...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 towards his bigger goal; being with Daisy. Money was only a factor that connected Gatsby to Daisy; if Gatsby was wealthy then surely Daisy would be with him...
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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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...knowledgeable man named Jay Gatsby. He was born in North Dakota with his birth name James Gatz. His parents were devoted to Catholicism, and he grew up with three younger sisters. Gatsby was not born into a wealthy family, and nothing was ever just handed to him. His upbringing taught him dedication, persistence and hardship. He was a man who worked extremely hard throughout his life, for what he had and what he lost. He was a man who was so much greater than what society had hastened upon him. Personally, I only knew him for a short period of time, and he had so many great positive qualities that I had witnessed during my...
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...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...
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...him into a downward spiral which then ends in his demise, the influence of Lady Macbeth on Macbeth tests his desires and lust for power. Obsessions and persisting those obsessions are what creates both stories of Macbeth and Gatsby and entail the main motivations for power or for the love of a woman who was like a long lost friend. Through self-destruction and illusion, the two texts display those obsessions and their impossible and illusionistic outcomes. Gatsby and Macbeth, with all the similarities that they show, their...
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...Application of Marxism on The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Marxist literary critics tend to look for tensions and contradictions within literary works. This is appropriate because Marxism was originally formulated to analyze just such tensions and contradictions within society. Marxist literary critics also see literature as intimately linked to social power, and thus their analysis of literature is linked to larger social questions. Since Marxism is a belief system which can be used to analyze society at the grandest or most detailed level, Marxist literary criticism is ultimately part of a much larger effort to uncover the inner workings of society 1. Title of the Book – The Great Gatsby: Gatsby became rich because, most probably Cody – the owner of the yatch, left him money but at the same time he is was committed to earning money at an early stage in his life. And the adjective Great added to the word noun, accounts for Fitzgerald reason why a man could be called a great that is he struggled hard to achieve the love of his life by trying to raise his stature. The word “Great” is added to emphasize the fact that he rose from rags to riches, and this fact should be respected and valued. Nick: “I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people--his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception...
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...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...
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...The theme, morality is exchanged for wealth, was dramatically strengthened in chapter four. In the motorway plot, the book narrated that “With fenders spread like wings … a frantic policeman rode alongside … Taking a write card from his wallet … Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me!” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925, The Great Gatsby) When Gatsby exceeded the maximum speed on the highway, he escaped punishment by simply giving the officer a white card. Whenever someone breaks the traffic laws, they ought to be fined or maybe even sent to jail. Because of this, people are usually afraid of being caught by a traffic police, so that they tend to follow the rules. Gatsby, however, apparently do not worry about the consequence of not obeying, and...
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...conservative norms of society constantly strived for power. However, this new generation of women, known as flappers, immersed themselves in constant partying and scandalous relationships where men had typically held absolute power. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, both typical and changing gender roles play a crucial part in establishing rocky relationships between certain characters. Tom and Daisy’s marriage is completely motivated by wealth and reputation as Tom is unfaithful and mistreats Daisy, yet he still wants Daisy to stand by him in the public eye. Tom also participates in an abusive affair with Myrtle Wilson, an impoverished woman who makes an effort to act as though she is wealthy and takes Daisy’s place. Gatsby sees Daisy as an unattainable dream that he wishes to achieve. Despite this rising period of rebelliousness in women, Daisy and Myrtle continue to conform to the men who possess all the power. Based on pure...
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...Analysis of “Materialistic Perception” in F. Scot Fitzgerald Using Marxist Literary Criticism Chapter I 1.1 Introduction 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. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. 1.2 State of Problem The Great Gatsby provides a critical social history of America during the Roaring Twenties within its narrative. That era, known for unprecedented economic prosperity, the evolution of jazz music, flapper culture, and bootlegging and other economy struggle that was the result of the materialism and capitalism damaging on social behavior, led to the widespread social distress. 1.3 Theoretical Framework Using literary criticism to interpret what is the ideal life of America in 19th century and what is the dream of American people after World War I. as a Marxist interpretation of the novel makes especially clear, reveals its dark underbelly instead. Through its unflattering characterization of those at the top of the...
