...Perhaps F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work, The Great Gatsby is not only a great story, but an insight into the flaws of real life during the "Roaring Twenties." His book has been considered by many a symbol for the "Jazz Age," a time of extraordinary wealth and promise, but Fitzgerald's novel is much more than that, presenting the truth behind the twenties and creating an atmosphere which has earned a permanent place in American literature. Fitzgerald's novel works on many different levels, giving us unforgettable characters and events on one, as well as referring to the problems of American wealth and spirituality on another. However, what is the main point of the book? And most importantly, what on earth is that mysterious green light? Those questions, as well as many others will be answered in this analysis, which will discuss the underlying meaning and symbolism behind The Great Gatsby. "I didn't call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone - he stretched out his arms towards 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 away, 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 unquiet darkness." (16) So ends the first chapter of The Great Gatsby and brings to our attention the first symbol in this book - that mysterious...
Words: 2134 - Pages: 9
...The American Dream is the aspiration to obtain wealth, status and power based on the desire of self-betterment through self-reliance and accomplishment. F Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, is an effective critique on the corruption that surrounds the American Dream. It is also a commentary on the warped view of Western hedonism and idealized lifestyles. The dream is portrayed strongly through the characters, depicting undignified ways to obtain wealth, the amoral social interactions and the illusion of affection and false fellowship. Thus exposing the unscrupulousness, self-absorption and disillusionment that lie at the wake of the American Dream. Fitzgerald critiques on the ideal of ‘self-made’ men (financially) and how through sheer desperation, men stray from conformity and followed a deviated path in order to reach wealth. The American Dream is the belief that regardless of one’s socio-economic background, an individual could still reach financial triumph through hard work, education and drive-which has been the belief of the American society. According to American sociologist Robert K. Merton, American society has generated common desires and pressures for material possession-which is how success was measured- those who fail to succeed by conformity or valid means, resort to devious acts to do so. Fitzgerald comments on this aspect of his society through the portrayal of Gatsby in the novel; who employed unorthodox ways of obtaining wealth in order to gain his incommunicable...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...The American Dream has been commonly believed that every person, no matter where they are, can work their way up to success. However, the American Dream is a constant power struggle of enough never being enough. Due to the fact that some become engrossed in their dream, they lose sight of little successes of daily tasks and importance in other things. Through the approach shown in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the foundation of the American Dream is unattainable. Literary elements such as ethos and pathos used by Fitzgerald contributed to the vision of the unattainable American Dream. In The Great Gatsby, The Narrator of the story, Nick Carraway, claims “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59). As a result of this statement, it is displaying that the audience can trust the narrator in what he describes throughout the story, explaining the issues of each character's life. This is an example of using ethos to...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...In the controversial book “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald one can see that the idea of the American dream is expressed through the simplicity of color. Many have argued that The Great Gatsby is a book of sexual immorality and critically acclaimed thoughts as well as a magnificent book that secretly has deeper meaning than the simply words it offers in its sentences. Such a person is Daniel J. Schneider who is an advocate of the glory behind the cover, he wrote “Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby” where he puts forward his own point of view on the meaning of the use of Fitzgerald’s color symbolism in each sentence were he expressed an elusive idea hard for the common reader to find. In this mysterious book the color blue is very much present, from describing attire to showing the mode of the characters, blue goes beyond this and elusively states that it is the dream...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...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
...In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents his view that the American Dream is nothing more than an unachievable illusion, forever just barely out of our grasp. This is represented in the book by a variety of elements and plot points, most notoriously the green light. However, the symbol of the American Dream most central to the plot of The Great Gatsby is actually Daisy, with many of the other symbols flowing from their association with her. The vast riches and lands that Gatsby accrues, which in many other stories would represent that he, the son of dirt poor farmers who has managed to claw his way up to the top through whatever it took, has achieved the American Dream as it is commonly depicted, going from a pauper to a prince, are not his end goal but instead a means to the end, that of a happy life with Daisy as his wife, a life which he has thus far only been able to imagine whilst gazing at the light at the end of her dock which is as green as his envy that Tom is living the life Gatsby...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...“The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a world filled with rich societal happenings, love affairs, and corruption. Nick Carraway is the engaged narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a member of Gatsby’s circle. He has ambivalent feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s magnificent capacity to hope. Using Nick as a moral guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to illustrate the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve this, Nick’s credentials as a reliable narrator are carefully established and reinforced throughout the story. The American Dream is a sensitive and beloved topic in American culture. Discussing its failure and corruption needs to be done gently and morally. Fitzgerald understood this, and therefore acknowledged the need of a kind and cordial narrator within a materialistic society. Enter Nick Carraway, who on the first page lets readers know “In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments” pg 7. This statement already serves to set Nick up as a decent and honest man that can be trusted. To back up this statement Fitzgerald included a short section regarding Nick’s family and background. The Carraway’s claim themselves to be loyal Americans. However, when...
Words: 1727 - Pages: 7
...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
...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...
