running around alone, for on the following Saturday night he...
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...English Essay: Great Gatsby “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the same advantages that you’ve had.” This quote states that everyone has not been able to love an easy, non-troubled life. The rich get things handed to them easily and quick without them even having to work for it. While the less fortunate have to fight for these same things. This quotation shows how Scott Fitzgerald really felt about the American Dream. He was able to show how the American Dream was a failure in this whole book. There are three examples showing how the American Dream is a failure through the George Wilson, The Buchannas, and Jay Gatsby. Scott Fitzgerald uses George Wilson to show that the American Dream is a failure and not true. He is the one character in the book you can see this through because he is a hardworking man, responsible and as well truthful yet he is poor. We know from reading this book that George Wilson has been working all his life in the Valley of Ashes, but has still continued to be nothing more than determined to reach the success of the wealthy. All of his acts of hard work should be leading him to the richness and success of the wealthy instead of it all going to the wrong characters in the book. George Wilson shows that he is responsible and mature through the entire book especially when he finds out his wife, Myrtle Wilson has been cheating on him. He knows that the city has done this to her and he...
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...Exploring The Many Themes Of The Great Gatsby “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald There are many messages authors try to send the readers when they write books, but at the end of the day, people receive different messages from the masterpiece. Author Francis Scott Fitzgerald wrote a book in 1925 which was The Great Gatsby. “Even if Scott Fitzgerald is, as someone suggested years ago, essentially a one-book author, only a prig would dispute either the stylistic beauty or the cultural importance of The Great Gatsby.”(Barbarese) Although he is arguably a one-book author, this story about a Jay Gatsby has a story to tell. This piece is about a wealthy young man named Jay Gatsby, who has everything anyone would dream of, besides the love of his life. Making money through bootlegging and making illegal sales of alcohol, but soon finds it hard to believe that money can not really buy happiness. The book contains many conflicts between Jay Gatsby and himself, Jay Gatsby against society, and even Jay Gatsby and the love of his life’s husband. The wealthy This novel is filled with all the themes of love, revenge, money can’t buy happiness, the “American Dream”, and many more. There are so many themes to pick from, the audience has their individual ideas on which them Scott Fitzgerald is trying to send. The truth is he isn’t sending you any themes, how you interpret the novel is all on your own making of the story. Scott Fitzgerald has many themes all mixed up within...
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...Symbolism in “The Great Gatsby” A literary masterpiece such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, creates a vision of the typical American prosperous lifestyle through color and images. Fitzgerald cleverly uses colors to paint a picture of the privileged and twisted life of Jay Gatsby. In the novel the narrator Nick tells the story of Jay Gatsby, who throws elaborate parties to try to catch the attention of his true love Daisy. Nick also tells of the affairs and the misfortunes between the characters that would eventually led to Gatsby’s death. The prominent colors used in the novel (gold/ yellow, blue, white/ silver) help to create the image of wealth and old money, intricateness, and the multilayered personalities of the...
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...On the surface, The Great Gatsby seems to be a novel of gratuitous sex, alcohol and partying. There is one man who strives to be like the rest, however fails in almost every aspect. Jay Gatsby has been consistently described throughout this book as a romantic and a gentleman. While all the other flamboyant men drink until faint and provocatively dance with twenty-something’s under the scornful gaze of their wives, Gatsby does not partake in such vices. At his own parties he stands alone with a drink, gazing upon the crowd with melancholy. He throws these colossal parties for one reason, to find his true love. Unlike the rest of the neighborhood Gatsby does not care about his house or money, he only cherishes his true love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby is not like the other wealthy socialites of West and East Egg. Jay Gatsby is a G_d among men. At the beginning of chapter six, we hear of Gatsby first resembling Jesus (the son of G_d). Nick describes Gatsby as “a son of God—a phrase which, 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.”(98) Similarly like Jesus, Jay Gatsby was an immaculate conception. The creation of James Gatz, a poor farm-boy who thought better of himself. Nick describes the creation of Jay Gatsby as the “Platonic conception of himself” (98) which essentially points to Gatsby creating the ideal version of himself. At his parties, Gatsby would watch over...