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...In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the title appears to be ironic to the readers, as Gatsby doesn't actually seem to be that “great” by the end of the book. At the beginning of the book outsiders see Gatsby as this glamorous, rich, and powerful man who throws extravagant parties. Also, when reading the title at first you have a preconceived notion of Gatsby being “great”. But, as the reader gets deeper into the book, Gatsby proves to be a very insecure man and readers start to perceive Gatsby as weak. In the book, The Great Gatsby, the title is meant to be ironic and reflects the contrast between how Gatsby appears to outsiders with how he truly is. At first sight, Jay Gatsby is shown as magnificent and dazzling, but towards the end of the book...
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...In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway joins Jay Gatsby through a trail of lies, love, and deception. Jay Gatsby lives perfectly across the bay from Daisy Buchanan with the green light at the end of her dock leaving a reminder. In the book, Fitzgerald portrays Jay and Daisy’s relationship to be like Zelda and himselfs relationship. While showing the progression through the 1920s of wealth, it shows the differences in the social classes and how they looked at each other. The Great Gatsby shows symbolic messages throughout the reading such as Fitzgeralds past, the use of colors, and the American dream. Nick views himself as underclass, being surrounded by the rich, but that he will rise in his bond business. He becomes fascinated by his neighbor Mr. Gatsby mysteriousness and how he is so widespread known. At Tom and Daisy’s under their high living is love and despair. Tom likes living high but also having the power to broadcast his public affair. Tom’s lover Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ash, representing a much lower class. He shows Myrtle off in New York city to show how much power and authority...
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...The Great Gatsby: American Life during the 1920’s Cameron L. Green Lakeland College The Great Gatsby was a famous novel written by the so called “Jazz Age” novelist and short story writer Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is a famous novel that provides vivid description and complexities of American Life during the 1920s that only leads to misery and death. The narrator of the novel in the original book is Nick Caraway who was a resident of the west-egg district of Long Island. His next door neighbour was a mysterious character called Jay Gatsby. He narrates the incidences that took place with Jay Gatsby as the central character during the summer of 1922. The novel narrates how an alcohol peddler who acquires a lot of wealth gets involved into true relationships which was mistaken by societal class. Their feelings were looked down by the societal class as “money power”, as they thought arranging parties and fests are one of the ways these people try to create a societal status. They were misunderstood in various occasions and faced tragic end like Gatsby. The Jazz age or popularly called the roaring twenties took place after the World War I and ended with the start of great recession during 1929. The result of prohibition and the banned sale of alcohol made various millionaires who were economically not sound. The period witnessed a new style of music called “jazz” which marked the extravagant and extrovert American...
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...To what extent do you agree that Fight Club is an updated version of The Great Gatsby that captures the zeitgeist of modernism? The extent to which Palahniuk’s Fight Club bears resemblance to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is debatable despite the fact that there are numerous similarities between the two texts in terms of its narrative structure dominant themes and the presentation of characters thus their respective zeitgeist of modernism, both texts have clearly their own mark that make them truly unique. Clearly the extent of the similarities between the two texts cannot be overlooked when Palahniuk stated himself in the Afterword that ‘’Gatsby’s updated a little’’, as both novels have apostolic narratives it can be seen that both reveal the hollow superficial nature that existed within society in both the 1920’s and 1990’s. Fight Club and The Great Gatsby can be contrasted as, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s lavish parties, flamboyant suits and mansion to be a template for the narrator’s own existence in ‘Fight Club’. His life is dominated by his IKEA ‘’condo’’ and his own job, which he then finds that he has nothing to live for and is empty inside. He is someone who has ‘’ lost everything’’ and is ‘’ Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete.’’, which also illustrates the impossibility of the American Dream of both novels. ‘’Fight Club’’ thrusts the idea of conspicuous consumption even further as the narrator describes the destruction of material possessions no longer...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, demonstrates that Jay Gatsby lives a life of the American Dream gone wrong by lowering his morals with the corrupt nature of greed, Jay only focuses on the past to move forward in his own grand dream for himself, and how Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism during the Roaring Twenties exemplifies theme areas in the novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the cars represent a form of status. Nick takes taxis while Gatsby drives his custom made, cream-yellow car. According to Dan Seiters, “It is a rich cream color, a combination of the white of the dream and the yellow of money, of reality in a narrow sense,” (1). After Daisy kills Myrtle a bystander talks about the car and says, “It was a yellow car....
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