...Review On the book “The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald In creating "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald deliberately departed from his previous works. In January 1922, he began planning this novel, and in 1923 began working on it. Unlike his earlier works, "Gatsby" was carefully edited and fine-tuned, as the writer believed that this novel could bring him recognition. He wrote later: "I felt a huge force in myself, which I never had". There is an opinion that the «Great» Fitzgerald named his hero, because this way the author wanted to show his ironical attitude to the hero. On the one hand, Gatsby is a man clearly outstanding, with great ability and indomitable vitality, but on the other hand, he wasted itself in the pursuit of false goals - wealth and miserable and depraved woman. Very interesting and easy written story about the American dream of those years. Lots of smart quotes for use in everyday life. Quote: "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember the advantages that you've had..." In consequence I'm inclined to reserve all judgments" Gatsby is the main character - a man obsessed with his love to Daisy, the girl of high society. In order to achieve his beloved, he became very famous and very rich man, who was both known and unknown to the public. He became very rich and had built incredibly beautiful castle in which continuously for five years has been made very chic parties for everybody, in hope that one day his beloved to come...
Words: 1843 - Pages: 8
...submerged" This significant quote alone tells the reader about the different ideals and personalities Tom and Gatsby possess. In the great Gatsby, Fitsgerald uses love to contrast Tom's personality from Gatsby's. Both Tom and Gatsby, love Daisy in different ways and despite their differences, both men try to present a facade to the public. Consequently, these differences lead to unhappiness, jealousy, and grief. Tom Buchanan was polo and football athlete in his twenties. Bred in inherited money, he lives a life decadence and luxuries. Tom has a really domineering personality and is unable to restrain his indulgences for lavish goods and women. Tom's love for wealth is described by Jordan Baker when she tells Nick about Daisy's wedding, "... She married Tom Buchanan of Chicago with more pomp... then Louisville had ever seen. He came with a hundred people in four private cars and hired a whole floor of the Seelbach Hotel, and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls worth three hundred and fifty thousand dollar." (Fitzgerald 82) Tom is described to be cold hearted, shallow and the type of person who doesnt care about anything but himself. Tom's reckless and violent nature is described when he, "Smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into [his] money." (Fitzgerald 187-188) Tom has no purpose in life other than to enjoy his wealth with self indulgence. Tom's negative attitude towards races is shown throughout the novel, "It's up to us, who are...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...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
...Throughout the text of The Great Gatsby, we see evidence of the time period in which it was written/set and the mindset of the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. If we use this book as any indication of Fitzgerald’s thoughts we can see that he did not think very highly of women, especially within the upper class. All of the women in The Great Gatsby are either unpleasant, dishonest, or shallow. While this book makes the statement that men can be all these things as well, we are given at least one honest and morally decent male character, Nick. There are three female characters in The Great Gatsby; Daisy Buchanan, the love interest of Gatsby and wife of Tom, Jordan Baker, friend of Daisy as well as nicks romantic interest, and Lastly Myrtle Wilson,...
Words: 861 - Pages: 4
...though it was based on freedom, self-reliance and the desire to be something greater. In the past the dream was for someone to go out west for land and to start a family. It has turned into a very materialistic vision of a big house, nice car, and living the easy life. As represented in the novel The Great Gatsby and Baz Luhrmann’s, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was more focused on instant gratification of material things and needing material things as an indication of success. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby and Baz Luhrmann’s, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a renaissance man; a man who has it all but started out with nothing. His plan was to achieve his dream. He was so blinded by his possessions, in front of him, that he could not see that money could not buy love or happiness. Fitzgerald demonstrated how a dream can be corrupted by one’s focus on accruing wealth, power, and expensive things. Gatsby’s dream was “ambiguous, contradictory, romantic in nature, and undeniably beautiful while at the same time grotesquely flawed” (Hearne 189). His American Dream had become tarnished and corrupted by the culture of money and opulence that surrounded him. Gatsby was ‘new money’, and his romantic view of the wealthy did not prepare him for the self- absorbed, snobbish, group of people he was about to associate himself with. He threw lavish parties every night, yet he had no real friends to surround himself with. Gatsby bought expensive things and entertained...