Words: 1674 - Pages: 7
...As Scott F. Fitzgerald invites the reader to see the perspective of the 1920’s from an “honest” and “nonjudgmental” man named Nick Carraway, the views of the rich and ugly collide together, making The Great Gatsby a novel with a twisted and complicated plot. The main character Nick Carraway, is from the west and moves to the overpopulated city of New York. He settles in the “West Egg” of Long Island and meets his mysterious neighbor who goes by the name of Jay Gatsby. Nick visits his cousin Daisy, who lives in the “East Egg” and soon becomes somewhat engaged within the fast, upbeat, party life. (Fitzgerald) Although he is not fully involved, he disentangles himself from the whole scene near the ending due to his observant behavior and disgusted attitude towards the whole outlook. However, his attraction towards Gatsby is a main focus. Readers are captivated by Gatsby’s admirable perseverance and determination in working towards achieving his goal of winning Daisy’s heart and beyond that, the American dream, yet his greatness predicts his downfall. Gatsby’s desire of becoming wealthy and dedication to this goal reflects how admirable he is because created himself out of nothing; he “sprang from his Platonic conception of himself; he was a son of God-.” (Fitzgerald, 104) He “reinvented” himself, using his imagination and being “faithful to the end” until he was the prosperous man he wanted to become. But this accomplished goal of becoming wealthy was only a small step...
Words: 1124 - Pages: 5
...Daniel Mr. Caney 3-Amer. Lit. and Comp. 22 March 2011 Automobiles In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts automobiles as a major symbol. The automobile is a possession that is owned by the characters in the novel. In The Great Gatsby, the automobile is a symbol of the power and violence of the upper social class. In his novel, Fitzgerald depicts Owl Eyes being accused of driving an automobile into a ditch. Fitzgerald writes: A man in a long duster had dismounted from the wreck and now stood in the middle of the road looking from the car to the tire and from the tire to the observers in a pleasant puzzled way. “See!” he explained. “It went in the ditch.” (58-59) Through this scene, Owl Eyes is depicted as being accused of drunkenly driving a car into a ditch (59). Through Owl Eyes’ drunkenness, Fitzgerald depicts power carelessly used to lead to violence. In The Great Gatsby, the automobile is an invention that only the rich can afford, hence giving them a certain power that not all social classes can obtain. The automobile gives the upper class a certain mobility that allows them to move through American society easily. Hence, the automobile is a tangible symbol of the upper class’ power. When Owl Eyes is accused of crashing the car, Gatsby’s guests become concerned and upset at the mishap (59). The crashing leads to a minor violent situation against Owl Eyes. Hence the crashing of the automobile is a symbol of...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...The ‘American Dream’ has existed since the funding of the United States. Typically, the dreamer chooses to rise from being poor to being wealthy, while accumulating things such as love, status, wealth, and power. The dream has grown through the years and time periods, even 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...
Words: 2843 - Pages: 12
...The Great Gatsby and The American Dream The American Dream is the idea of having a perfect family that lives a luxurious life, filled with money, cars and anything they want. In The Great Gatsby, written by _______, Jay Gatsby tries to accomplish that dream. He achieves the materialistic aspect of it, but struggles with that major point, love and family. In the end, does it all matter? Is money and objects really what it takes to have a perfect life? Not only do the characters in the book have something to say about Gatsby’s way of living, but so do the readers and they all learn the same message. The Great Gatsby reveals the reality of the American Dream, an unrealistic image of a desired life. It was always about Daisy. The castle like...
Words: 990 - Pages: 4
...How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter Four of The Great Gatsby? Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby is one in which Nick continues to gradually piece together information about Gatsby, hearing about his romance with Daisy through the voice of Jordan Baker. Several settings are presented, conveying significant messages about the characters and the ‘roaring twenties’. Chapter Four is one where Nick travels with Gatsby to New York and spends time with him in several different places. New York is presented as being both magical and somewhat repulsive, similar to how Nick feels ‘within and without’ the strange world of the ultra-rich. Viewing the city from the bridge, Nick describes it as promising ‘all the mystery and beauty of the world’, however, immediately after, ‘a dead man’ is described. This could be implying that the ‘jazz age’ is not all that it seems to be, with Fitzgerald revealing that the ‘mystery and beauty’ is only a façade hiding a much darker truth. In addition, the way that the ‘valley of ashes’ is described as opening ‘out on both sides’ could convey the poignant message that death is inescapable in this seemingly wondrous environment. Alternatively, Fitzgerald could be comparing the setting of New York with Gatsby. Before we are introduced to Gatsby, he is presented as almost mythical, magical, but mysterious, just as the city appears from a distance. However, meeting Gatsby could be seen as disappointing, as he is simply an ordinary, wealthy man with a...
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...” (Adams 214) The Modern Day American Dream- Has it Changed? The American Dream has long been the ideal that every American has an equal opportunity to achieve success and fortune through hard work, regardless of origin or ethnicity. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby story of success, primarily represented through his possessions such as his mansion, demonstrates how the American Dream during the 1920’s is similar to the American Dream of today because origin remains irrelevant and possessions represent success. The key component of the American Dream is that it is achievable regardless of origin, motives,...
Words: 872 - Pages: 4