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...The Deceit of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby Many strive for success through strenuous amounts of hard work and dedication. However, once this success is achieved, they are still unhappy. In the 1920s, the majority of people had one dream to achieve particularly the American Dream. In essence, the American Dream is the idea of anyone being able to achieve success if they put in a lot dedication and hard work. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic twentiethcentury story that revolves primarily around the theme of the American Dream. The characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson are prime examples of characters who represent this theme. The Great Gatsby gives a vivid peek into the lives of Americans who live the American Dream, and proves it to be rather a deceptive fallacy. This deceit results in the downfall of many characters within the novel as they try to obtain the unachievable goal of the American Dream. Tom and Daisy Buchanan represent what many lowerclass citizens in the U.S. strive to be: wealthy and highstatus socialites. This facade is what tricks many into thinking that the American Dream results in a greater and happier life. However, Tom and Daisy’s happiness only goes so far. Apart from being successful, this couple encounters many debacles both within and out of their marriage. Like many who live in East Egg, Tom came from a wealthy family and made sure he stayed that way...
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...26 October 2015 “Who Killed Gatsby” The Great Gatsby was originally a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925; and was re-made into a hit movie in 2013 directed by Baz Luhramann. The movie tells the story of a rich man named Jay Gatsby who is for most of is trying to win back his old lover Daisy. In the end of the movie Gatsby is shot after crazy car ride and a woman is run over. The woman's husband sees that is was Gatsby’s car that hit his wife and ends up shooting him. To us who are just watching the movie we see that the woman’s husband shot Gatsby but it is possible that each character could have played a role in Gatsby’s death. The movie starts off showing Nick Caraway a World War 1 veteran and writer getting an invitation to one of Gatsby’s amazing parties. The writer puts Nick in a small dingy house on a hill right next door to Gatsby house. Showing the big difference from the poor and the rich, and how at that time there was really no middle. When the time comes for Nick to attend the party he runs into his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are both rich as well, as Gatsby and lives...
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...The Failed American Dreams of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby invokes the American Dream and how important it is not only the titular character but to the many other’s who strive to achieve it. The American Dream originated in the early days of the American Settlement, which consisted of mostly poor people looking for bigger opportunities. Fitzgerald uses characterization in his novel The Great Gatsby to convey how the American Dream is not only unattainable for many, but also the idea that the pursuit the American Dream can lead to corruption. George Wilson is a man who desires the American Dream but he ultimately fails in the end. His pursuit is ( one of good intentions) a modest one in which he does not crave loads...
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...Within F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby In The Great Gatsby, greed is the root of all evil that people in the American 1920’s society that weaves its ways through the lives of many. Gatsby’s greed is evident over his obsession over Daisy which leads to them to several rash decisions. Tom Buchanan cheats his lovers because of his desire for power. And Meyer Wolfsheim pulls Gatsby down with him over his criminal organization. From this, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, greed plays a prominent and dangerous role through Gatsby’s obsessive desire for Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan’s affair with Myrtle Wilson, and Meyer Wolfsheim’s obsession with crime. During The Great Gatsby,...
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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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...chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby, a reporter comes to Gatsby’s door to interview him about his personal life. Jay Gatsby’s original name was James Gatz and he was born on a North Dakota farm but went to college in St. Olaf, Minnesota. He dropped out of college and later met the wealthy Dan Cody who hired him as a personal assistant. When Dan Cody died he left Gatsby $25,000, but his mistress prevented Gatsby from claiming it. After that, Gatsby was determined to become rich and successful. Later on, Nick visits Gatsby and is shocked to find Tom Buchanan there, and the next Saturday Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. After the party Gatsby is worried that Daisy did not enjoy it and Nick tells him to give up on Daisy, however, Gatsby refuses and instead tells Nick about he and Daisy’s past. The quote that best describes Jay Gatsby is, “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). The good qualities of Jay Gatsby are he is a loyal person and he has a good heart. The bad qualities of Gatsby are he is amoral, dishonest, and throws his money away. Fitzgerald developed this character to show how people use their wealth to get love only to discover the love is not real. Additionally, he is developed throughout the novel to be an example of how living extravagantly can be an empty life. A meaningful quote in the chapter is, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long...
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