Words: 2843 - Pages: 12
...Conley Howard The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis Notebook Mrs. Marlar/English III Period 6 Howard 1 Literary Element- Symbolism Chapter 1, page 21 Original Quote: “But I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone—he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far way, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unique darkness.”(Fitzgerald 21) Paraphrase with Analysis: Gatsby is being spotted by Nick, the narrator, while he is reaching out across his dock to the green light. (Fitzgerald 21) The green light symbolizes Daisy. Green is also an archetype and the negative associations are death and decay. Green can also foreshadow Gatsby death in the end since he never achieved the “green light” being Daisy who she chose Tom Buchanan in the end. Embedded Quotes in Paraphrase with Analysis: David F. Trask in his book, A Note on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, states that “Gatsby believed in the green light, the future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further ... And one fine morning Alas, all of us! The novel ends on a desperately somber note: So we beat on, boats...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...The Great Gatsby: The Corruption of the American Dream through Materialism The American dream is an ideal that has been present since American literature’s onset. Typically, the dreamer aspires to rise from rags to riches, while accumulating such things as love, high status, wealth, and power on his way to the top. The dream has had variations throughout different time periods, although it is generally based on ideas of freedom, self-reliance, and a desire for something greater. The early settlers’ dream of traveling out West to find land and start a family has gradually transformed into a materialistic vision of having a big house, a nice car, and a life of ease. In the past century, the American dream has increasingly focused on material items as an indication of attaining success. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who started out with no money—only a plan for achieving his dream. He is so blinded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy love or happiness. Fitzgerald demonstrates how a dream can become corrupted by one’s focus on acquiring wealth, power, and expensive things. Gatsby’s dream “is a naïve dream based on the fallacious assumption that material possessions are synonymous with happiness, harmony, and beauty” (Fahey 70). His American dream has become corrupted by the culture of wealth and opulence that surrounds him. Gatsby is a “nouveau riche,” and his romantic view of wealth has not prepared him for the self-interested...
Words: 2539 - Pages: 11
...How Does Fitzgerald Show the Importance of Society in the Opening Chapters of The Great Gatsby? The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was an American novelist and short story writer. The tale of The Great Gatsby is set in a modified version of the Long Island and New York City area of the USA, with correlations to The Hamptons. Throughout the opening chapters of the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a vast amount of characters, motifs and themes to show the importance of society. These can vary massively but all appear to imply how corrupt society was in the 1920s. He also shows how the innate social standing of people defines and limits them for the rest of their lives. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in the cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure seen within nearly all of the characters. Capital is one of the main focuses of the novel, and it becomes apparent that throughout the tale, it defines not only their social standing, but the level of respect which they receive along with how they are interpreted by others in the novel. Fitzgerald begins the novel with an introduction from the narrator and one of the main protagonists, Nick Carraway. Carraway fought in the First World War, which we later find out he fought alongside Gatsby, giving them some form of common ground to base a ‘friendship’ upon. The novel initially begins with a poignant message from the father of Carraway; “When...
Words: 2629 - Pages: 11
...The Narrative Art of The Great Gatsby Introduction The Great Gatsby was written in 1925. The author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the most outstanding writers in America. As a member of the “lost generation”, Fitzgerald made the short life of Gatsby epitome of the rise, boom and decline of the “American Dream” in “Jazz Age”. This novel shows us unusually rich literary and aesthetic connotation is has by its unique narrative perspective, the ups and downs of plot, superb accurate language, various rhetorical devices and vivid character images. To some extent, the reason why The Great Gatsby can become a famous classic work is that the author uses extraordinary narrative techniques in it. All the techniques are employed skillfully by Fitzgerald. The study of narrative art in this work has been highlighted in the research area in these years. Zhang Jinfeng(2001) analyzes the role of Nick in the novel from the its structure, themes and other aspects. Cheng Xilin(2009) uses the spatial narrative theory to discussed the space narrative art in The Great Gatsby from three aspects: the geography space, social space and the text space. Xiao Dongbo(2009) starts with the analysis on author and characters and expound the connotation of "American dream" and profoundly reveals the historical process of the formation, development and burst of the "American dream". Shang Guanghui(2011) analyzes The Great Gatsby from the narrators of the role and argues that the communication...
Words: 5017 - Pages: 21
...A woman's role in the 1920’s was to act subordinate towards dominant men. Smoking, drinking, and flirting were the characteristics of women of this time. Feeling powerless to change their lives, women of the 1920’s did not strive to find happiness. Jordan, Myrtle, and Daisy, although unhappy with their lives, do not strive to find happiness by making a change.In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, each of the main female characters is portrayed as a miserable figure who do not have the power to change their lives. Jordan, a cynical professional golfer, struggles to succeed in a world filled with male dominance. Jordan is in a male dominated profession due to the fact that most sports professionals in the 1920’s were dominated by men....
Words: 1238 - Pages: 5
...Hamlet: William Shakespeare biography: * William Shakespeare is the grand literary figure of the Western world. During England's Elizabethan period he wrote dozens of plays which continue to dominate World Theater 400 years later. Shakespeare handled high drama, romance and slapstick comedy with equal ease, and so famous are his words that his quotes, from "To be or not to be" to "Parting is such sweet sorrow," take up more than 70 pages in recent editions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. His works rival the King James Bible (also produced in the 1600s) as a source of oft-quoted English phrases. Shakespeare is known as "the Bard of Avon," in a nod to his birthplace, and many of his plays were originally performed in the famous Globe Theater in London. Among his best-known plays are Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and MacBeth. He is also known for his poetry, especially his sonnets. (Who2biographies) * William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. Their daughter Susannah was born in 1583, and the twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585. Hamnet died in 1596... William Shakespeare's precise birthdate is not known; he was baptized on 26 April 1564, and over time 23 April has become the accepted date of birth, in part because he also died on 23 April in 1616.( Who2biographies) * Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, and these are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these...
Words: 2212 - Pages: 9
...To most high school students, The Great Gatsby is probably the most familiar American Literature unit. To many scholars, it is also one of the greatest classics of the twentieth-century. Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby, narrates a tale of a man named Jay Gatsby and his journey to steal back the girl of his dream, Daisy Buchanan, from her husband, Tom Buchanan. Then, an ironic car accident destroys their relationship, and Gatsby dies heart broken, taking a false blame for the accident for Daisy. The author of the novel is American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was born in Minnesota in 1896, dropped out of Princeton in 1917, and published his first novel titled This Side of Paradise in 1920, which enabled him to marry Zelda Sayre; the couple...
Words: 1545 - Pages: 7
...The Great Gatsby’s third chapter mainly focuses on Nick’s first encounter, with the shrouded character of Jay Gatsby. Nick meets Gatsby at one of his gaudy parties; at which Nick seems to be “one of the few guests who had actually been invited”. Nick, of course, is employed by Fitzgerald and used to frame this chapter. Our established retrospective narrator writes in the subjective first person, meaning we only get his point of view of events; this peripheral style of narration generates intrigue within the reader, as Fitzgerald deliberately doesn’t want us guessing everything .In Jay McInerney’s article on ‘Gatsby’, he writes “Fitzgerald’s best narrators always seem to be partaking of the festivities even as they shiver outside with their noses pressed up against the glass.” I have to concur with McInerney here, as this quote sums up Nick’s narrative style completely. Nick is “within and without”, constantly on the outskirts of events, observing. From this it would be easy to conclude that Nick is a very dull narrator, whose appearance in the novel is only to mask Fitzgerald; so that Fitzgerald can get his opinions and views on this hedonistic lifestyle across. However, that is not the case, as Nick accommodates many aspects which pair with a good narrator. Nick is undoubtedly “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” and through his powerful quality of reservation, Fitzgerald allows other characters to express themselves and develop. This makes the novel more accessible...
Words: 1128 - Pages: 5
...compared to everyone else and he isn’t an open book so he remains mysterious which intrigues me. “They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” This quote represents Nick by showing how he really cares about others and can see the value in Gatsby as his...
Words: 1740 - 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
